Fixed Asset Categories

Use the Fixed Asset Categories page to set how your company capitalizes and depreciates owned equipment, vehicles, furniture, and other fixed assets. Come here to decide whether posted vendor bills create fixed assets automatically, set the dollar amount below which a purchase is expensed, allow or refuse impairment recovery, and keep the categories whose defaults pre-fill the Add Fixed Asset wizard.

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Before You Start

• You need the settings.view permission to open the page, and accounting.view to see the categories. Without accounting.view the page reads “You do not have permission to view fixed asset categories.”
• You need accounting.fixed_assets.manage to change anything here. Without it the switches, the threshold, Add Category, and the edit and delete buttons are disabled. Only Add Category and the edit and delete buttons show a tooltip naming accounting.fixed_assets.manage; the two policy switches, the threshold field, and its Save button are disabled with no tooltip.
• The policy settings at the top (the impairment switch, the auto-create switch and the capitalization threshold) also need settings.edit when you save them, because they are saved with the company settings. A person with accounting.fixed_assets.manage but without settings.edit can use the controls, but the save is refused. Reading those settings needs settings.view.
• Adding, editing and deleting a category are refused by the server without accounting.fixed_assets.manage, whatever the buttons show. The account lists in the category dialog need accounting.view.

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Open Fixed Asset Categories

1. In the deck, open Settings.
2. Under System, choose Fixed Asset Categories.

The breadcrumb reads Settings > System > Fixed Asset Categories. You can also search for Fixed Asset Categories in the command palette.

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Fixed Assets Accounting Policy

Allow impairment recovery (IFRS IAS 36) is off by default. US GAAP does not allow recovering an impairment loss on an asset you still hold and use; IFRS allows it, capped at what the carrying amount would have been without the impairment. When the switch is off, an attempt to recover a prior impairment is refused with an error that cites ASC 360. Click the switch to change it. You see “Impairment recovery enabled” or “Impairment recovery disabled”.

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Vendor Bill Auto-Capture

Auto-create fixed assets from vendor bills is off by default. When it is on, and a posted vendor bill line is coded to a fixed-asset GL account at or above the capitalization threshold, Arcus creates a fixed asset in pending-service status automatically. You see “Auto-create fixed assets enabled” or “Auto-create fixed assets disabled” when you switch it. Auto-captured assets still need:

• Asset name and category review.
• Placed-in-service date. Depreciation cannot begin until you fill it in on the Fixed Assets page.
• Location and ownership details.
• Useful life and depreciation review.
• Approval from the accounting owner.

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Capitalization Threshold

Bill line items below the Capitalization threshold are expensed immediately instead of capitalized. The default is $2,500, which matches the IRS de minimis safe harbor limit per invoice or item for taxpayers without an applicable financial statement.

1. Enter a whole dollar amount of 0 or more.
2. Click Save. The button is enabled only when the amount differs from the saved one.

You see “Capitalization threshold set to $” followed by the new amount.

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Review Category Defaults

The Fixed Asset Categories table lists your categories with their defaults: Name, Slug, Useful Life in months, Method, MACRS class, GL Asset, GL Accum Depr, GL Depr Expense, and Actions. Six System categories are created for you the first time the list is read: Equipment, Vehicles, Furniture & Fixtures, Leasehold Improvements, Computer Equipment, and Other. System categories are read-only: they cannot be edited or deleted. When there are no categories yet, the table reads “No categories yet. System defaults will seed automatically on first use. Click Add Category above to create a custom category.” These defaults speed up asset creation, but accounting should still review each asset before placing it in service.

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Add Or Edit A Category

1. Click Add Category, or the edit button on a custom category. The Add Category or Edit Category dialog opens.
2. Enter the Name. The Slug fills in from the name; it must be unique in your company and cannot be changed after the category is created.
3. Enter the Default Useful Life (months).
4. Choose the Default Depreciation Method: Straight-Line, Double-Declining Balance, Sum-of-Years Digits, MACRS, Section 179, Bonus + MACRS, or Units of Production.
5. When the method is MACRS or Bonus + MACRS, choose the Default MACRS Class, from 3-Year (tools) to 39-Year (non-residential real).
6. Choose the Asset Account, the Accumulated Depreciation (contra-asset) account, and the Depreciation Expense account. Each list offers only accounts that fit that role.
7. Optionally add a description.
8. Click Create or Update. The button stays disabled until the category has a name, a slug, a method, a useful life above zero, and, for MACRS methods, a MACRS class.

You see “Category created” or “Category updated”. New categories appear right away in the Add Fixed Asset wizard. Changing a category’s defaults does not change assets that already exist.

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Delete A Category

1. Click the delete button on a custom category.
2. In the Delete Category dialog, click Delete. This cannot be undone.

A category that any fixed asset still uses cannot be deleted; the message says how many assets use it. Move those assets to another category first. System categories cannot be deleted.

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Messages You May See

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What Changes Elsewhere

• Fixed assets: a category’s defaults pre-fill useful life, method, MACRS class, and the three GL accounts in the Add Fixed Asset wizard.
• Vendor bills: with auto-capture on, posting a qualifying bill line creates a pending-service fixed asset. Lines below the threshold are expensed.
• Impairments: with recovery off, recovering a prior impairment is refused.
• Audit trail: creating, editing, and deleting a category is recorded in the Audit Log, and each policy change is recorded with the setting’s old and new value.

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Common Blocks

• Asset was not auto-captured: confirm auto-capture is on, the vendor bill is posted, the line is coded to a fixed-asset GL account, and the line meets the capitalization threshold.
• Wrong depreciation defaults appear: update the category, then review assets created after the change.
• Existing assets did not change: category defaults affect new assets, not existing assets or posted depreciation.
• Edit and delete are disabled on a category: it is a System category, or you are missing accounting.fixed_assets.manage.
• GL account is missing from a list: confirm the account is active and is the right type for that role.

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