Classification Menu
The Classification menu manages reference data used to categorise and organise assets. This data underpins financial reporting, depreciation rules, and journal production. While most classification functionality is shared across all profiles and covered in the main user guide, this page highlights the items most relevant to fixed asset management.
Prerequisites
- You must be in the Fixed Asset Management profile (see Fixed Asset Management Profile).
Cost Centres
Cost centres are used for financial reporting and determine how depreciation charges and other costs are allocated. They can be organised into a hierarchy that reflects your organisation's structure.
Navigate to Classification > Cost Centre Hierarchy to view and manage them:
To create a new cost centre:
- Open the Cost Centre Hierarchy lookup.
- Click New.
- Enter the cost centre code and description.
- Assign a parent cost centre if this is part of a hierarchy.
- Click Save.
Once created, assign a cost centre to an asset through the asset editing dialog:
Tip: Cost centres affect how depreciation is reported. If you change an asset's cost centre mid-year, the depreciation charge for that asset will appear under the new cost centre from the next period onward. Historical transactions retain the cost centre that was in effect when they were posted.
Financial Significance of Cost Centres
Cost centres flow through to:
- Period-end depreciation reports — Depreciation by Cost Centre reports group charges by cost centre, making it easy to see which parts of the organisation are incurring depreciation expense.
- Journal entries — If your journal transformation includes cost centre dimensions, the cost centre on each asset determines the accounting entry allocation.
- Budget tracking — Budget entries can be split by cost centre (see Budgets).
Custodians
Custodians represent the people responsible for assets. Every user in xAssets is linked to a custodian record, which enables features like "My Assets" queries.
To create a new custodian:
- Navigate to Classification > Custodians.
- Click New in the lookup window.
- Complete the custodian details (name, department, contact information).
- Click Save.
Suppliers
Navigate to Classification > Suppliers to view existing suppliers and add new ones:
Supplier records are linked to purchase orders and asset records, providing a trail from procurement to the asset register.
Status Codes
Status codes track where an asset is in its lifecycle. Common status codes include:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| In Service | The asset is active and being depreciated |
| Due for Disposal | The asset has been flagged for disposal but not yet processed |
| Disposed | The asset has been disposed of (set automatically by the disposal process) |
Manage status codes via Classification > Status Codes (for assets):
Warning: The "Disposed" status is typically set automatically by the disposal process (see Disposal). Manually changing an asset's status to "Disposed" does not create the financial transactions that a proper disposal would — always use the disposal workflow for financial accuracy.
Location Hierarchy
Locations can be organised into a hierarchy that reflects your physical site structure. Navigate to Classification > Location Hierarchy to manage them:
Locations are used for:
- Asset register reports — Viewing assets grouped by site
- Insurance — Establishing the value of assets at each location for insurance purposes
- Audit — Supporting physical verification of assets at specific sites
Related Articles
- Asset Register — Browsing assets by category, location, custodian, or supplier
- Assigning Depreciation Types to Categories — How categories link to depreciation rules
- Multi Company Environments — Managing companies and company sets