G/L BOOK INFO (YEARS) 

Use this subtask to enter depreciation method and salvage data for both new template records or as edits to existing template records. (Always use caution when editing existing records to prevent unexpected depreciation and reporting results.)

When you select the G/L Book pushbutton in the Maintain Asset Template Info screen, there are three different versions of this subtask that can display:

If you have indicated in the Maintain Asset Template Info screen that the record is depreciable (by selecting the Depreciable radio button in the Depr Status group box) and that depreciation is based on Years (selected in the Depr Based On group box), this screen, the G/L Book Info (Years) subtask, displays.

Note:  If you have indicated in the Maintain Asset Template Info screen that the record is depreciable (by selecting the Depreciable radio button in the Depr Status group box) and that depreciation is based on Units of Usage (selected in the Depr Based On group box), the G/L Book Info (Units) subtask displays. The G/L Book Info (Units) subtask is documented separately.

If you have indicated in the Maintain Asset Template Info screen that the record is depreciable (by selecting the Depreciable radio button in the Depr Status group box) and that depreciation is based on Lease Pds (selected in the Depr Based On group box), the G/L Book Info (Leases) subtask displays. The G/L Book Info (Leases) subtask is documented separately.

Although you can use up to 10 books in Costpoint Fixed Assets, Book 1 always carries the name "G/L Book," and is automatically designated by the system as the Accounting Book. The G/L Book is the ONLY book that interfaces with the General Ledger by means of depreciation and disposal posting entries. This screen is the template G/L Book screen for those assets that use depreciation based on years.

There are both system-required and optional fields in this screen.

Use this screen to enter General Ledger book information in new templates and to edit G/L book information in existing templates. Always use caution when editing existing records, to prevent unexpected depreciation and reporting results.

If you plan to use templates, you should enter data in this screen and in the applicable subtasks before you begin to establish your Asset Master records. You can use template functionality at any time, however. Although you can change the information in this screen at any time, use caution in the timing of your edits.

You should enter data in this screen before you calculate depreciation. Your timing in making edits to these critical fields can affect the calculation of depreciation as well as the types of records included in system reports.

Note:  If you have used a template to "import" data into an Asset Master record and you later make a change to a template data field, the data change will not automatically be copied to the Asset Master record without user intervention. (In this circumstance, you will need to go back into the Maintain Asset Master Info screen and tab through the Template No/Rev No fields to re-import revised data from the template. Alternately, you can also create a new template or the same template with an appropriate revision number that incorporates the change. Or you can bypass the template record and manually make the desired change directly in the Asset Master record.)

Identification

In this group box, you can view the template number and revision number of the record that was selected in the main screen.

Template No

This field is not available for user entry. The system automatically displays the template number from the main screen.

Rev No

This field is not available for user entry. The system automatically displays the revision number, if applicable, from the main screen.

System Calculations

In this group box, you can activate automatic system depreciation calculations for this record.

Auto Calculate Depreciation

The system default for this checkbox is checked. You should accept the system default if you want the Asset Master record to which the template data is copied to be included automatically in system calculations of depreciation. If you select this checkbox, the system will automatically compute depreciation each month for this asset and display the computed results in the Current Pd Depreciation field in the G/L Book Info (Years) subtask of the Maintain Asset Master Info screen and in the G/L Book Current Pd Depreciation field in the Maintain Asset G/L Book Info screen. Note that you can overwrite the automatic system calculation of depreciation, as desired.

Do not select this checkbox if you want to disable the automatic system calculation of depreciation for the Asset Master record. In this circumstance, you will need to manually enter the amount of depreciation in the Current Pd Depreciation field in the same 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 screen, if you want to post depreciation for this record.

Note:  In general, if you need to make a one-time adjustment to current depreciation expense, you should manually override the system calculation 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 rather than change the default for this checkbox. In this circumstance, do not recompute depreciation after you manually enter the desired depreciation amount (or the system will overwrite your entry during the calculation).

If, however, you want to post a depreciation entry to the General Ledger as a recurring override to system calculations, you should uncheck this box and enter the override amount in the same field.

The status from this field will automatically display in the Auto Calculate Depreciation checkbox in a new Asset Master record in the G/L Book Info (Years) subtask of the Maintain Asset Master Info screen or in the G/L Book Auto Calc checkbox in the Maintain Asset G/L Book Info screen, if you specify the use of this template/revision number. Alternately, the checked or unchecked status from this field will automatically display in the same checkbox if this template has been specified as the default template in the Default Template for Asset Master group box in the Fixed Assets Settings screen. The checked or unchecked status from this field will display in the same checkbox in an existing Asset Master record if this template/revision number replaces an existing template/revision number in the Template No/Rev No fields in an Asset Master record the Maintain Asset Master Info Screen or in the Maintain Asset G/L Book Info screen.

Note:  Before importing template data to an Asset Master record or to the Edit Autocreation Transactions screen, the system displays the Template Import Parameters dialog box, where you specify how the template data should be imported.

Because the system supplies a default value for this field and it is not considered "blank," you can select an overwrite option for this field to be used by the system when importing template data.

Please refer to the documentation for the Template fields in the Maintain Asset Master Info screen and/or the Edit Autocreation Transactions screen for more detailed information.

