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Rose-A
Moderator

Fixed asset & depreciation tracking

Hi, Bobby Chiggins.

I'm by no means an accounting professional, but I do have some insight to provide that can help get you with depreciation tracking.

 

To track the depreciation of an asset that you’ve already purchased (and added to the Chart of Accounts), you need two new accounts in QuickBooks:

 

  • Fixed Asset type of account called something like Accumulated Depreciation.
  • Expense type of account called something like Depreciation Expense.

After you set up these two accounts, you can record the asset depreciation with a journal entry.

 

Here's how:

 

  1. From the QuickBooks Company menu, choose Make General Journal Entries.
  2. (Optional) In the Make General Journal Entries window, change the Date field.
  3. The Entry No. should automatically populate. If not, type a number for your journal entries. QuickBooks Desktop will automatically number subsequent journal entries.
  4. Enter the General Journal Entry details.
    1. Enter or select the first account in your transaction. If you are using an A/R (accounts receivable) or A/P (accounts payable) account, the first account in the General Journal transaction should be the AR or AP account.
    2. Enter the debit or credit amount for the account you selected in step a.
    3. (Optional) Type a memo describing the transaction. This memo will appear on reports and will include the General Journal entry.
    4. Enter or select the Customer, Vendor, Employee, or Other name associated with the transaction. This is required if you use A/R or A/P accounts.
    5. (Optional) If you selected an Expense account along with a customer or job, you can make the amount billable to the customer by checking the Billable column.
    6. (Optional) Assign a class to the amount.
    7. Repeat steps 4a through 4e to enter distribution lines until the transaction reaches a zero balance. The total in the Debit column should be equal to the total in the Credit column.
  5. Click Save & Close.

However, I'd suggest consulting an accountant to help and guide on which account to debit and credit. Your accountant can provide more expert ways of dealing with this situation.

 

You can get more information about journal entry: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/community/Help-Articles/Record-a-journal-entry/td-p/203691.

 

Also, you may find these articles helpful:

 

 

You can always get back to us if you have more questions in tracking depreciation. Have a great weekend.

Kbroom
Level 1

Fixed asset & depreciation tracking

Is it possible to use FAM without QuickBooks?

 

We have moved to a new accounting software that does not include asset tracking and I would still like to be able to use FAM.

 

Thanks

 

Angelyn_T
QuickBooks Team

Fixed asset & depreciation tracking

Hi there, @Kbroom.

 

Thank you for joining the thread. Please allow me to help share information about the Fixed Asset Manager.

 

Fixed Asset Manager (FAM) is a feature of QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT). If you wish to use the FAM with the software you're using, you may need to check your software if it's possible to use the FAM and if you have the FAM feature.

 

If not, you may look for an application that is compatible for your software.

 

Please feel free to add a post/comment here in the Community page if you have any other QuickBooks or FAM questions. I'm always here to help you!

Kbroom
Level 1

Fixed asset & depreciation tracking

Thanks for the response. Our software is not compatible which is why I still want to use FAM if I can as a stand alone and just create a journal entry in the new software. Our new software has no FAM capabilities and they have no desire to add any :(

JanyRoseB
QuickBooks Team

Fixed asset & depreciation tracking

Thanks for getting back to us, @Kbroom.

 

Since the Fixed Asset Manager (FAM) is a built-in feature in QuickBooks Desktop and a stand-alone for this feature is currently unavailable. You may want to visit this website https://apps.intuit.com to check other third-party applications that are similar to the FAM feature that will suit your needs. 

 

Please know that you're always welcome to post if you have any other concerns. The Community team will always here to help. 

 

 

john-pero
Community Champion

Fixed asset & depreciation tracking

@JanyRoseB @Angelyn_T @Rose-A 

 

Please make sure you understand the minute difference and DO NOT BLANKETLY STATE that FAM is included in QBDT. From the article regarding how to set up and use:

 

Note: FAM is only available in QuickBooks Desktop Premier Accountant, Enterprise, and Enterprise Accountant

 

QBDT Pro does NOT have FAM built in and it cannot be activated or otherwise used in QBDT Pro, just so you know, for next time.

Anonymous
Not applicable

Fixed asset & depreciation tracking

Well, I think I may have learned more about human nature than fixed assets management in this discussion thread. I recently had a client who had problems bringing along FAM when upgrading from 2016 Enterprise to 2019 Enterprise. Account numbers for assets did not transfer, and depreciation methods and asset life came across with some correct and some not. There were other things that were a problem, too.

