Fixed Asset System (FAS)
The Fixed Asset System (FAS) is the all-in-one solution for asset inventory control, automatic depreciation, general ledger integration, reporting and effective management of fixed assets. Fixed assets generally represent a significant percentage of total assets, and FAS works to maximize their rate of return.
FAS helps centralize the management of fixed assets, which is especially critical when assets are located miles apart in several facilities.
Non-depreciable assets such as art, fully depreciated assets and assets owned by employees or other organizations can be maintained on FAS. This provides a full accounting of every item owned or located on your property for thorough control.
FAS helps identify assets moved from one location to another, assets under warranty and assets needing repair. All of this information is available to authorized individuals on a central enterprise server and is as close as the nearest display terminal.
FAS is a practical, cost-effective method of asset accounting for any organization, and includes the following features:
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Assets are identified and categorized using over one dozen codes and descriptions, which are stored for on-line inquiry and reporting.
- Complex depreciation calculations once were required only to take advantage of tax incentives. The accounting now required by legislation makes complex depreciation more the rule than the exception. FAS accommodates all standard calculations including:
- Straight-line
- Declining balance
- Sum of the years' digits
- Accelerated Cost Recovery (ACRS)
- Modified ACRS (MACRS)
- Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
- Each depreciation schedule can be adjusted automatically with options for:
- Adjusted Current Earnings (ACE)
- Mid-month convention
- Mid-quarter convention
- Half-year convention
- Final year expense
- 'Custom' depreciation schedules for special situations can be entered manually on individual assets.
- Your own policies for asset depreciation and general ledger integration are established in the FAS specifications.
- Every depreciation expense transaction is automatically calculated and posted to the general ledger, either monthly or annually. Transactions are created through general ledger integration.
Assets are specifically identified for thorough record keeping and control. Inventory management and disaster recovery planning are simplified with complete asset information, including:
- Asset Number
- Class Code
- Two descriptions
- Cost Center
- Serial, Invoice and Tag Numbers
- Location and Type Code
- Vendor Number
- Responsibility Code
- Purchase Price and Date
- Miscellaneous Code
On-line inquiry screens display all the codes and numbers for each asset, or categorize assets for group inquiry.
Not only does FAS accommodate all types of depreciation methods, but FAS also maintains as many depreciation schedules as required. Up to twenty separate schedules, or 'ledgers', can be set up on each asset for nearly any purpose, including calculations for book, tax, insurance and replacement bookkeeping.
Either once a month or once a year, FAS automatically calculates the amount of depreciation to be expensed for each asset and creates automatic general ledger entries to debit expense and credit accumulated depreciation. Other automatic transactions are generated whenever new assets are added to the database, traded for other assets, disposed of, or adjusted manually. Each function is initiated through on-line maintenance. The 'ledgers' defined on each asset include the general ledger account numbers used for the asset value, depreciation expense, accumulated depreciation, and any gain or loss from disposal.
The Fixed Asset System includes two features which streamline the process of defining asset depreciation ledgers and codes.
Default depreciation ledgers and general ledger integration account numbers are automatically assigned to new assets, based upon an asset's Class Code and the specifications.
When changing asset codes, such as the Location Code when an employee and all furniture are transferred to a new location, 'Quick' and 'Replace' screens simplify the maintenance procedure.
Default Information
When assigning a new asset's Class Code, depreciation schedules for up to twenty ledgers can be automatically generated for the asset. For each ledger, the Depreciation Method, Method Description, Life, Half-Year, Mid-Month, Mid-Quarter, ACE and Final Year Options, and the Declining Balance Percent are all established automatically. In addition, the assignment of a new asset's Class Code triggers general ledger integration account numbers to be assigned by default. The default feature helps standardize the depreciation methods and integration accounts used for each class of assets. Besides being a convenient means of establishing and enforcing your organization's policies, defaults eliminate the extra manual entries to establish ledgers on a new asset. Once a new asset has been established, any or all of the default values can be overridden through on-line maintenance.
'Quick' and 'Replace' Maintenance
The Fixed Assets on-line maintenance program has a 'Quick' command, which is used to change an asset code, such as Location, in a single command at a 'Ready' screen — without ever accessing an asset maintenance screen. For each 'Quick' maintenance command, an inquiry screen is displayed to show the effect of the change. The 'Replace' function is used to change one code on all assets from one value to another. For example, 'Replace' is used to quickly change all assets with Type Code '123' to Type Code '500'.
In addition to inquiries by individual asset and asset groups, the online FAS/0350 program includes a 'Sound' feature for inquiry based upon an asset's name rather than number. This added convenience eliminates the dependence on asset numbers as a prerequisite to on-line inquiry.
The Fixed Asset System can be processed as a stand-alone product, or integrated with the Financial Management System (FMS). However, FAS requires no additional software or hardware.