Fixed Assets & Loans
This course covers Fixed Asset management in Quickenerp: asset profiles, depreciation methods, running the monthly depreciation, disposing of or transferring assets, reporting on your asset register, and managing loan amortization schedules.
| Responsible | System |
|---|---|
| Last Update | 07/21/2026 |
| Completion Time | 2 days 11 hours |
| Members | 1 |
Monthly (or Yearly) Batch Run
Instead of opening every asset individually each period, use the batch compute action: it goes through every Running asset and posts whichever depreciation lines are due as of the run date, in one action.
Recommended Routine
- Run the batch depreciation as part of your monthly close, before finalising the Profit and Loss for the period.
- Review the generated journal entries before/after posting, same as any other recurring accounting entry.
- Reconcile the asset register (see next article) against the Balance Sheet's Fixed Assets line each period.
Forgetting to run this regularly is the most common Fixed Assets mistake — it doesn't break anything immediately, but expenses understate and asset book values overstate until you catch up, and catching up several months at once produces one unusually large depreciation expense that's confusing to explain later.
Fixed Assets Overview
View allMonthly (or Yearly) Batch Run
Instead of opening every asset individually each period, use the batch compute action: it goes through every Running asset and posts whichever depreciation lines are due as of the run date, in one action.
Recommended Routine
- Run the batch depreciation as part of your monthly close, before finalising the Profit and Loss for the period.
- Review the generated journal entries before/after posting, same as any other recurring accounting entry.
- Reconcile the asset register (see next article) against the Balance Sheet's Fixed Assets line each period.
Forgetting to run this regularly is the most common Fixed Assets mistake — it doesn't break anything immediately, but expenses understate and asset book values overstate until you catch up, and catching up several months at once produces one unusually large depreciation expense that's confusing to explain later.
Your Full Asset Register
Go to Accounting > Reporting > Assets (or the Assets list view, grouped by profile/status).
Key Views
- Asset list – every asset with Purchase Value, Value Depreciated, and Value Residual (current book value) side by side.
- Depreciation schedule per asset – every past and future period's amount, and which have been posted.
- Group by Profile – total book value per asset category, useful for a fixed-asset note in annual financial statements.
Reconciling to the Balance Sheet
The sum of all Running assets' Value Residual should equal the Balance Sheet's Fixed Assets line (net of accumulated depreciation). Reconcile these every period-end — a mismatch usually means either a manual journal entry touched an asset account directly, or a batch depreciation run was missed.
Best Practices
- Tag every capital purchase to an Asset Profile at bill-entry time — retrofitting assets after the fact is far more error-prone.
- Run batch depreciation on a fixed schedule (e.g. the 1st business day of each month), not "whenever someone remembers."
- Do a physical asset count against the register at least annually and investigate any asset that can't be located.
- Keep asset profiles aligned with your tax jurisdiction's required depreciation method and useful-life assumptions.
What Fixed Asset Management Does
When you buy something that will be used over several years (equipment, vehicles, computers, furniture) rather than consumed immediately, accounting rules require you to spread its cost over its useful life rather than expensing it all at once — this is depreciation. The Fixed Assets module automates that: it creates the asset record, calculates the depreciation schedule, and posts the monthly/yearly journal entries for you.
Core Concepts
| Concept | Description |
|---|---|
| Asset Profile | A reusable template (e.g. "Computers – 3 years straight-line") defining the default accounts and depreciation method for a category of assets. |
| Asset | One physical item being depreciated: purchase value, salvage value, start date, and its own depreciation schedule. |
| Depreciation Line | One scheduled entry in the asset's depreciation plan (e.g. "Month 14: $250"). |
| Depreciation Base | The amount actually being spread over time — usually Purchase Value minus Salvage Value. |
| Salvage Value | The estimated value the asset will still have at the end of its useful life (e.g. resale/scrap value) — not depreciated away. |
Asset Statuses
- Draft – created but not yet confirmed; no accounting impact yet.
- Running – confirmed; depreciation lines can now be posted to accounting.
- Close – fully depreciated (last depreciation line posted).
- Removed – disposed of or sold; removal entries generated.