---
title: Assets Overview
slug: assets-overview
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-02-13T04:24:49.103Z
---

In the Nue Self-Service API, **Assets** represent physical or tangible items that customers receive. Assets are automatically created when orders containing physical products are activated.

## What Are Assets?

Assets are physical items that include:

- **Hardware devices** (security keys, equipment)
- **Physical products** (tangible goods that can be shipped)
- **Inventory items** (trackable physical objects)

## Examples

**Assets** (productCategory: "PhysicalGoods"):

- USB Security Key

## How Assets Are Created

Assets are automatically created when:

1. **Orders are activated** - Products with productCategory "PhysicalGoods" become assets
2. **Bundle orders are processed** - Physical components are automatically provisioned as assets

**Important**: Assets cannot be created individually - they are generated from subscriptions when orders contain physical products.

## Key Asset Fields

From the API response, assets contain:

- `assetNumber` - Unique identifier (UUID format)
- `name` - Asset name (e.g., "USB Security Key")
- `status` - Current state (Active, Pending, etc.)
- `quantity` - Number of physical items (e.g., 1 unit)
- `startDate` - Asset provision date
- `parentAssetObject` - Always "Subscription"
- `productCategory` - "PhysicalGoods"

## Common Use Cases

- **Track physical inventory** - Monitor shipped and deployed assets
- **Manage asset lifecycle** - Control asset deployment and maintenance
- **Bill for physical goods** - Calculate charges for shipped items
- **Support operations** - Understand what physical items customers have

Assets represent the physical component of customer orders, enabling effective inventory management and physical product tracking.