What is a Fixed Asset in Business Central?

A long-lived asset tracked on a Fixed Asset Card in Business Central, with depreciation books controlling how acquisition and depreciation are posted.

A fixed asset in Business Central is equipment, a vehicle, a building, or any other long-lived asset tracked on a Fixed Asset Card. The card carries the FA posting group, which maps the asset to G/L accounts for acquisition cost, accumulated depreciation, depreciation expense, and gains or losses on disposal.

Every fixed asset has one or more depreciation books. A book defines the depreciation method (Straight-Line, Declining-Balance 1 or 2, DB1/SL, user-defined, or manual), the starting date, and the useful life. Only books with G/L integration post to the general ledger; a second book without integration is commonly used for tax depreciation rules that differ from the accounting ones.

Acquisition cost is usually posted from a purchase invoice with line type Fixed Asset and FA posting type Acquisition Cost, so the vendor invoice and the asset stay linked. Depreciation is then calculated by the Calculate Depreciation batch job, which creates lines in the FA G/L Journal for review before posting, typically monthly or yearly.

Disposal is posted through the FA G/L Journal with FA posting type Disposal; BC derives the book value and posts the gain or loss automatically. The FA ledger entries keep the complete history per asset and per depreciation book, which makes the asset register auditable at any point in time.

Related terms

• General Ledger, The core accounting record in Business Central where all financial transactions are ultimately posted and stored.
• Chart of Accounts, The structured list of general ledger accounts in Business Central that categorizes all financial transactions.
• Purchase Invoice, A document recording a vendor's bill for goods or services received, used for accounts payable processing in Business Central.
• Posting Group, Setup records in Business Central that determine which G/L accounts a transaction is posted to, based on who and what is involved.

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