Fixed Assets depreciation overstated or negative Net Book Value

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We are coming up on the time of the year where we see an influx of cases around Fixed Assets with a problem of overstated depreciation, or assets with a negative book value.

This issue is usually caused by either closing the Fixed Asset year before all assets are depreciated to the last day of the year or a combination of running the Fixed Asset year end close too early and then flipping the year back in the Fixed Asset Book setup. When this occurs, there are a few options dependent upon the situation.

Option 1:
If the Year End close in the year with the overstated depreciation has not been run, a Reset Year can be run against all the assets.

Option 2:
If the year has been closed in which the depreciation was overstated, they can run a Reset Life against all the assets.

In both Option 1 or 2 the following article can be helpful:

861544 - How to reset the life of an asset or of a group of assets in Fixed Asset Management in Microsoft Dynamics GP
https://mbs.microsoft.com/knowledgebase/KBDisplay.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;861544

We should also, recommend that they test the outcome in a test company first per KB 871973 and have their financial people check the numbers.

871973 How to set up a test company that has a copy of live company data by using SQL Server 7.0, SQL Server 2000, or SQL Server 2005
https://mbs.microsoft.com/knowledgebase/KBDisplay.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;871973

Option 3:
In some cases, running a Reset Life or even a Reset Year may not be desirable. This is particularly true for customers that may have recently started using the Fixed Asset module and added in assets with depreciation already on them. In this scenario, the ‘Reset’ will most likely not calculate the depreciation the same as their previous Fixed Asset system.

If neither Option 1 or 2 are acceptable, Microsoft Support can resolve this through a data fixing service.

In all of these situations, we should reinforce the proper method for closing the Fixed Asset year. If the problem was caused or potentially caused by changing the year value in the Book setup, I also recommend that they restrict access to the Fixed Asset Book setup window as flipping the year value is not supported past setup.

865653 The year-end closing procedures for the Fixed Asset Management module in Microsoft Dynamics GP and in Microsoft Great Plains
https://mbs.microsoft.com/knowledgebase/KBDisplay.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;865653

 

Enjoy!
Ken H.