Depr Info

In this group box, you can select the appropriate depreciation method for use with this record and indicate the useful life of the asset.

Depr Method Code

For a new template record, enter up to six alphanumeric characters in this field to specify a depreciation method code for use with the Asset Master record. You can alternately use the drop-down box to view the available depreciation method codes and select the desired code for use with this record. Set up valid depreciation method codes during initialization in the Depr Methods - Basic Setup screen.

For an existing template record, this field will display the selection you made when you originally added the template record. You can edit the depreciation method code that displays in this field, as desired. Because depreciation calculations in the Asset Master record use the depreciation method code from this field, use caution if you change the depreciation method code for a record once it has begun depreciating in the system.

Data from this field will automatically display in the Depr Method Code field in a new Asset Master record in the G/L Book Info (Years) subtask of the Maintain Asset Master Info screen or in the G/L Book Depr Method Code field in the Maintain Asset G/L Book Info screen, if you specify the use of this template/revision number. Alternately, data from this field will automatically display in the same field(s) if this template has been specified as the default template in the Default Template for Asset Master group box in the Fixed Assets Settings screen. Data from this field will display in the same field(s) if this template/revision number replaces an existing template/revision number in the Template No/Rev No fields in an Asset Master record.

Useful Life

This field is optional in both an Asset Template and an Asset Master record.

For a new template record, enter up to four numeric characters in this optional field to indicate the useful life for this record.

For an existing template record, this field will display the selection you made when you originally added the template record. You can edit the value that displays in this field, as desired.

The value in this field is for data purposes only, and is not used in system calculations. When the system calculates depreciation, the depreciation year and percentage for that year is derived from the depreciation method assigned to the record in the previous field. For example, if you enter a useful life of five years in this field but your depreciation method uses only three years, the system will not use the value in this field for calculations, but will instead use percentages for three years only, as specified by the depreciation method.

Data from this field will automatically display in the Useful Life field in a new Asset Master record in the G/L Book Info (Years) subtask of the Maintain Asset Master Info screen or in the G/L Book Useful Life field in the Maintain Asset G/L Book Info screen, if you specify the use of this template/revision number. Alternately, data from this field will automatically display in the same field(s) if this template has been specified as the default template in the Default Template for Asset Master group box in the Fixed Assets Settings screen. Data from this field will display in the same field(s) in an existing Asset Master record if this template/revision number replaces an existing template/revision number in the Template No/Rev No fields in an Asset Master record.

Salvage

In this group box, you can specify a salvage percentage for the template record.

Percent

This field is optional in both an Asset Template and an Asset Master record.

For a new template record, enter the salvage value percentage rate to be used in the calculation of salvage and depreciable value in the Asset Master record in this optional field. You can enter up to three integers and four decimal places in this field.

Note:  If you enter a salvage value percentage in this field, the system automatically computes and displays the equivalent salvage value in the Value field in the G/L Book Info (Years) subtask of the Maintain Asset Master Info screen or in the G/L Book Salvage Value field in the Maintain Asset G/L Book Info screen. The amount in the Total Cost field in that subtask is automatically reduced by the salvage value. This reduced amount is automatically displayed in the Amount to Depreciate field, which in turn affects the amount of depreciation calculated by the system. For example, if an asset's cost is
$10,000 and its salvage value is 5%, then the amount to depreciate is $ 9,500 and the system will not permit depreciation in excess of $ 9,500 for this asset. Do not enter a value in the Percent field for salvage unless this is the point at which you want the system to stop depreciation.

For an existing template record, this field will display the selection you made when you originally added the template record. You can edit the percentage that displays in this field, as desired. Because system calculations use this data in an Asset Master record to determine the manner in which depreciation computations should take place for each record, however, use caution if you change this field for property records once they have begun depreciating in the system.

Note:  There was a special checkbox related to salvage value when you set up your depreciation methods in the Depr Methods - Basic Setup screen. The default for the Subtract Salvage Value Before Calculation checkbox is a checked status, in which the system will subtract the salvage value from the cost of the asset prior to performing depreciation calculations. If this box is not checked, the system will ignore salvage value from the Value field in the G/L Book Info (Years) subtask of the Maintain Asset Master Info screen or in the G/L Book Salvage Value field in the Maintain Asset G/L Book Info screen when computing depreciation. Please refer to examples of salvage calculations illustrated in the documentation for the Percent field in the G/L Book Info (Years) subtask of the Maintain Asset Master Info screen.

Data from this field will automatically display in the Percent field in the Salvage group box in a new Asset Master record in the G/L Book Info (Years) subtask of the Maintain Asset Master Info screen or in the G/L Book Salvage Percent field in the Maintain Asset G/L Book Info screen, if you specify the use of this template/revision number. Alternately, data from this field will automatically display in the same field(s) if this template has been specified as the default template in the Default Template for Asset Master group box in the Fixed Assets Settings screen. Data from this field will display in the same field(s) in an existing Asset Master record if this template/revision number replaces an existing template/revision number in the Template No/Rev No fields in an Asset Master record.

Table Information

The system stores data displayed in this subtask in the FA_TEMPLATE (Template) table.

The drop-down box in this subtask accesses data from the DEPR_MTHD (Depreciation Method Codes) table.