Use this screen to set up controls and defaults that are used by the system during data entry and/or calculations. Some fields in this screen, such as the number of optional books you want to use (in addition to the G/L book), are required before you can begin data entry. Other fields are optional, and you can use them to specify default data and system configuration options.
The company-specific settings that you designate in this screen will be effective for your company of login. If you have set up multiple companies in Costpoint, you will complete data in this screen for each different company. The single field in the Corporate FA Settings subtask is NOT company-specific and will be effective across ALL companies, regardless of your company of login.
Although you can optionally set up as many as nine additional books for use at any time, once you have assigned a Depr Mthd Code to an optional book, you will not be able to delete that book in this screen until the Depr Mthd Code and other data for that book is also deleted in the Other Books Info subtask of the Maintain Asset Master Info screen (or in the Maintain Asset Other Books Info screen) and in the Other Books Info subtask of the Maintain Asset Template Info screen.
Set up this screen as one of the first steps in the initialization process, before you enter data in any screen in the Asset Template and/or Asset Master record menu(s).
In this group box, you can number, name, and describe the additional books you wish to initialize in Costpoint Fixed Assets. Book 1, the "G/L Book," is initialized automatically by the system.
You should decide on the number of books you need to use during the planning phase of your implementation before you begin to enter data in the screens in the Asset Template and/or Asset Master record menus.
You can use up to 10 books in Costpoint Fixed Assets. Book 1, which carries the name "G/L Book," is always designated by the system as the Accounting Book. Book 1 is the only book that interfaces with the General Ledger by means of depreciation, disposal, and transfer posting entries. The "G/L Book" name is hard-coded and cannot be overwritten.
To set up another book, enter the desired book number (2-10, as appropriate) in this column using the New Line button on the toolbar. This data is required before you can add the book name.
Enter up to 10 alphanumeric characters in this required field to assign a book name for books 2-10. The name for Book 1 is hard-coded in Costpoint as the "G/L Book" and cannot be edited.
The name assigned to each optional book 2-10 should be specific to your company requirements. When data is entered for optional books 2-10, the book name assigned in this screen will automatically display in the appropriate screens and in reports that include data for the other books.
Enter up to 30 alphanumeric characters in this required field to provide the description for each book. The description for Book 1 is initialized by the system as the "General Ledger Book," and cannot be edited.
Although only a single character entered in this field fulfills the system requirement for a description, you may find it more beneficial to supply a meaningful description. This field serves primarily as a reference field, although it does display in several other Costpoint Fixed Assets screens and reports. Your entry in this field will also display if you create custom reports in Impromptu that access this field.
The system automatically displays the total number of books that have been set up for use in the table window. This field is not available for user entry.
In this group box, you can set up the parameters to enable automatic Asset Master record numbering features.
Select this checkbox if you want the system to automatically assign the next available asset number for manual Asset Master record entry or if you plan to use the optional autocreation feature.
For manually added records, Costpoint Fixed Assets numbers each new Asset Master record with the first available asset number that is greater by one than the number specified in the Last Asset Number field in this screen.
For autocreated assets, the system first counts the number of rows that will be added to the Edit Autocreation Transactions screen as a result of running the Create Autocreation Transactions process. The system then refers to the entry in the Last Asset Number field, increments it by one, and reserves and assigns a block of numbers equal to the number of new rows beginning with the last number + 1 (from that number forward). The system does not assign previously unused numbers that occur in the sequence before the determined asset numbering starting point.
Asset numbers automatically assigned by the system will always be within the bounds of your specified asset number field length.
If you enable this feature, entry is required in the Last Asset Number field. If you originally enabled this feature and then uncheck this checkbox, a warning message displays before the Last Asset Number field is cleared.
The system default for this field is unchecked, so you will need to select this checkbox to enable automatic numbering for Asset Master records. If this checkbox is unchecked, you will need to enter the asset number for manual entries and/or before running the autocreation process.
Enter the last asset number used in this field to specify a number at which to begin automatic numbering. The system displays a warning message if you enter less than three characters.
Because the asset number, along with the item number, is the key identifier for an asset record and cannot be changed after it is saved, you need to carefully consider your numbering options before entering your first record.
For your historical records, you may have embedded an alphabetic character in your asset number, such as "E0045," to signify that the record belonged to an "Equipment" category. Although there is no system constraint that prevents the use of alphabetic characters in the asset number, you should find that it is no longer necessary to "muddy" up your numbering with descriptive coding. There are many standard and user-defined fields already in place in which to enter this type of descriptive data. The system will not automatically increment alphabetic characters during auto-numbering.
