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Disposal

xAssets IT Asset Management User Guide
Asset Management

Disposal

When an asset is sold, lost, stolen, or otherwise retired from service, use the disposal process to update its status. Disposal preserves the asset record and its full history while removing it from active queries and reports. This page explains the disposal process, its effects, and related features.

What Disposal Does

  • Changes the asset status to a "Disposed of" value (e.g., Sold, Lost, Stolen, Scrapped)
  • Sets the Date Disposed Of field
  • Posts financial transactions to write off the asset's current Net Book Value (if financial tracking is configured)
  • If depreciation is configured, future runs will apply any outstanding depreciation up to the disposal date
  • Removes the asset from most standard queries and reports (disposed assets have their own separate queries)

Once disposed, the asset record and its complete history remain in the database indefinitely. This ensures a full audit trail is maintained for compliance and reporting purposes.

Disposing of Assets

  1. Select one or more assets in any results screen. See Selecting Assets.
  2. Choose Disposal of or Delete Assets from the Actions on Selected Records menu:

TODO Screenshot: ClickMenu "Asset List" | PrintScreen "itam-asset-management-disposal"

  1. The disposal dialog appears with the following fields:
Field Description
Status Select the status that best describes the disposal reason (e.g., Sold, Lost, Stolen, Scrapped, Donated)
Date The date the asset was or will be disposed of. Defaults to today's date.
Permanently Delete Administrators only -- permanently removes the record from the database. See Deleting Assets.
Use Batch Process Queue the disposal as a batch job. Useful when disposing of a large number of assets to avoid tying up the interface.

Screenshot

  1. Select the appropriate status and date, then click OK to execute the disposal.

Important: "Permanently Delete" is irreversible and removes the asset record entirely, including its history. In most cases, use a disposal status (Sold, Lost, Stolen) instead -- this retains the full audit trail while removing the asset from active queries. See Deleting Assets for details.

Choosing the Right Disposal Status

Status When to Use
Sold The asset was sold to a third party
Lost The asset cannot be located
Stolen The asset was stolen (may require additional incident reporting)
Scrapped The asset was physically destroyed or recycled
Donated The asset was given to a charity or other organisation
Returned to Vendor The asset was returned under warranty or lease agreement

Your administrator may have configured additional disposal statuses specific to your organisation.

Disposal Dashboard

Disposal can also be managed from the Disposal and Obsolescence tab on the Asset Inventory Dashboard (Asset > Asset Inventory Dashboard):

TODO Screenshot: ClickMenu "Disposed Assets" | PrintScreen "itam-asset-management-disposal-3"

This tab provides:

  • Due for Disposal -- assets approaching their scheduled disposal date. See Due for Disposal.
  • Low Specification Assets -- assets that may be candidates for disposal or upgrade based on their hardware specifications:

TODO Screenshot: ClickMenu "Asset List" | PrintScreen "itam-asset-management-disposal-4"

  • Disposed Assets -- a query listing all previously disposed assets with their disposal date and status.
  • Assets Disposed Report -- a printable PDF report of disposed assets:

TODO Screenshot: ClickMenu "Asset List" | PrintScreen "itam-asset-management-disposal-5"

Tip: Review the "Low Specification Assets" query regularly. It identifies hardware that falls below current standards (e.g., low memory, slow CPU, small disk) and may be candidates for replacement. This helps with proactive lifecycle planning.

Tip: If you accidentally dispose of an asset, use the Un-Dispose function to restore it to active status. This is available from the Disposed Assets query.