Keep the original acquisition record — invoice, contract or financing agreement — and a current valuation from an independent appraiser or dealer. Add serial numbers, photographs, maintenance logs and any lien release. Source and path of funds still matter for the cash you originally used to buy the asset; a balance statement alone is insufficient.
Trace the money behind the machine
An appraisal answers what the item is worth; it does not answer where the purchase money came from. If a machine was bought with business earnings, a personal loan, a property sale or a family gift, assemble the statements, contracts and tax records that connect that source to the payment. Translate documents where needed and keep amounts in their original currency alongside a dated conversion. Gaps are easier to fix months before filing.
Pre-launch cases can succeed on credible commitments: signed lease, executed supply agreement, equipment ordered, licences applied for, and a hiring plan showing how the investor will develop and direct the enterprise. Signed manufacturing agreements should identify the parties, products, quantities or pricing method, quality obligations, deposits, cancellation terms, and remaining conditions; purchase orders, invoices, bank records, samples, and correspondence can show performance.
Costs incurred to run or acquire the enterprise are analysed differently from fees paid to prepare an immigration filing, and the treatment of a particular invoice depends on what it bought.