Sell, scrap or write off an asset

When an asset leaves the business, record its disposal. Business Sensor takes the asset out of your books, records what you received, and posts the gain or loss: the difference between what you got and its book value.

Before you start

• You need the Journal Entries permission to record a disposal.
• Run depreciation up to the month before the disposal. Business Sensor tells you if a month is missing.
• If you were paid, know which bank or cash account the money went into, or which customer owes it.

Steps

1. Open the asset from Accounting → Fixed Assets and click Sell / scrap / write off.
2. Choose Sold, Scrapped, or Written off (lost, stolen or destroyed, with nothing received).
3. Enter the Date and what you received, if anything. Then choose whether the money was paid into a bank or cash account or the asset was sold on credit to a customer.
4. Leave Charge depreciation for the days it was used this month ticked, so the disposal month's depreciation is included up to the date.
5. Check the summary: cost, depreciation to date, book value, what you received, and the gain or loss.
6. Click Record disposal. The asset is marked Disposed (or Written off) and no longer depreciates.

Tips

• Sold on credit puts the amount on the customer's account. Collect it later with a normal receipt.
• Disposals lists every disposal with its gain or loss.
• Selling for more than book value gives a gain. Selling for less, or writing off, gives a loss.

Common problems

• "Depreciation has not been run for …". Run depreciation for the months before the disposal first.
• "Depreciation is already posted for a month after …". The disposal date is earlier than depreciation already charged. Reverse those runs, or use a later date.
• The button isn't there. The asset is a draft (delete it instead), is already disposed of, or is a desktop asset that hasn't been converted.
• I recorded the wrong disposal. Open the asset and click Reverse disposal, giving a reason. The asset goes back into service and the entries are removed, including that month's depreciation. Then record it again.