Introduction to the Asset Register

Enter each Asset as a separate record in the Asset register. This gives a complete list of all the Assets used in the business and will in time contain a complete history of each Asset.

Entering an Asset

You can enter records to the Asset register in two ways:
  1. Directly to the Asset register in the Assets module; and

  2. Using the 'Create Asset' function on the Operations menu of the Purchase Invoice screen. If the Purchase Invoice contains more than one row, a separate Asset record will be created for each row.

    This provides an easy means of creating Assets as soon as they are purchased, ensuring the accuracy of valuations. Note, however, that these Assets will not be given an Asset Category or a Depreciation Model automatically: you must specify these yourself before depreciation can be calculated.

The first of these alternatives is described here: the same screen is used in either case.

In the Assets module, select 'Assets' from the Registers menu, or click the [Assets] button in the Master Control panel.

The 'Assets: Browse' window is opened, showing Assets already entered.

To enter a new Asset, click [New] in the Button Bar or use the Ctrl-N (Windows and Linux) or ⌘-N (Macintosh) keyboard shortcut. Alternatively, select an Asset similar to the one you want to enter and click [Duplicate] on the Button Bar.

The 'Asset: New' window is opened, empty if you clicked [New] or containing a duplicate of the highlighted Asset.

The Asset window has been divided into five cards. At the top of each is the header. This contains the Inventory Number, Inactive check box, Description and Category. There are five named tabs in the header:

By clicking the tabs you can navigate between cards. Many of the fields on each card are provided to satisfy the accounting requirements of a particular country and will not be used everywhere. If you are in doubt about how to account for Assets in your country, please refer to your local Hansa representative.

Entering an Asset - Header

Inventory No.
Enter the unique code you want to use to identify the Asset. You can use a maximum of thirty characters.

Description
A name or description of the Asset. In the case of an Asset created from a Purchase Invoice, this will be taken from the Description field of the Purchase Invoice row.

Inactive
Check this box to "remove" the Asset from the accounts. Usually, Inactive Assets will not be included in reports and depreciation calculations, although you can choose to include them if you wish. Inactive Assets will also be excluded from 'Paste Special' list of Assets, but will still appear in the 'Assets: Browse' window.

Note that you sell or write an Asset off using the Disposal register, it will not be marked as Inactive automatically, because you might not want to remove the Asset from reports immediately. You should mark it as Inactive yourself when appropriate.

Category
Paste Special    Asset Categories setting, Assets module
You must assign each Asset to an Asset Category. This will contain an Asset Class, which will determine how the depreciation of the Asset will be handled in the Nominal Ledger (i.e. the Accounts used).

If you have specified Objects and Depreciation Models in the Asset Category, these will be brought in to the Asset automatically as defaults.

Entering an Asset - Purchase Card

Supplier
Paste Special    Suppliers in Customer register
The Supplier from whom the Asset was purchased: enter the Supplier Number or use the 'Paste Special' function. When you press Return, the Supplier's name will be entered into the field to the right. In the case of an Asset created from a Purchase Invoice, this will be taken from the Supplier field of the Purchase Invoice.

Name
The Supplier's Name is entered by Hansa after you have entered the Supplier Number.

Pur. Inv. No.
The number of the Invoice representing the purchase of the Asset, as recorded in your Purchase Ledger. In the case of an Asset created from a Purchase Invoice, this will be taken from the Purchase Invoice.

Sup. Inv. No.
The Supplier's number of the Invoice representing the purchase of the Asset. In the case of an Asset created from a Purchase Invoice, this will be taken from the Sup. Inv. No. field of the Purchase Invoice.

Purch. Date
Paste Special    Choose date
The date the Asset was purchased. In the case of an Asset created from a Purchase Invoice, this will be taken from the Purchase Invoice Date.

This date should agree with the Transaction Date used in the Nominal Ledger Transaction representing the purchase of this Asset.

Purch. Value
The purchase price of the Asset, excluding VAT. In the case of an Asset created from a Purchase Invoice, this will be taken from the Amount field of the Purchase Invoice row.

Hansa will use the value in this field as the basis for the depreciation calculation when it is calculated using the Depreciation Model 1 specified on the 'Models' card. The first Depreciation Model will not calculate depreciation if this field is blank (unless you choose to use the Fiscal Value on the 'Values' card to calculate depreciation). You can specify a separate Purch. Value 2 on the 'Models' card for use with Depreciation Model 2.

