Fixed Assets

Track equipment, vehicles, property, and other long-term assets from purchase through disposal. Group them into categories with default depreciation settings, place them in service to capitalize them on the balance sheet, and let DayZero post depreciation each month. On disposal, DayZero calculates gain or loss and removes the asset with a balanced journal entry.

Key capabilities

• Asset register with cost, salvage, useful life, serial numbers, vendor, and location
• Categories with default useful life, method, salvage %, and linked GL accounts (auto-seeded on first visit)
• Four methods: straight-line, declining-balance, double-declining, units-of-production
• Lifecycle: Draft → Active → Fully Depreciated / Disposed
• Capitalization journal entry on place in service (DR Fixed Asset / CR Accounts Payable)
• Monthly depreciation run with safe re-run (already-depreciated periods are skipped)
• Auto-promotion to Fully Depreciated when book value reaches salvage
• Disposal with automatic gain/loss and removal entry
• Full depreciation schedule projection and per-asset entry history
• Preview the next run before posting
• AI capitalization suggestions for expense transactions that should be assets
• Requires the Fixed Assets add-on

How it works

A draft asset is just a record. Placing it in service capitalizes it and starts depreciation. Each monthly run books depreciation until book value hits salvage. Disposal removes the asset and posts any gain or loss.

flowchart TD
  draft["Draft asset"] --> serve["Place in service"]
  serve --> capje["Capitalization entry"]
  capje --> active["Active"]
  active --> run["Monthly depreciation"]
  run --> full["Fully depreciated"]
  active --> dispose["Dispose"]
  dispose --> gl["Removal entry + gain or loss"]

How to use it

1. Open Fixed Assets. Categories like Equipment and Vehicles seed automatically on first visit.
2. Click Add Asset and enter name, purchase date, and original cost (plus optional category, salvage, life, method).
3. Click Place in service and set the in-service date — this capitalizes the asset.
4. Use Preview depreciation for a month, then Run depreciation to post entries.
5. Open Depreciation schedule on an asset for the full projection and posted history.
6. When an asset leaves, click Dispose, choose the method, and enter proceeds.

Pro tips

• Set up categories first — default life, method, and salvage % auto-fill every asset in that category.
• Capitalization debits Accounts Payable — pair the asset with the bill or payment so A/P clears correctly.
• Run the depreciation preview before each close so period expense has no surprises.
• Only Draft assets can be deleted; Disposed assets cannot be edited — finalize details before placing in service.
• Use AI capitalization suggestions to catch large equipment purchases miscoded as expenses.

In-depth guide

Depreciation methods

Lifecycle and categories

Default seeded categories include Equipment (60 mo), Vehicles (60 mo, 10% salvage), Furniture & Fixtures (84 mo), Computer Equipment (36 mo), Buildings (468 mo), and others — all default to straight-line. Categories can override GL accounts (asset, depreciation expense, accumulated depreciation).

Journal entries and runs

A run covers one month and either all active assets or a subset. Each asset gets one entry per period; duplicates are skipped. Preview depreciation shows amounts without posting. Disposal gain/loss equals proceeds minus book value.