Track capital assets one asset at a time, year over year
The Capital assets worksheet keeps a detailed inventory of each asset on the balance sheet, computes the year's amortization automatically, handles disposals asset by asset, and prepares the adjusting entry. The configuration carries over from one fiscal year to the next: you don't have to re-enter the rates or the accounts.
The worksheet at a glance
The Capital assets page is organized in three tabs that match the three stages of the work:
- Summary: the control view. One table per balance sheet account, with Balance N-1, acquisitions, disposals, computed balance, Balance N from the TB, difference, the year's amortization and status. The preparer reads this tab to spot the differences to explain.
- Details: the input view. Each account opens as a card: the list of assets, and buttons to configure the account, add an opening balance or an acquisition, or dispose of an existing asset.
- Entry: the output view. The amortization and disposals entry is prepared automatically, ready to submit to adjusting entries.
Account configuration (method, rate, linked accounts) and the asset list are stored per client. When you open the next fiscal year, everything is already in place: all that's left is to add the year's acquisitions and dispose of what was sold.
Enable the worksheet
In the engagement's left menu, under WORKSHEETS, click Worksheets, then check Capital assets. Ledger suggests it automatically as soon as it detects a non-zero capital asset account in the TB.
Open the Details tab and configure an account
The first time you use the worksheet on a client, each capital asset account appears with the Configure button and a message: “This account isn't configured yet. Click ‘Configure’ to set the depreciation method, the rate and the linked accounts (accumulated depreciation, expense, gain/loss).”
Ledger doesn't create accounts on the fly. If the accumulated amortization account (for example 1841) isn't in the TB, add it to the trial balance first (“Add a row” button), then come back and configure the capital asset account.
Create opening balances for existing assets
If the client already has capital assets at the beginning of the year, Ledger shows a hint in the account card:
The Create the opening balance button opens the add dialog in Opening balance mode, with the Acquisition cost and the Accumulated depreciation already recorded pre-filled from the TB. Adjust the description and the Original acquisition date (it may be earlier than the current fiscal year), then save. Repeat for each asset if the opening balance groups several items.
Opening balance: an asset that already existed before you started using Ledger. Its accumulated amortization is the amount already booked at that date.
Acquisition: an asset bought during the current fiscal year. Amortization starts at the acquisition date (pro-rated if acquired during the year).
Add the year's acquisitions
In the account card, click Acquisition. Enter the description (for example “Ford F-150 truck, invoice #1234”), the acquisition date (within the current fiscal year) and the cost. Notes are optional.
The Customize the method for this asset panel stays collapsed by default. Open it only if a specific asset must be amortized differently from the rest of the account (for example an asset with a specific residual value, or an asset whose useful life is different).
Dispose of an asset
On the row of the asset to dispose of, click Dispose. The dialog asks for:
- The Disposal date (within the fiscal year).
- The Proceeds on disposal ($0 if the asset was scrapped or given away).
- The Account receiving the proceeds (bank, shareholder loan, receivable…). By default, the engagement's first cash account.
- The Gain/loss on disposal account. It's the same one as in the account's configuration: set it there once and it's reused for all of the account's disposals.
The gain (loss) preview at the bottom of the dialog shows the Acquisition cost, the Accumulated depr. at the beginning of the year, the Depreciation for the year (up to disposal), the Accumulated depr. at disposal, the Net book value, the Proceeds and the Gain (loss). The year's amortization is already pro-rated there up to the disposal date. Click Confirm the disposal to save.
Check the Summary
Go back to the Summary tab. Each account shows a status:
- Balanced: the computed balance (N-1 + acquisitions − disposals) matches Balance N from the TB exactly.
- To explain: there's a difference. Click the row to go straight to the account card in the Details tab and find the source (forgotten acquisition, amount entered incorrectly, rounding in the client's TB).
- Not configured: the method or the linked accounts are missing.
The Show depreciation detail button adds a line under each asset to show the accumulated amortization on its own.
