Fixed Assets
Starting Balances
Fixed Assets Starting Balances
When migrating to Manager from a prior accounting system, fixed assets must be carried forward at their book values from the previous system. This is accomplished in Manager in two steps:
- Create the fixed asset.
- Enter starting balances for purchase cost and accumulated depreciation to date being carried over from your old account system. (Manager will automatically calculate book value.)
These steps can be accomplished separately, or they can be combined into a single operation as the asset is being created. There is no difference in the final results. I prefer entering starting balances for all accounts at one time. That's just my personal preference.
Before you can enter any transaction related to a fixed asset, the fixed asset itself must be created in Manager. If the Fixed Assets tab has not already been enabled, and the fixed asset(s) have not been entered follow the instructions for creating fixed assets.
When migrating fixed assets:
- Go to the Fixed Assets tab
- Click Edit for the asset you are migrating
- Enter Acquisition cost and Accumulated depreciation in the Starting balance fields.
These amounts should be the closing balances for equivalent figures from your old accounting system.
Example
Northwind Traders is migrating its accounting system to Manager. The first fixed asset it migrates is a packing machine whose balances need to be entered
Northwind Traders is migrating its accounting system to Manager. The first fixed asset it migrates is a packing machine whose balances need to be entered
Results
The fixed asset, with starting balances carried over from your old accounting system, will show under the Fixed Assets tab. The purchase cost of the fixed asset will be combined with any other fixed assets’ costs and displayed under the Assets category on the Summary page. A contra account, Fixed assets, accumulated depreciation, will record depreciation to date for all fixed assets. The difference between the two account balances represents current book value of all fixed assets. Of course, if you assign the cost and accumulated depreciation of an asset to custom control accounts, applicable figures will be summed there, instead.
Example
After migrating its first fixed asset, the packaging machine, Northwind’s fixed asset list and Summary show the results:
After migrating its first fixed asset, the packaging machine, Northwind’s fixed asset list and Summary show the results:
Note
When migrating many fixed assets, consider using batch operations to accomplish the steps described above.