If one or more alphabetic characters have been used in numbering historical assets and you want to continue the same numbering sequence, make certain that there are at least three numeric components in the sequence.
During automatic number assignment, Costpoint increments the right-most numeric portion of the number. The system will display an error message if you use less than three numeric characters in the number. You should also review the numeric portion of the number to ensure that there are enough characters to meet your future asset record numbering needs.
The following examples illustrate a sample of the resulting numeric ranges available using different formats for asset numbering:
|
Number |
Numeric Portion |
Remaining Range |
|
00000001 |
00000001 |
00000002 through 99999999 |
|
EQ-0000001 |
0000001 |
0000002 through 9999999 |
|
FF-96-0000 |
0000 |
0001 through 9999 |
|
000900-EQP |
000900 |
000901 through 999999 |
If alphabetic characters are used during manual numbering, the system does not automatically insert the leading zeroes or require the total number of characters designated in the Length of Asset Number field)
The system uses the value in this field to number new Asset Master records, as follows:
For manually added records, Costpoint Fixed Assets numbers each new Asset Master record with the first available asset number that is greater by one than the number specified in this field.
For autocreated assets, the system first counts the number of rows that will be added to the Edit Autocreation Transactions screen as a result of running the Create Autocreation Transactions process. The system then refers to the entry in this field, increments it by one, and reserves and assigns a block of numbers equal to the number of new rows beginning with the last number + 1 (from that number forward). The system does not assign previously unused numbers that occur in the sequence before the determined asset numbering starting point.
Use the options in this group box to designate how the system should distribute "catch-up" depreciation. This capability ensures that the correct amount of any delayed current year (purchase year or fiscal year) depreciation will be computed for the current depreciation year. A "catch-up" situation could occur, for example, if the acquisition of an asset was communicated after-the-fact, if there was a delay in computing depreciation after acquisition, or if changes were made to fields used to calculate depreciation (such as Cost) after depreciation for that asset had already begun.
This radio button is the system default. Select this radio button to spread the amount of "catch-up" depreciation evenly throughout the remaining periods in the current purchase year or fiscal year, as applicable. If you choose this option, the system divides the amount of catch-up depreciation by the number of periods remaining in the depreciation year and includes this amount in each period's depreciation. Catch-up depreciation is not "extra" depreciation. At the end of the current depreciation year, the total amount of depreciation will be correct for the current depreciation year, provided the correct depreciation start date was entered for the asset.
Select this radio button to include the total amount of catch-up depreciation in the depreciation for the current period, regardless of DP or FY basis. Catch-up depreciation is not "extra" depreciation. At the end of the current depreciation year, the total amount of depreciation will be correct for the current depreciation year, provided you entered the correct depreciation start date for the asset.
"Catch-up" depreciation calculations in the current depreciation year (PY or FY) will correctly compute the current depreciation amount on a "catch-up" basis in the current accounting period, based on the date entered in the Depr Start Date field in the G/L Book Info (Years) subtask of the Maintain Asset Master Info screen (or the G/L Book Depr Start Date field in the Maintain Asset G/L Book Info screen).
The system will NOT automatically increment the value in the Days/Pds Remaining field in the G/L Book Info (Years) subtask of the Maintain Asset Master Info screen (or in G/L Book Days/Pds Remaining field in the Maintain Asset G/L Book Info screen) on a "catch up" basis during the F/A Period Close Process. Make certain that you have correctly initialized this field. (You can run the Verify/Update Depr Computation Data utility to help you identify any inconsistencies of this nature.)
You can change your selection in this group box at any time. Regardless of your selection, Costpoint will compute the same amount of annual depreciation. This radio button only sets the configuration on how to spread the "catch-up" depreciation and its effect on the value in the Current Pd Depreciation field in the G/L Book Info (Years) subtask of the Maintain Asset Master Info screen (or in the G/L Book Current Pd Depreciation field in the Maintain Asset G/L Book Info screen).
If you have assigned a Date of Purchase basis to one or more depreciation methods in the Depr Methods - Basic Setup screen AND you have also selected the Added to current period amount radio button in the System-Wide Configuration for Depreciation Calculations group box in the Fixed Assets Settings screen, the system displays the following soft warning message before computing depreciation:
"You have assigned a Date of Purchase basis to one or more depreciation methods in the Depr Methods - Basic Setup screen. You have also selected the Catch-Up calculation option in the Fixed Assets Settings screen that adds missed depreciation for prior periods in the current year to the current period depreciation amount.
