Costpoint Online Help

Compute/Update Depreciation Computation Data

The utility run from this screen should be especially helpful when you are initializing historical data in the Current Depr Yr and Days/Pds Remaining fields in Asset Master records.

These fields are especially prone to error due to misinterpretation of the system "rules" for this field and/or because of missing/inadequate historical data.

The relationship of initialization data in the Current Depr Yr, Days/Pds Remaining, and Depr Start Date fields is critical to the accurate calculation of depreciation, as is the data in the Amt Taken Purchase YTD field. For new Asset Master records, the system will automatically compute the values in the Current Depr Yr and Days/Pds Remaining fields, provided you have not entered data in these fields, when depreciation is computed for the first time based on the date in the Depr Start Date field.

Warning: Regardless of the Date of Purchase or Fiscal Year basis assigned to any depreciation method, to ensure the accurate calculation of the Current Depr Yr and Days/Pds Remaining data in this utility, you should set up all FY/Pd data in Costpoint Fixed Assets for the current fiscal year and for two future fiscal years.

If you want the system to calculate data for the Current Depr Yr and Days/Pds Remaining fields for historical assets, you must also set up all Fiscal Year/Period (FY/Pd) data in Costpoint Fixed Assets for each historical year that corresponds to the Depr Start Date field(s) of the G/L Book Info tab (and Other Books Info subtask, as applicable) on the Manage Asset Master Information screen.

Three screens are available from the Fixed Assets Calendar menu, as follows:

  • Manage Fixed Assets Fiscal Years
  • Manage Fixed Assets Accounting Periods
  • Update FA FY/Pd Information from GL FY/Pd Information

The system uses data from these screens to compute depreciation expense for the current accounting period and for future accounting periods. This screen, the Compute/Update Depreciation Computation Data utility also uses data from these screens to compute values for the Current Depr Yr and Days/Pds Remaining fields in the Asset Master records. (During the Fixed Assets posting process, however, data on the Configure Posting Settings screen is always validated against Fiscal Year/Period/Subperiod data in Costpoint General Ledger.)

Regardless of the basis for depreciation (Date of Purchase or Fiscal Year) linked with the depreciation methods used at your company, it is imperative that you add data to these screens during initialization before you compute depreciation for the first time and/or run this utility. (This step is required even if you use only Date of Purchase basis depreciation methods in your company.)

To assist you in entering the correct data in the Current Depr Yr and Days/Pds Remaining fields in your Asset Master records, you can use this utility to verify the relationship of the Depr Start Date field to the Current Depr Yr and Days/Pds Remaining fields. You can run this utility for any range of asset/item numbers, as well as for one or more books that can be selected individually. The utility produces a report, sorted by asset/item number and book, based on the depreciation start date. The report includes a side-by-side comparison of both the current values displayed in the Asset Master and the values that the system would have computed for the Current Depr Yr and Days/Pds Remaining fields.

For additional information, please refer to the specific documentation for the Depr Start Date, Current Depr Yr, and Days/Pds Remaining fields for the G/L Book Info tab of the Manage Asset Master Information screen.

Note: The validations and rules by which depreciation is computed are followed in this report. For example, any record for which the Auto Calculate Depreciation check box is not selected for any book and/or for any asset in the G/L Book Info tab and the Other Books Info subtask of the Manage Asset Master Information screen will not be included in the report, just as any such record will be skipped during depreciation calculations.

This utility computes values assuming that the Depr Start Date field is correct. Based on the Depr Start Date value, the system displays computed values for the Current Depr Yr and Days/Pds Remaining fields.

Although you can print this report for all selected records, you can also print the report for exceptions only, which may make discrepancies easier to identify. After the report has printed, you can activate the option in this utility that applies the system-computed values to your Asset Master records. This process updates the existing data in the Current Depr Yr and Days/Pds Remaining fields by replacing the existing data in these fields with the system-computed values.

If you do not apply the system-computed values, you may need to manually adjust some values in the Current Depr Yr and Days/Pds Remaining fields and/or, in some cases, the Depr Start Date field, to ensure the accuracy of depreciation calculations.

Warning: Because the Update portion of this utility will overwrite your existing data with system-generated data, you should always carefully review and agree with the reported results on a record-by-record basis before performing the Update process.

The Update process is similar to posting routines in that the report must first be printed before you can proceed with the Update process. Never run the Update process as a matter of routine unless you are in agreement with the system data field changes that will take place for each Asset Master record.

This utility has been designed as a simple diagnostic tool. It has not been designed to perform as a sophisticated system program. Under normal circumstances, fully depreciated records will also print on this report, but you can exclude them by selecting the Exclude Fully Depreciated Assets check box during the compute/update process. You can also create Change History records in the Asset Audit Log, if desired.

You must print the Verify/Update Depr Computation Data report before you can run the Update process. You can print the report for all selected records or for exceptions only. This report provides supporting detail to the Update process and should be retained as part of the system audit trail.

Either version of the report (all records or exceptions only) prints columns for the following data:

Asset Master Record Data

  • Asset No / Item No
  • Short Description
  • Book No
  • Depr Method Code
  • Depr Start Date
  • Current Depr Yr
  • Days/Pds Remaining

Values Computed by system

  • Current Depr Yr
  • Days/Pds Remaining

Although you must print the Verify/Update Depr Computation Data report before you can run the Update process, you can also print the report without updating to provide an opportunity to review the data first. If you exit from the selection screen or change your selections, however, you must print the report again before you can run the Update process.

This utility is a companion to the existing Compute/Update Amount Taken Purchase Year-To-Date utility. Please refer to the specific documentation for this utility for more specific information.

You can run this optional utility to verify and/or update your data after you initialize your historical records and reconcile the Detail Asset Account and Accumulated Depreciation Account values with your General Ledger and before you compute depreciation for the first time.

After initialization, you may want to run this utility each period as part of your company's standard procedures, before you compute depreciation, to confirm that your period additions have been initialized correctly.

This report provides supporting detail to the Update process and should be retained as part of the system audit trail.