Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines a Fixed Asset as a “tangible object of a permanent or long-term nature. Businesses of all sizes purchase and maintain equipment, computers, machinery, furniture, tools and other items to assist in running their enterprise. Tracking the cost, current value and the depreciation expense of these items is a vital exercise of the accounting department of a business. The accurate accounting of assets is important for annual overall profitability of the business and for accurate income tax calculation. Large organizations, as well as some smaller ones, will use some sort of fixed asset tracking software. Asset tracking software allows companies to track what assets they own, where they are located, how much they cost, the monthly or annual depreciation expense and their current value.
Most large ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software systems, have fixed asset modules that facilitate and manage all of the aspects of purchasing and maintaining the fixed assets of businesses. Acumatica Cloud ERP is one of the ERP software packages that contains a Fixed Asset module for this purpose.
Acumatica has multiple ways to enter fixed assets into the system. Assets can be entered manually, purchased items can be converted to fixed assets and fixed assets can be imported from a file. This blog post will cover the process of entering items manually.
From the Finance tab, click the Fixed Assets module menu selection. From the Fixed Assets module select the Work Area tab, and then Manage > Fixed Assets.
Leave the Asset ID field blank as the system will assign the next asset ID when the Fixed Asset is saved.
In the Description field, enter a description for the asset you are entering. Use the selector in the Asset Class field to look-up and select an asset class from the available list. The asset class (the asset classes are created during the configuration of the Fixed Asset module) determines the type of asset, the G/L accounts to be used for transactions, the default depreciation settings and the useful life of the current asset.
In the Property Type field, use the drop-down arrow to select the method for which the asset was acquired. The possible choices are Property, Grant Property, Leased, Leased to Others, Rented, Rented to Others and To the Credit of.
In the Asset Type field, use the drop-down arrow to select the type of asset. The possible choices are Building, Land, Vehicle, Machinery, Equipment, Computers and Furniture.
The Useful Life, Years field will default from the Asset Class that was selected above.
In the Receipt Date field, enter the date the asset was acquired.
If the asset will be depreciated (and in most instances, it will) select the Depreciate check box. In the Depreciate From Date, enter a date for the system to begin computing the depreciation expense.
Enter the acquisition cost of the asset in the Orig. Acquisition Cost field. Although this is not a required field, the Orig. Acquisition Cost is used as the basis for the depreciation of the asset.
In the Salvage Amount field, you can enter the book value of the asset at the end of its useful life. In the Replacement Cost field, you can enter the amount it would cost to replace the asset with a similar one. While the Salvage Amount and Replacement Cost fields are not required, they can be useful values to enter and maintain.
The Disposal Date, Disposal Method and Disposal Amount are informational fields that are updated by the system after an asset has been disposed.
The Tracking Info of the General Settings tab of the fixed asset is used to track the location, serial or identifying number of the asset. This can be extremely useful for reporting purposes when employing assets. Many companies will use some sort of tag or identifying number that can be entered. The only field in this section that is required is the Department field.
On the Purchase/Tangible Info tab, the Receipt Date is defaulted from the Receipt Date on the General Settings tab. All of the other fields on this tab are for informational purposes and not required for the asset to be saved. This information can be very useful and can be included on reports.
The GL Accounts tab will list the GL Chart of Accounts that will be used for the various types of transactions. The required fields of Fixed Assets, FA Accrual Account, Accumulated Depreciation Account, Depreciation Expense Account, Gain Account and Loss Account, will default the accounts of the Asset Class that was selected on the General Settings tab but can be changed if necessary.
The entries on the Balance tab are updated as you enter data on the other tabs of the fixed asset. The values on the Balance tab should be verified to be correct prior to selecting the Release button which posts the asset to the module and creates the necessary transactions that records the asset in the General Ledger.
For more on Acumatica’s features or on Fixed Assets, contact Brett, our Acumatica Consultant Specialist, at 301.360.0001 or by email sales@ktlsolutions.com
BRETT MARTIN | Business Software Consultant
Brett has over 15 years of experience in accounting holding positions of Controller, Assistant Controller, and Accounting Manager in various industries including federal government contracting, not for profit bio-tech, real estate, motion picture distribution, and motion picture production. In addition, Brett has 10 years of experience implementing accounting systems such as Acumatica, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, JAMIS Prime ERP, JAMIS Financials, Deltek Costpoint, and Deltek GCS Premier. Prior to KTL, he worked as a Senior Business Consultant for JAMIS Software Corporation implementing JAMIS Prime ERP and JAMIS Financials. Brett has studied accounting and computer information systems at Morehouse and Montgomery Colleges.