If you purchased the Asset before you started using Hansa to calculate depreciation, you should still record the original purchase price here, and you should enter the depreciation from the pre-Hansa period to the Init. Depr field on the 'Models' card. If you are using a Declining Balance Depreciation Model, Hansa will subtract the Initial Depreciation from the Purchase Value and use the result (the net book value) as the basis for the depreciation calculation. If you are using a Straight Line Model, the original purchase price will be used as the basis for the depreciation calculation.

If you need to change the basis for the depreciation calculation, do not make the change here, but use the Revaluation register instead. This will ensure an accurate history is maintained for the Asset and that depreciation continues to be calculated accurately.

If the Quantity on the 'Owner' card is greater than one, this field should contain a figure for the Purchase Value per unit, not the total Purchase Value. Please refer to the description of the Quantity field on the 'Owner' card for details about how its relationship to the Purchase Value and therefore its role in calculating depreciation changed in Hansa version 4.2.

Prod Date
Paste Special    Choose date
If the Asset was one produced by your company, enter its production date here. It is advisable to enter this date in the Purchase Date field above as well, because you can use the Purchase Date as a search criterion in some reports.

VAT
The VAT charged on the purchase price of the Asset. In the case of an Asset created from a Purchase Invoice, this will be calculated using the Amount and VAT Code fields of the Purchase Invoice row.

Serial No.
Enter the Serial Number of the Asset if it has one.

Not Reclaimed
This field can be used in Portugal, where the VAT paid when purchasing an Asset is sometimes not reclaimable (e.g. if the Asset is a car). If the VAT has not been reclaimed for the Asset, enter the amount of VAT here. This figure is for information only, and will be shown in the Asset History - Portugal report.

Warranty No.
If the Asset is subject to a warranty agreement, record the number of the agreement here.

New/Used
Paste Special    Choices of possible entries
Specify here whether the Asset was New or Used when it was purchased. The Portuguese Fiscal Year Depreciation and Fiscal Year Revaluations reports have separate sections for New and Used Assets.

The third choice in the 'Paste Special' list, Repaired, is used for spare parts that are to be treated as Assets. For example, if you fit a new hard disk to a computer (an existing Asset), you should enter the hard disk as a Repaired Asset and you should record the Inventory Number of the computer in the Part Of field on the 'Owner' card. The hard disk will appear on the line above the computer in the Portuguese Fiscal Year Depreciation and Fiscal Year Revaluations reports.

Contract No., Subsidy Value
This field is used together with the Subsidy Value on the 'Values' card in certain countries (e.g. Portugal) when the Asset was purchased with the help of a subsidy from the European Union. These fields record the number of the EU contract authorising the subsidy, and the value of the subsidy.

The Subsidy Assets report lists Assets with a Subsidy Value, showing the depreciation of the Asset and of the subsidy. In countries such as Portugal, depreciation of a subsidy is treated as income. You should enter a Nominal Ledger Transaction manually to record this income, using the figures shown in the report.

Objects
Paste Special    Object register, Nominal Ledger/System module
Default taken from    Purchase Invoice, Asset Category
If the Asset belongs to a certain Object in your accounts, and if its depreciation is to be charged against this Object, then enter the Object Code here. You can enter several Objects, separated by commas.

You can also assign Objects to Asset Classes; any Objects that you specify for this Asset will be in addition to those specified for the Asset Class.

In any Nominal Ledger Transactions representing the depreciation of this Asset, any Objects specified here and in the Asset Class (Obj. field) will be assigned both to the credit posting to the Depreciation Account and to the debit posting to the Cost Account.

Comment
Any comment.

Entering an Asset - Owner Card

Department
Paste Special    Departments setting, Assets module
Enter the Department to which the Asset belongs.

If you need to change the Department, do not do so here. Use the Asset Status register: this will ensure a dated ownership history is maintained for the Asset (visible using the 'Asset History' Operations menu function and the Asset History report).

Name
The name of the Department is placed here automatically.

Person
Paste Special    Person register, System module
If a member of Personnel is responsible for the Asset, you can enter their initials here.

If you need to change the Person, do not do so here. Use the Asset Status register: this will ensure a dated ownership history is maintained for the Asset (visible using the 'Asset History' Operations menu function and the Asset History report).

Part of
Paste Special    Asset register, Assets module
If this Asset is part of another Asset, enter the Inventory Number of that Asset here. Again, this field is for information only: it has no effect on how depreciation will be calculated.

Quantity
The number of Assets for this entry: the default is one. If this figure is greater than one, all prices and values entered in the Asset record should be unit figures, not total figures. If this figure is zero, depreciation will not be calculated.