Submit the entry to adjusting entries
On the Entry tab, choose the mode at the top:
- Adjust the difference to the books (selected by default when the accounts have a balance). Accumulated amortization is brought to the prior-year TB balance + the year's amortization − the amount reversed on disposals; the difference goes to amortization expense. Amortization already posted by the bookkeeping or by another entry is therefore taken into account, with nothing to reverse by hand. For an account with a disposal, cost is brought to the prior-year balance + acquisitions − cost written off; the difference goes to the proceeds account (proceeds already charged to cost by the bookkeeping), otherwise to the gain or loss. The Accounts affected table shows the book balance, the adjustment and the balance after the entry.
- Full entry. The year's amortization (with pro-rata on acquisitions), plus disposals (cost write-off, reversal of accumulated amortization, proceeds, gain or loss), assuming nothing is in the books yet.
Click Submit to adjusting entries. The entry goes to Adjusting entries with the description “Depreciation and disposals, Capital assets (via worksheet)”, and the worksheet confirms it with its number. A blue banner then shows it at the top of the tab; submitting again offers to replace it or to keep both.
This message appears when a required account isn't configured yet (accumulated amortization, amortization expense, or gain/loss). Ledger lists exactly what's missing. Open the account's configuration, add what's asked, and come back to the Entry tab: the balancing line is added automatically.
Print for the reviewer
Use the Print button at the top of the page. It opens a printable version you can save as PDF if needed: the Summary of each account, then the asset-by-asset detail, with the columns Description, Acq. date, Cost, Depr. opening, Depr. year, Depr. closing, NBV and Status. The entry isn't included: you view it on the Entry tab and in Adjusting entries. This is what the reviewer or the partner examines at review time. The layout uses the firm's branding (logo, font, accent colour).
Continuity from one year to the next
At year rollover, Ledger automatically brings forward:
- Each account's configuration (method, rate, linked accounts).
- The asset list with its history (past acquisitions, accumulated amortization).
- Disposals stay recorded, but disposed assets drop out of the next year's calculation.
All that's left is to add the new year's acquisitions and disposals.
Frequently asked questions
How do I change the amortization method partway through an asset's life?
Open the asset for editing, go to Customize the method for this asset, and make the change for this asset only. The account's configuration stays unchanged for the other assets.
I deleted an asset by mistake, can I get it back?
No, deletion is permanent. To take an asset out of the calculation without losing its history, use Dispose rather than Delete. A disposal can be reactivated if you recorded it by mistake (Reactivate button).
The Summary shows a difference of a few cents with the TB. What should I do?
It's common: the client's TB contains rounded amortization, while Ledger computes it to the cent. Either adjust the amortization in the TB, or add a top-up asset for a nominal amount. Ledger shows you the exact difference in the Checks & validation section at the top of the Summary.
Can the same asset move to another account over the years?
No. An asset is attached to an account, and the account is mapped to a grouping code. If you need to move an asset to another category, record an “internal” disposal at $0 in the old account, then an opening balance in the new one, keeping the same original acquisition date.
Where do I enter an asset under a capital lease?
In the Capital leases worksheet, not here. The lease already holds the value, the date and the term: on save, it creates the asset in this worksheet's Assets under capital lease category, tagged Capital lease. The asset is read-only here (the arrow opens the lease) and is amortized with the others: over the lease term, or over its useful life if the lease transfers ownership or includes a bargain purchase option. If the lease started before the fiscal year, the opening accumulated amortization is computed from the start of the lease.
When the client buys the asset (option exercised at the end of the term, or early buyout at a negotiated price), record it in the lease's Purchase of the asset section: on the purchase date, the asset moves to the owned asset account with its cost and accumulated amortization (± Transfers line), the difference between the price and the balance of the obligation is added to the cost, then the asset is amortized over its remaining useful life.
What happens if I don't set up the worksheet and post the entry manually?
Nothing breaks. The worksheet simply stays idle. But you lose continuity from year to year: you'll have to rebuild the inventory every fiscal year, and the reviewer won't see the asset detail.