In order to ensure the proper calculation of depreciation under these conditions, make sure that you have first set up historical fiscal year and period data in the Maintain FA Fiscal Years and Maintain FA Accounting Periods screens. Please refer to the documentation for these screens for additional information."
You should set up this data on a one-time basis for each year specified in the depreciation start date assigned to your Asset Master records, for which there is remaining book value.
Make sure that you INSERT the earlier fiscal years into the Maintain FA Fiscal Years screen instead of using the New Line function.
If you do not want to add historical fiscal year and period data in the Maintain FA Fiscal Years and Maintain FA Accounting Periods screens, you can select the Spread among remaining periods in PY or FY radio button in the System-Wide Configuration for Depreciation Calculations group box in the Fixed Assets Settings screen. This option spreads missed depreciation for prior periods among the remaining periods in the current purchase year or fiscal year.
In this group box, you can optionally enter a default gain/loss account/org/project/ref1/ref2 combination from your Chart of Accounts for use in accounting for property disposals. Account information from these fields will automatically display in the Maintain Single Disposal Transactions and the Maintain Multiple Disposal Transactions screens.
There are no system rules regarding the type of Account/Organization/Project/Reference 1/Reference 2 data combination that can be set up for use as the default gain/loss account. You should establish the appropriate combination to use as a result of your company policies.
Enter an account for association with the gain/loss account combination. You can use Lookup if you need to review the available accounts before selecting the appropriate account for the gain/loss combination.
The system will validate that the account is a detail account and that it is active. If the account fails one of these validations, you will need either to make corrections to the account or enter a different account.
Enter an organization for association with the gain/loss account combination. You can use Lookup if you need to review the available organizations before selecting the appropriate organization for the gain/loss data combination.
Costpoint will validate that the organization is active. If the organization fails this validation, you will need either to make corrections to the organization or enter a different organization.
Enter a project for association with the gain/loss account combination, as applicable. You can use Lookup if you need to review the available projects before selecting the appropriate project for the gain/loss account data combination.
The system will validate that the project level is valid and active. If the project fails this validation, you will need either to make corrections to the project or enter a different project.
Enter the valid Reference 1 number for association with the gain/loss account combination, as applicable. You can use Lookup if you need to review the available Reference 1 numbers before selecting the appropriate Reference 1 number for use with the gain/loss data combination.
If you designated a different label for Reference 1 in the G/L Settings screen in Costpoint General Ledger, your label displays at this field. If you did not set up a different label for Reference 1, "Ref 1" automatically displays at this field.
The system will validate that the Reference 1 number is valid. If the Reference 1 number fails this validation, you will need either to make corrections to the Reference 1 number or enter a different Reference 1 number.
Enter the valid Reference 2 number for association with the gain/loss account combination, as applicable. You can use Lookup if you need to review the available Reference 2 numbers before selecting the appropriate Reference 2 number for use with the gain/loss data combination.
If you designated a different label for Reference 2 in the G/L Settings screen in Costpoint General Ledger, your label displays at this field. If you did not set up a different label for Reference 2, "Ref 2" automatically displays at this field.
Costpoint will validate that the Reference 2 number is valid. If the Reference 2 number fails this validation, you will need to either make corrections to the Reference 2 number or enter a different Reference 2 number.
Use the optional Maintain Asset Template Info screen and its subtasks to set up one or more templates in which you can establish "standard" default data for property that shares common characteristics. When you enter a valid template number (and revision number, if applicable) in the Maintain Asset Master Info screen, all the data from the template automatically displays in the Asset Master record, where it can be edited on a field-by-field basis, as desired.
Because not all fields from an Asset Master record are appropriate for setting up default data, there are fewer fields available for data entry in an Asset Template than in an Asset Master record. Substantial capability for the entry of default data exists, however, in over 120 standard template fields and a virtually unlimited number of user-defined fields. You can use template data fields to enter a "framework" of descriptive, purchase, location, account, book, and government data that can be "imported" automatically into the desired property record(s).
The primary role for the Asset Template is to provide a mechanism by which a set of default data can automatically be imported into an Asset Master record. The end result is a reduction in the amount of repetitive data entry in asset records that share mutual attributes. Another important advantage in using the Asset Template functionality lies in the ability to incorporate consistent descriptions and data across property records, thus enhancing the quality of tracking and reporting functions within the system.
