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Track assets and depreciation

Demo School purchases equipment for the science lab. The asset officer records the equipment and its acquisition evidence, while finance checks capitalization and depreciation setup. A physical asset record, an inventory balance and a paid supplier bill are distinct records.

On this pageBefore you beginPrepare asset categoriesCreate and review an assetReview and post depreciationCustody, lifecycle changes and service historyVerify the asset trail

Before you begin

  • Prepare the equipment identity, acquisition evidence, cost, dates and intended location or custodian.
  • Confirm capitalization and depreciation treatment with finance before submitting an asset.
  • Review the category’s available account defaults and the actor’s asset posting permission.

Prepare asset categories

  1. Open Assets → Asset categories and review existing categories.
  2. Choose New category when a suitable category does not exist.
  3. Enter Category name and optionally edit the generated Key. Select Asset cost account, Accumulated depreciation, Depreciation expense and Gain or loss account from the approved chart.
  4. Set Useful life (months) and Residual value (%) to the approved category policy. The screenshot’s 60 months is the form default, not a recommendation for every asset.
  5. Save and review the category before assigning it to an asset.
Asset categories define posting accounts, useful life in months and residual value percentage.1 Category posting accounts2 Depreciation useful life in months3 Residual value percentage

Create and review an asset

  1. Open Assets → Asset register and choose Register asset.
  2. Enter Asset name, choose the Asset item and Category, and leave Asset number blank for the next organization number unless an approved identifier is supplied.
  3. Enter Acquisition value from the supporting evidence. Check Acquisition date, Available for use, Residual value, Location and Custodian. The prepared microscope example uses KES 80,000 and Science laboratory.
  4. Review the draft, accounting setup and depreciation settings before any posting action.
  5. Use the available lifecycle action only when authorized, then inspect the linked source and journal evidence.
A microscope acquisition example awaiting asset item and category selection. No capitalization was performed.1 Physical asset identity2 Acquisition value from source evidence3 Custody location

Review and post depreciation

Open Assets → Depreciation, use the asset’s row menu → View asset, and open its Depreciation tab. Check the asset identity, acquisition value, carrying value, schedule dates and amounts before using a row’s Post action.

Check the posted entry against the asset schedule and its linked journal. Posting, reversals and lifecycle changes remain guarded; use the asset’s own actions instead of editing a source-owned journal.

The actual Teacher laptop schedule shows scheduled KES 1,125 depreciation rows. Viewing a row does not post it.1 Confirm the asset record2 Review the depreciation schedule3 Posting is a separate accounting action

Custody, lifecycle changes and service history

Open an asset to review the available custody and lifecycle controls. Record an actual transfer, disposal or correction with the required date and reason rather than changing a descriptive label to imply it happened.

Assets → Maintenance exposes service history. Use Maintenance plans and visits for planned servicing and inspect the resulting record against the actual equipment.

Verify the asset trail

  • The asset identity and location agree with the physical equipment.
  • Acquisition and depreciation records retain source links.
  • Reversed or disposed records are not treated as active scheduled assets.
  • An expense for servicing equipment is not silently treated as a new asset acquisition.
Maintenance plans and visitsPurchase bills