Introduction
Post Depreciation process
Depreciation operates at the Asset Class level rather than the individual Asset level. This means the Posted Depreciation Amount is for each Asset Class, not each individual Asset.
Depreciation works as follows:
- For each Asset Class, postings are calculated by dividing the Net Book Value or the Purchase Cost (depending on the Depreciation Method) by the number of Periods in the Year and applying the Depreciation Rate %.
- Postings are made for the period in question to the:
- GL Accumulated Depreciation Asset Account
- GL Depreciation Expense Account
- The Net Book Value is reduced by the Depreciation Amounts.
Post Depreciation Schedule
Deprecation should be run during the period end process. Deprecation journals are dated the last day of the period, starting with the last day of the period containing the Start of Depreciation date. If a fixed asset has a purchase date earlier than this, all periods up to the Depreciation Start Date must be posted manually using the GL Journal, ensuring that the Net Book Value is populated with the appropriate figure.
See:
Post Depreciation
Depreciation starts with the earliest unposted period. Repeat the process below to consecutively post depreciations until the latest closed period.
- Go to FAR > Fixed Assets Classes.
- Click Post Depreciation and click OK to continue.
- The Transaction Browser will open, displaying the relevant GL postings in the GL Accumulated Depreciation Asset Account and GL Depreciation Expense Account.
- If you need to reverse a depreciation for a period, click Reverse. This will not revert or affect the next Depreciation journal. Its date will continue from the last one as if the reversal never happened.
- In the Fixed Assets listing you can view the updated records. Note that the Accumulated Depreciation column displays the newly calculated amount and has been subtracted from the Purchase Cost to produce a new Net Book Value.
View Depreciation History
After each depreciation run, the system automatically creates an Excel Report containing asset data. These reports can auditors understand the GL Depreciation Postings for each financial period. They will only provide the current position of the Fixed Assets listing and cannot be backdated.
- Go to FAR > Fixed Assets Classes.
- To access the workbooks for all financial periods, click View Depreciation History. All reports from start of depreciation will appear in the Document Manager.
- Open the relevant report. The workbook contains two tabs.
- The first tab contains the raw, unformatted data.
- The second tab groups this data by asset class, making it easier to identify the figures of interest.
- The first tab contains the raw, unformatted data.
Depreciations prior to 18 Feb 2025
From 18 February 2025, new columns will be added to both raw and grouped data. These improvements will take effect after the next depreciation journal runs. Previous files will remain unchanged, preserving their historical snapshot.
- Column K: "Opening Depreciation" (Previously "Accumulated Depreciation") – Displays the depreciation value before the current journal is posted.
- Column L: "Monthly Depreciation" (Previously "Depreciation Amount") – Represents the depreciation amount for one month.
- Column M: "Closing Depreciation" (New) – Now shows the total of Opening Depreciation (Column K) + Monthly Depreciation (Column L).
These changes ensure consistency across both report tabs and provide clearer insight into depreciation calculations.
Fixed Asset Impairment
- Go to FAR > Fixed Assets and open the relevant Fixed Asset.
- In the Net Book Value field, enter a new value and click Process. The system will generate an immediate depreciation journal for the difference. For example, if the original value is 466.56 GBP and you enter 450 GBP, this will generate a 16.56 GBP depreciation journal. Click OK to accept.
Transaction Details will automatically show on screen: