An Asset in Salesforce is a record representing a specific product instance a customer owns — serial number XYZ123 of an “Acme Router Pro” bought by Acme Corp on Jan 5. It’s the bridge between the catalog Product2 (what we sell) and the support side of the platform (Cases, Entitlements, Contracts, Field Service work orders).
What an Asset record holds
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Name | ”Acme Router Pro #SN-12345” |
| AccountId / ContactId | Who owns it |
| Product2Id | Which catalog product this is an instance of |
| SerialNumber | The physical identifier |
| PurchaseDate, InstallDate, UsageEndDate | Lifecycle dates |
| Status | Installed, Shipped, Registered, Obsolete |
| Price | What the customer paid |
| ParentId / RootAssetId | Asset hierarchy (e.g. server rack with child blades) |
Why it exists
Without Assets you can’t tie a Case to “the specific router that’s down”. Knowing which serial number, which firmware revision, which install date — all of that becomes available the moment a Case references an Asset.
Where Assets are used
- Cases —
Case.AssetIdlinks a ticket to the specific product instance. - Entitlements — SLAs can be granted per-asset (“Premium support only applies to the Asset bought under PO-2024-018”).
- Contracts / Service Contracts — what’s covered.
- Field Service — WorkOrders target an Asset; technicians know exactly which equipment to fix.
- IoT / Maintenance Plans — proactive maintenance schedules per asset.
- Renewals — when an Asset’s Usage End Date approaches, generate a renewal opportunity.
Creating Assets
- Manually on the Account/Contact record
- From an Opportunity when it closes won (Order auto-creates Assets)
- From an Order via “Create Asset” action on the order line item
- API / Flow during integration with an ERP or shipping system
Asset hierarchy
Assets can have parent/child relationships:
Root Asset: "Acme Data Center Rack — Serial RACK-001"
├── Child: "Acme Server Blade #1 — SN-BLD-001"
├── Child: "Acme Server Blade #2 — SN-BLD-002"
└── Child: "Acme Power Supply Unit — SN-PSU-001"This is essential for complex products where customers buy assemblies with serviceable sub-components.
Difference vs Product
| Product2 | Asset | |
|---|---|---|
| Represents | A SKU you sell | A specific copy owned by a customer |
| Has serial number | No | Yes |
| Owned by | Your catalog | A specific Account/Contact |
| Lifecycle | Active / Inactive | Shipped → Installed → In Service → Retired |
Common follow-ups
- Does every product become an Asset? — No, only the ones you want to track post-sale (typically physical hardware, licences, subscriptions).
- How do Assets get created from a Quote? — Quote → Order → Asset (via the Auto-Create Assets order setting, or via CPQ).
- Are Assets used for SaaS subscriptions? — Yes — a “subscription Asset” is common for tracking per-customer entitlements to a SaaS plan.
Verified against: Salesforce Help — Assets. Last reviewed 2026-05-17 for Spring ‘26.