Before Hansa version 4.2, this Quantity did not affect the calculation of depreciation and was for information only. This meant that before version 4.2 the Purchase Value (on the 'Purchase' card) was a total figure, but in 4.2 it became a unit figure. If you have Assets that you entered in Hansa 4.1 or earlier, you should check the Quantity is not zero or blank in any Asset record, otherwise depreciation will not be calculated. If the Quantity in any Asset is greater than one, you should then make sure its Purchase Value is a unit figure (and other figures such as Initial Depreciation, Residual Value and Fiscal Value as well). You can use the 'Update Purchase Value on Asset' Maintenance function to convert Purchase Values to unit figures, but it will not convert the other figures.

Entering an Asset - Models Card

Use this card to determine how depreciation is to be calculated for this Asset. Specify here the date from which depreciation calculations are to be made and the calculation model(s) to be used. These calculations are made using the 'Create Depreciation Simulations' Maintenance function. The calculations are based on the Purchase Value (on the 'Purchase' card), with an option to use the Fiscal Value on the 'Values' card instead. If you need to change the figure that is the basis for the depreciation calculation at any time, use the Revaluation register.

For example, you have an Asset that was purchased on 1 January 2003 for 50,000. It is to be depreciated by 5% p.a. using a Declining Balance model. You will use Hansa to calculate its depreciation from 1 January 2004, when its Value was 47,500. Enter "1/1/2004" to the Start. Date field, "50,000" to the Purchase Value field on the 'Purchase' card and "2,500" to the Initial Depreciation field. Use the 'Create Depreciation Simulations' Maintenance function to calculate the depreciation for 2004. This function does not update anything in the Asset record: when you run the function again at the end of 2005, it will effectively calculate depreciation for both 2004 and 2005 to arrive at the figure for 2005.

Please refer to the page describing the 'Create Depreciation Simulations' Maintenance function for more details about how depreciation is calculated, together with examples.

Model 1, Model 2
Paste Special    Depreciation Models setting, Assets module
Default taken from    Asset Category
The Depreciation Model contains the annual percentage by which depreciation is to be calculated, and specifies whether a Straight Line or Declining Balance calculation method is to be used.

Hansa allows two alternative depreciation models for each Asset. All reports and depreciation calculation functions offer you the choice of using either Model. The first Depreciation Model will calculate depreciation using the Init. Depr. 1 and the Start. Date 1 (both below) and the Purch. Value on the 'Purchase' card or the Fiscal Value on the 'Values' card. The second Depreciation Model will calculate depreciation using the Init. Depr. 2 and the Start. Date 2 (both below) and the Purch. Value 2 (below) or the Fiscal Value on the 'Values' card. If there is no Purch. Value 2, the second Model will use the Purch. Value on the 'Purchase' card.

If you need to change either Depreciation Model, do not do so here. Use the Revaluation register: this will ensure an accurate history is maintained for the Asset and that depreciation continues to be calculated accurately.

Init. Depr. 1, Init. Depr. 2
If some of the value of the Asset is to be depreciated immediately, enter that portion here.

One common reason for using this field will be for an Asset purchased before the Start Date (below), in which case the depreciation prior to that date should be recorded here.

For example, an Asset was purchased for 1000.00. Enter 1000.00 as the Purchase Value on the 'Purchase' card. It was depreciated by 200.00 before the Start Date, so enter 200.00 in the Init. Depr. field. This 200.00 depreciation is not posted to the Nominal Ledger, as it is assumed this was done in your previous system. When you calculate depreciation using a Declining Balance Model, the basis for the depreciation calculation is taken to be 1000.00 - 200.00 = 800.00. If the Depreciation Model is Straight Line, the basis for the depreciation calculation is the original Purchase Value, but the Initial Depreciation is taken into account when calculating the net book value of the Asset at the end of the depreciation period.

If the Quantity on the 'Owner' card is greater than one, this field should contain a figure for the Initial Depreciation per unit, not the total Initial Depreciation.

Start. Date 1, Start. Date 2
Paste Special    Choose date
Enter the date on which the depreciation calculation is to start. Depreciation will not be calculated if the Start Date for the selected Depreciation Model is blank.

When new Assets are purchased, this date is normally the first day of the month in which the Asset was acquired. This is the default, calculated from the Purchase Date on the 'Purchase' card when you enter the Depreciation Model. Check however with the local legislation: in some countries, the date used is the first day of the financial year.

For existing Assets, enter the date when you start using the Assets module to carry out depreciation calculations.

If the date that you enter is not the first day of a month, it will usually be treated as such. If the Asset uses a Declining Balance Depreciation Model, the shortest period for which depreciation can be calculated is one month, and this period must start on the first day of a month. The day is only relevant if a Straight Line Depreciation Model is used and if depreciation is to be calculated per day.

