How does Fixed Asset handle partial asset retirements

Hi Everyone!

In the last month, I have had a number of cases regarding Fixed Asset partial retirements and how  Dynamics GP handles the amount retired so I thought I would share for those others having similar questions.  Some questions have included:

• I retired part of the asset, but why do I not see a gain/loss on the asset when completing GL Posting?
• I retired an asset years ago and deleted it, but why is the asset still in Fixed Assets?
• Why are there two asset ID’s for the same asset when we do not use multiple asset suffix?

When users perform a partial retirement of an asset, Fixed Assets creates a new asset using the exact same Asset ID, but with the next unused suffix number for that asset.  This new asset contains the retirement portion and is then retired.  The original asset is then updated with the amount which remains. 

 Below is an example with some screen shots that I hope will answer questions users have with partial asset retirements.

 Here, I am going to use Asset ID 00017 -1, which is an asset in the Fabrikam, Inc. company.   You will notice that the original cost is $15,000.00 and has already had some depreciation taken.

 Let’s say for whatever reason, part of this asset is no longer usable or something happened to it.   So, we do a partial retirement of 20% or $3,000.00 to the asset for a casualty type and process it.

Once the retirement has been completed, you will notice the original asset of 00017-1 has been updated to the cost of $12,000.00 and some of the values have been recalculated. 

Now, if you look at the assets in your Asset Book Inquiry, you will notice you have a second Asset ID of 00017, but this one has a suffix of 2, making the new Asset ID of 00017-2.  When you look at this new asset, you will see the $3,000.00 retirement portion.  You will also see the status of the asset shows as retired.

When it comes time to posting the retirement to the General Ledger, you need to make sure that you select both assets, 00017-1 and 00017-2.  Here, you will see that asset 00017-2 is selected and this is where any gain/loss will be recognized if applicable. 

Also, in your asset lookup windows, you will see the Asset ID listed twice but with a different suffix number, 1 and 2. 

Remember the calculations for this asset are based on the Fabrikam, Inc. asset setup and yours may be different based on your specific setup.  If you are doing partial retirements and want to see what the results will be, we always recommend testing it in a test environment/company first. 

I hope this information is helpful in answering some of those questions regarding how partial asset retirements are processed, why you are seeing multiple Asset ID lines, where the gain/loss is recorded or what asset ID to select in the Fixed Asset module of Dynamics GP.

Thank you,

Janelle Montplaisir

Microsoft Dynamics GP Support