 

When I called Enterprise support for my client, in three different discussions, no one had worked with FAM in the last 12 months because it is so rarely used, or perhaps it is so trouble-free that no support is ever needed. Without going into detail of all the steps taken, we also upgraded FAM through each version of QBE from 2016 to 2019 and ran into problems from 2017 to 2018.

 

Because two of the reps were having to learn on the fly, my client footed a large bill for my time while we got only inches ahead of where we started. What we needed was a quick solution to editing multiple items at the same time, and it wasn’t until a third call on the third business day that we had someone walk me through the upgrade process again to get a file that had most things right but was missing all GL account numbers from the previous versions. 

 

Support people were committed, patient, friendly, but had very little experience with the product. With yearly upgrades and support now part of the new Enterprise product offer, you will have someone to guide you through upgrading QB and FAM, so it may be a safer bet to use it. I highly recommend getting a copy of your CPA’s asset list and depreciation schedule for your business as well as getting year closing entries from them. This is follow up that they often forget. With this information annually, you are free to estimate year end results, and have your books and support information available for your next CPA if you need to change. Another client was stuck this year when his old CPA was non responsive and his new CPA had no Asset schedule.

 

If you can go without depreciation entries until year end, great. You can defer Fixed Assets issues to your CPA and her software. If you need them monthly and can use a recurring template JE, that’s great, too. Then you can make a year end adjustment from your CPA to tidy things up. If you need close to perfect depreciation entries each month, then use FAM but be aware of what you are getting into. And if you have more advanced needs for tracking assets and barcoding them, look beyond FAM for a solution that can help with those things plus the accounting aspects.

 

Thank you for your patience reading through this. I hope the information is worth the blood, sweat, and tears from my client and myself that it took to share.

 

 

0025
Level 1

Fixed asset & depreciation tracking

I have been working in administration office but I don't have fair knowledge to maintain the fixed asset register. Let me know it

Fiat Lux - ASIA
Level 15

Fixed asset & depreciation tracking

@0025 

Do you only need to manage your Fixed Assets or record your depreciation ones?

 

denise2310
Level 1

Fixed asset & depreciation tracking

why does the balance increase in quickbooks fixed asset account when you make a payment?

BettyJaneB
QuickBooks Team

Fixed asset & depreciation tracking

Hello there, @denise2310.

 

I have some insights to share about fixed asset management in QuickBooks Desktop.

 

When making payments for the asset that you've purchased, make sure to select the fixed asset and depreciation account for your transactions. This way, the balance will decrease since QuickBooks subtracts the depreciation amount from the current value of the asset.

 

To fix this, I'd recommend reviewing the accounts affected on your transactions and make necessary correction if it's incorrect. If you sold your asset, normally it will increase the balance. 

 

To learn more about how the Fixed Asset Manager works in QuickBooks and fixing its issues, please see these links: 

Lastly, you may consider reaching out to your accountant so you'll be guided in managing your accounts. You can also seek help from out accountants through this site: Find an accountant.

 

I'll be around to lend a helping hand if there's anything else that you need. Just leave a reply below. Keep safe!

dkirkjohnson
Level 2

Fixed asset & depreciation tracking

When will QuickBooks Online support a Fixed Asset Manager tool? It is very cumbersome to track it in separately in Excel.

Fiat Lux - ASIA
Level 15

Fixed asset & depreciation tracking

@dkirkjohnson 

You need an additional app to integrate with QBO.

AlexV
QuickBooks Team

Fixed asset & depreciation tracking

Hi dkirkjohnson!

 

Thanks for joining this thread. Let me assist you with your assets.

 

Currently, the Fixed Asset Manager (FAM) only supports QuickBooks Desktop. I understand that you want this application to be used by QuickBooks Online subscribers. You'll want to send feedback to our developers and let them know that you need this feature. Go to the Gear icon and select Feedback.

 

QuickBooks Online won't automatically depreciate fixed assets. You'll need to manually track them. I've added some articles on how to set them up in QuickBooks Online:

 

Also, you'll want to use a third-party application to help you with depreciation. You can find one in the Apps menu.

 

In addition, I added this article that you can check: Customize reports in QuickBooks Online. This helps you to personalize the reports in QuickBooks Online to get the right data you need.

 

Keep on posting here if you have other concerns. Take care!

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