You can use the optional fields in the Default Template for Asset Master group box to specify one default template for use with your Asset Master records. If you designate a default template, each asset record will automatically be populated with the template data when the template/revision number entered in the Asset Master record is validated by the system and when the cursor moves to a different field.
Alternately, you may want to establish and designate one template that contains only system-required data for use as a default.
You can change the default data in this screen at any time. Because template data resides in an Asset Master record after import until it is edited, however, use caution in the timing of any edits to template data, which can affect the calculation of depreciation as well as the types of records included in system reports.
For additional information regarding template functionality, please refer to the documentation for the Template No and Rev No fields in the Maintain Asset Master Info screen.
This field is optional, and can remain blank if you do not use the template functionality or if you do not want to designate a default template.
If you want to specify a default template, enter up to 30 alphanumeric characters to identify the template. This field, together with the Rev No field, supplies the unique identifier for the Asset Template record. (The ability to include a revision number in the identifier allows you to record subsequent revisions to an original template, as well as the ability to retain each earlier template version.) You can use Lookup to search for and select the desired asset template number. Alternately, you can specify a different default template number or enter blanks in this field, as desired.
This field, together with the Template No field, supplies the unique identifier for the template record. A revision number is not required when you set up an asset template. If, however, you have set up a template number with an associated revision number, you must enter the revision number in this field. The primary purpose of a revision number (as associated with a template number) is to retain data from each successive template change, if desired.
This field is optional and can remain blank if you do not use the template functionality or if you do not want to designate a default template. Even if you designate a default template, this field may be blank if a revision number was not assigned as part of the identifier for the template number.
Enter up to three numeric characters to designate the desired revision number, as applicable. You can use Lookup to search for and select the desired template revision number. Alternately, you can specify a different default template number or skip this field, as applicable.
The two radio buttons in this group box apply only to assets for which the Date of Purchase depreciation basis is used. Use these options to compute depreciation for the current period, based on how many days are actually in the purchase year or simply based on the number of periods in the purchase year.
This radio button is unselected by default. Select this radio button to compute depreciation for the current period based on the actual number of days the asset was owned for each period. The amount of depreciation for each period may therefore vary; although, the total amount of annual depreciation remains the same.
If you select this option, the system counts the number of days within each period. (The first purchase year is determined by adding 365, or 366 in a leap year, to the depreciation start date. The start date plus 365 or 366 is the purchase year-end date. The second depreciation year is derived by adding 365 or 366 to this date, and so on.) When you compute depreciation for the asset, the system divides the number of days in the period by 365 (or 366 in a leap year) and multiplies this value by the total amount of depreciation for the year.
If the end of the purchase year falls between the end dates of two periods, the system calculates depreciation for the exact number of days left for the purchase year, and then calculates depreciation for the exact number of days belonging to the first period in the next purchase year (determined by the period end date). The total of these two amounts equals the depreciation for the first period in the next depreciation year.
These calculations are detailed below:
Total depreciation for depreciation year (DP Basis): $12,000
Period 1 = 20 days
Period 2 = 31 days
Period 3 = 28 days
Period 4 = 30 days
Etc.....
Days still left in Purchase Year 1 after last period end date = 10
Days till end of first period in Year 2 = 20
Depreciation for Period 1 = 20/365 x 12,000 = $657.53
Depreciation for Period 2 = 31/365 x 12,000 = $1019.18
Depreciation for Period 3 = 28/365 x 12,000 = $920.55
Depreciation for Period 4 = 30/365 x 12,000 = $986.30
Etc....
Depreciation for days at end of Purchase Year =10/365 x 12,000 = $328.77
Depreciation for days till end of first period in Year 2 = 20/365 x 12,000 = $657.53
Depreciation for Period 1, Year 2 = $986.30
Costpoint adjusts for any rounding differences in the last period of the purchase year.
This radio button is selected by default, and the vast majority of users use this option. Select this radio button to compute current period depreciation based on the number of periods in the purchase year.
Select this pushbutton to open the Corporate FA Settings subtask, where you can designate ONE Asset Number field length for use across ALL companies.
The system stores data entered in this screen in the FA_SETTINGS (Fixed Assets Settings) and the FA_BOOK_SETTINGS (Book Settings) tables.