In some countries, it is necessary to create a Nominal Ledger Transaction when an Asset is put into use (i.e. before depreciation calculations can begin). You can do this using the 'Create Put in use Transaction' Operations menu function, and the ('Create Put in use Transactions' Maintenance function. These functions will only create Transactions for Assets whose Start Date 1 is blank. They will also copy the date of the Transaction to both Start Date fields, so depreciation can then be calculated.

Min Model, Max Model
Paste Special    Depreciation Models setting, Assets module
Default taken from    Asset Category
These fields are used in Portugal. Please refer to the description of the Minimum and Maximum Model fields in the Asset Categories setting for details.

Used from
Paste Special    Choose date
Enter the date when your company started using the Asset, if this is different to the Start Date above. This date has no effect on the calculation of depreciation, but it will be shown in the Asset History - Portugal report.

The Start Date 1 is copied to this field as the default when you enter the Depreciation Model.

End Date
Paste Special    Choose date
Enter the date when your company stopped using the Asset. This is for information only: this date will appear in the Asset History - Portugal report.

Depreciation will still be calculated for an Asset with an End Date. If you want to stop the calculation of depreciation, you should first write the Asset off or sell it using a Disposal record and then mark it as Inactive.

Purch. Value 2
The purchase price of the Asset, excluding VAT, to be used by the Depreciation Model 2 as the basis for calculating depreciation. If you leave this field empty, it will use the Purch. Value on the 'Purchase' card instead. The second Depreciation Model will not calculate depreciation if this field and the Purchase Value are both blank (unless you choose to use the Fiscal Value on the 'Values' card to calculate depreciation).

If the Quantity on the 'Owner' card is greater than one, this field should contain a figure for the Purchase Value per unit, not the total Purchase Value.

Entering an Asset - Values Card

Residual Value
If some of the value of the Asset is not to be depreciated, enter that portion here.

For example, an Asset was purchased for 1000.00. Enter 1000.00 as the Purchase Value on the 'Purchase' card. The Residual Value is 200.00, so enter 200.00 here. When depreciation is calculated, the basis for the depreciation calculation is taken to be 1000.00 - 200.00 = 800.00. This applies whether the Depreciation Model is Straight Line or Declining Balance. The Residual Value is not taken into account when calculating the net book value of the Asset at the end of the depreciation period (i.e. the net book value at the end of the first year will be 1000 minus the depreciation).

If the Quantity on the 'Owner' card is greater than one, this field should contain a figure for the Residual Value per unit, not the total Residual Value.

Insurance Value
Enter the insurance value of the Asset. In the case of an Asset created from a Purchase Invoice, this will be taken from the Amount field of the Purchase Invoice row. This figure is used by the Insurance Value report.

Min. Value
This field is used in Portugal, where there is sometimes a statutory maximum price that can be paid for an Asset. For example, the statutory maximum price for a car might be 29930. If you purchase a car for 39900, enter 39900 as the Purchase Value and 29930 as the Minimum Value. The car will be depreciated as normal, using 39900 as the basis for the calculation. The extra price over and above the statutory maximum (39900 - 29930 = 9970 in the example) is also depreciated using the standard depreciation rate: this depreciation figure is shown in the Fiscal Year Depreciation report as a non-fiscal cost (column 15).

Subsidy Value
Please refer to the description of the Contract No. field on the 'Purchase' card for details of this field.

Land Value
If the Asset is a building, its value will usually be made up of two components: the building itself and the land. It is recommended that you enter two records for such an Asset: one for each component. Usually, the land component should not be depreciated, so it should be given a "No Depreciation" Depreciation Model.

If the land is being depreciated or it is not possible to enter two separate records, you can enter the value of the land component. This will be for information only: it will be shown in the Asset History - Portugal report, but it will not affect the calculation of depreciation.

Investment Value
In some countries such as Portugal, if an Asset is sold for a profit and that profit is invested in another Asset, the payment of tax can be delayed.

If that situation applies to this Asset, enter the amount reinvested here. This Investment Value is then depreciated using the standard depreciation rate: this depreciation figure is shown in the Fiscal Year Depreciation report as a non-fiscal cost (column 15).

Fiscal Value
If the Asset is a building, its fiscal value (rateable value) can be recorded here. In most cases, this will be for information only: it will be shown in the Asset History - Portugal report. You can choose to base the calculation of depreciation of each Asset on its Fiscal Value instead of on its Purchase Value.

If the Quantity on the 'Owner' card is greater than one, this field should contain a figure for the Fiscal Value per unit, not the total Fiscal Value.

Investment Date
Paste Special    Choose date
If there is an Investment Value (above), enter the date of investment here. This is recorded for information only.

