Chapter 14

Glossary

The words used in this manual and in the program.

Term	Meaning
Accumulated depreciation	The total depreciation taken on an asset so far.
ADS	The Alternative Depreciation System: straight-line over longer IRS lives.
Approver	A person who approves entries and closes months.
Asset class	A category of asset that sets the default depreciation and GL accounts.
Basis	The amount being depreciated in a book, usually the cost.
Batch	A group of assets imported together and approved together.
Bonus depreciation	A federal tax deduction of a percentage of cost in the first year.
Book	A set of depreciation figures for one purpose: GAAP, federal tax, state tax, Part 32.
Catch-up	A month's posting that includes depreciation for earlier months.
Change	Any approved alteration to an active asset: disposal, transfer, adjustment.
Closed month	A month whose depreciation has been posted. It can't change.
Convention	The rule for how much depreciation the first and last periods get.
Draft	An entry that has been saved but not submitted for approval.
Group method	Part 32 depreciation at an account's rate, with retirements charged to the reserve.
Impairment	A write-down of an asset's value below its book value.
Ledger	The record of every entry an asset has made in each book.
MACRS	The federal tax depreciation system.
Net book value	Cost minus accumulated depreciation.
Open month	The month currently being worked on for a company.
Opening balance	Cost and accumulated depreciation brought over from the old spreadsheet.
Part 32	The FCC Uniform System of Accounts for telephone companies.
Partial retirement	Retiring part of an asset while the rest stays in service.
Preparer	A person who enters assets and changes.
Reserve	In Part 32, the accumulated depreciation of an account.
Rollforward	A report from beginning to ending balance with every movement in between.
Section 179	A federal election to expense the cost of qualifying property in the first year.
Viewer	A read-only user, usually an auditor.