Zoomed Image
USA
800 691 9120
UK
01225 704844

How to Create a New Depreciation Book

xAssets Fixed Asset Management User Guide
How To

How to Create a New Depreciation Book

This page explains how to create a new depreciation book in xAssets. A book is a complete, parallel set of financial transactions for your asset register. Each book maintains its own depreciation calculations independently, allowing you to track different valuations side by side (e.g. management, tax, insurance, IFRS).

Before You Begin

  • Ensure you are in the Fixed Asset Management profile.
  • Decide on the purpose of the new book (management reporting, tax depreciation, insurance valuation, etc.).
  • Have your depreciation types already created, as you will need to assign a default depreciation type to the book.

Step-by-Step Procedure

Step 1: Open the Books Screen

Navigate to Financial > Depreciation Setup > Books.

Step 2: Create the Book

  1. Click New.
  2. Enter the Book Name (e.g. "Management", "Tax", "Insurance").
  3. Set the Default Depreciation Type -- this is the formula that will be used as the initial default when category-book records are auto-generated.
  4. Set the Indexation flag if this book should apply annual indexation by default. Indexation adjusts the depreciable base annually and is typically used for property assets.
  5. Click Save.

Step 3: Review Auto-Generated Category Settings

When you create a new book, the system automatically creates category-book records for every existing category, using the book's default depreciation type. These auto-generated records all use the same default, so you must review and adjust them:

  1. Navigate to Financial > Depreciation Setup > Categories and Books.
  2. For each category group, select the categories and check the depreciation type assigned to the new book.
  3. Update any categories that need a different formula, recovery period, or indexation setting.

Step 4: Set Up Existing Assets for the New Book

Existing assets do not automatically receive depreciation rules for the new book. Use Bulk Update to configure them:

  1. Navigate to an asset list and select the assets that need the new book.
  2. From the Actions on Selected Records menu, choose Bulk Update Assets.
  3. In the bulk update screen, navigate to the Depreciation Setup tab.
  4. Select the new book from the dropdown and configure the depreciation rules.
  5. Click OK to apply.

If assets need opening balance transactions (purchases) in the new book, consider using a data transformation to automate this process.

Step 5: Verify

Run a test depreciation calculation to confirm that the new book produces the expected charges. Review the results before producing journals.

Important Notes

  • You need at least one book, even if you only need a single set of depreciation figures.
  • Books can only be deleted if no transactions exist in them.
  • During period-end processing, depreciation is calculated for all books simultaneously. Journals can be produced per book, allowing you to post to different general ledger accounts.