> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nyumbazetu.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Assets

> Register fixed assets, run depreciation, and track maintenance schedules and work orders against them.

**Finance → Accounting → Assets → `/assets`**

The asset register holds the things you own that have a useful life: generators, lifts, pumps,
vehicles, boreholes, plant, furniture. It serves two purposes at once — an accounting record that
depreciates, and an operational record that gets maintained.

## What an asset record holds

| Section                            | Fields                                                                                                     |
| ---------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Basic information**              | Asset name, asset code, description, status                                                                |
| **Asset classification**           | Asset type, asset category, parent asset                                                                   |
| **Acquisition details**            | Cost, currency, acquired date, manufacturer, model                                                         |
| **Depreciation & accounting**      | Depreciation method, depreciation start, depreciation periods, current book value, ledger account settings |
| **Location information**           | Location, organisation and branch                                                                          |
| **Assignment**                     | Who the asset is assigned to                                                                               |
| **Lease information**              | Where the asset is attached to a leased unit                                                               |
| **Attributes / technical details** | Specification data                                                                                         |
| **Notes and metadata**             | Free text and system fields                                                                                |

**Parent asset** lets you model a component hierarchy — a lift's controller as a child of the lift
— so costs and maintenance roll up sensibly.

## Registering an asset

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create the asset">
    Name, code, type and category. Codes should be stable and printed on the physical asset where
    practical.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Record the acquisition">
    Cost, currency, acquisition date, manufacturer and model. The cost is the depreciation base.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the location and assignment">
    Where it physically is, and who is responsible for it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure depreciation">
    Method, start date, number of periods, and the ledger accounts depreciation posts to.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Attach documents">
    Invoice, warranty, manuals, compliance certificates.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Depreciation

| Field                        | Meaning                                                  |
| ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Depreciation method**      | How the charge is calculated each period.                |
| **Depreciation start**       | When depreciation begins — often later than acquisition. |
| **Depreciation periods**     | The asset's depreciable life in periods.                 |
| **Opening / closing value**  | Book value at the start and end of a period.             |
| **Current book value**       | Cost less accumulated depreciation to date.              |
| **Accumulated depreciation** | The total charged so far.                                |
| **Depreciation history**     | Every period's charge, with the journal it posted.       |
| **Auto post**                | Whether the periodic charge posts automatically.         |
| **Journal ID**               | The posted journal for a period's charge.                |

Depreciation posts to the ledger accounts configured on the asset, so it appears in the profit &
loss as an expense and reduces the asset's carrying value on the balance sheet.

<Warning>
  Check the ledger account settings before enabling auto-post. An asset depreciating into the wrong
  account produces a P\&L that is wrong every month until someone notices.
</Warning>

## Maintenance

Assets carry an operational side as well:

| Feature                      | Purpose                                                           |
| ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Maintenance schedule**     | Cadence, next due date, last completed, estimated cost, priority. |
| **Checklist / instructions** | What the maintenance task involves.                               |
| **Work orders**              | The jobs raised against the asset.                                |
| **Meter readings**           | Readings against metered assets, with reading details.            |
| **Costs**                    | What has been spent on the asset.                                 |

This is what turns the register from a depreciation schedule into something operations actually
uses: a due-maintenance list that a technician can work from, with history attached to the asset
rather than to a person's memory.

## Asset categories

Categories group assets for reporting and for setting consistent depreciation treatment. Define
them before bulk-registering assets — retro-fitting categories across a populated register is
tedious.

## Reviewing the register

<Steps>
  <Step title="Verify existence annually">
    Walk the register against the physical estate. Assets disposed of but not retired inflate the
    balance sheet.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check depreciation is running">
    An asset with a start date in the past and no depreciation history is not posting.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check maintenance is due, not overdue">
    Next-due dates in the past mean the schedule is decorative.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Reconcile to the balance sheet">
    Total book value should agree with the asset accounts.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Common problems

| Symptom                                     | Cause                                                                                                              |
| ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Asset shows no depreciation                 | Depreciation start not set, periods not configured, or auto-post off.                                              |
| Book value does not match the balance sheet | Ledger account settings point at the wrong accounts, or manual journals were posted to the asset accounts.         |
| Maintenance never appears as due            | No cadence set on the schedule.                                                                                    |
| Duplicate assets                            | Registered at acquisition and again at a stock take. Retire one; do not delete an asset with depreciation history. |