You should expense the equipment out as an asset and the other side of the JE will be the liability account (creating the beginig balance). You can use QuickBooks to manage your fixed assets and help you track depreciation and automate your depreciation journal entries.When a fixed asset – such as equipment – is acquired, the bookkeeping process requires a journal entry. When you first purchase new equipment, you need to debit the specific equipment (ie, asset) account. And, credit the account you pay for the asset from. In 2023, I made a video on how to enter fixed assets into QBO after the 2022 Chart of Accounts experience update. The tradein value will not be part of the final journal entry but needs to be entered as a credit to balance the entry based on the limited info you provided. How to enter fixed assets in QBO.