Entering an Asset - Costs Card

This page describes the fields on the 'Costs' card in the Asset record. Please follow the links below for descriptions of the other cards:
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Running Cost/hr
If you have the Production module and the Asset is a machine that you will use to build assemblies from components, use the Running Cost/hr field on the 'Costs' card to specify its hourly running cost. This cost will be added to Productions automatically if you are using the Auto Calculate Cost of produced Items option in the Production Settings setting. Please refer here for more details.

Prod. Tags/Objects
Paste Special     Tag/Object register, Nominal Ledger/System module
Used as default in    Productions
You can assign up to 20 Tags/Objects to each Asset, separated by commas. You might define separate Tags/Objects to represent different departments, cost centres or product types. This provides a flexible method of analysis that can be used in Nominal Ledger reports.

When you specify a Machine in a Production, any Tags/Objects in the Asset record representing the Machine will be copied to the Production as defaults.
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The Asset register in Standard ERP:

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Printing Asset Details and History

There are two ways to print a document containing the details of an Asset.
  1. While entering or inspecting an Asset, click the Printer icon in the Button Bar or select 'Print' from the File menu. If you want to print to screen, click the Preview icon.

  2. Click the [Documents] button in the Master Control panel or select 'Documents' from the File menu. Double-click 'Asset put in use' in the 'Documents' list window. Enter the Asset Number (or a range of numbers) to be printed and press [Run].
Whichever method is used, the Form used is determined as follows:
  1. Using the Form register in the System module, design the asset form and name it "PUTINUSE". Use the 'Properties' function on the Operations menu to assign a Document Type of "F/A Put in use". A sample "PUTINUSE" is supplied with Hansa: this can be modified to suit your requirements.

  2. Select the Assets module using the Modules menu.

  3. Click the [Documents] button in the Master Control panel or select 'Documents' from the File menu. The 'Documents' list window is opened: highlight 'Asset put in use'.

  4. Select 'Define Document' from the Operations menu.

  5. In the subsequent window, enter "PUTINUSE" in the Form field of the first line (you can use 'Paste Special' to ensure the spelling is correct).

  6. Click [Save] to save the Asset Form definition. From now on, the form that you have designed will be used, from the 'Documents' function and from the Printer icon.
For details about some of the fields you can include in your Asset document, please refer to the description of the Asset Transaction register here. This register allows you to include the full depreciation history of an Asset in an Asset document.

Operations Menu

When an Asset is open in a record window, the Operations menu is available. The menu has two commands.

Operations Menu - Asset History

This produces a report showing the history of the current Asset, as recorded in the Asset Status register. Please refer to the descriptions of the Asset Status register and of the Asset History report for full details.

Create Menu - Assets

The Create menu for the 'Asset: Inspect' window is shown above. If you are using iOS or Android, you can access the Create menu functions through the + menu.

'New' and 'Duplicate' are standard functions that are provided on every Create and + menu. Use these functions to create new records, in this case in the Asset register. Please follow the links below for details about the other functions:

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The Asset register in Standard ERP:

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Operations Menu - Create Put in use Transaction

In some countries, it is necessary to create a Nominal Ledger Transaction when an Asset is put into use. You can do this for an individual Asset using this function, and for Assets in batches using the 'Create Put in use Transactions' Maintenance function. Please refer to the page descibing this function here for full details.

Create Menu - Asset - Object

This page describes the 'Object' function on the Create menu in the Asset record window. If you are using iOS or Android, the 'Object' function is on the + menu.

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If you need to create Tags/Objects that are specific to each Asset record, there are two methods that you can use:

  1. You can have a Tag/Object created automatically whenever you save an Asset record for the first time. To use this method, select the Automatically create Tag/Object on Asset option in the Account Usage Assets setting.

  2. After saving an Asset record, you can create a Tag/Object by selecting this 'Object' function from the Create menu (Windows/macOS) or + menu (iOS/Android).
In both cases, the new Tags/Objects will be assigned to the Asset record automatically, in addition to any Tags/Objects that are already there. The existing Tags/Objects will not be overwritten.

The Inventory Number of the Asset will be used as the Code of the new Tag/Object. For example, Tag/Object 001 will be created from Asset 001.

If you need the new Tag/Objects to be assigned to a Tag/Object Type, specify that Tag/Object Type in the Tag/Object Type field in the Account Usage Assets setting. If you have specified a Start String in the Tag/Object Type, it will be included in the Codes of the new Tags/Objects. If you have specified a Length (maximum numbers of characters) in the Tag/Object Type, take care that it is sufficient for Tag/Object Codes to be constructed from the Start String and Inventory Numbers.

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The Asset register in Standard ERP:

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