Chapter 4

Setting up (administrators)

Books, companies, asset classes, locations, Part 32 rates, tax limits, users and rules.

Setup is where the administrator tells Fixed Assets how your companies work. Do it once, in the order below, before importing anything. You can come back and change most of it later.

The Setup page.
The Setup page.

1. Books you keep

Choose which sets of books the program keeps. Every asset is depreciated separately in each one.

Choosing your books.
Choosing your books.
ChoiceBooksJournal entries come from
GAAP and taxBook (GAAP), Federal tax, IllinoisGAAP
Part 32 and taxRegulatory (Part 32), Federal tax, IllinoisPart 32
GAAP, Part 32 and taxAll fourYour choice
None of theseTick exactly the books you wantYour choice, or none

Click Save. Turning a book off keeps everything already recorded in it; turning it on again picks up where it left off.

Good to know If you turn on a book after assets are already in the system, a yellow message appears with a Set up on existing assets button. Clicking it gives every existing asset settings in the new book from its class, with an opening balance worked out as if the book had always been kept. For Part 32, every account in use needs a rate first (step 5).

The Books card on the Setup page lets you rename a book, add one or change which one feeds the general ledger.

The Books page.
The Books page.

2. Companies

Click Companies, then Add company. Fill in:

A company's settings.
A company's settings.
FieldWhat to enter
Name and short codeThe company name, and a short code such as PVT for reports.
Fiscal year starts inJanuary for a calendar year.
Opening balances as of the end ofThe month-end your spreadsheet figures are as of, usually your last year-end (December 2025). The first month you close will be the month after. This can't be changed once assets are recorded.
Asset number prefix and next numberNew assets are numbered automatically, for example PV-02001, PV-02002. Imported assets keep the numbers from your spreadsheet.
General ledger accountsThe clearing account (offset for additions and removal costs), the proceeds account (cash from sales and salvage) and the intercompany account (transfers between companies). Used only in the journal entries.

To stop using a company, untick Active. Its history is kept.

3. Asset classes

Classes come set up with a starter list of telephone-company categories. Each one has a default method and life for every book, and they follow the IRS telephone asset classes for tax. Open each class you will use and check it.

The list of asset classes and their defaults.
The list of asset classes and their defaults.
Editing a class: Part 32 account, GL accounts and the defaults for each book.
Editing a class: Part 32 account, GL accounts and the defaults for each book.
  • Part 32 account: the regulatory plant account for the class.
  • GL accounts: the asset (cost), accumulated depreciation, depreciation expense and gain/loss accounts used in the journal entries.
  • Default depreciation by book: the method, life, convention and bonus % that a new asset in this class starts with. The preparer can still change them on each asset.
Tip Review the defaults with your CPA before importing. Changing a class later only affects new assets; existing assets keep their own settings.

4. Locations

Exchanges, central offices, buildings, yards. Imports create locations automatically from the spreadsheet, so you may not need to add any by hand.

5. Part 32 accounts and rates

If you keep a Part 32 book, enter the depreciation rate for each plant account you use. Rates apply from the month you give, so a new rate from a later depreciation study only affects later months. A rate for one company replaces the default rate for that company.

Part 32 accounts with their rates.
Part 32 accounts with their rates.

6. Tax year limits

Enter each year's Section 179 limit and phase-out threshold. The tax report compares the year's Section 179 against them. Check the figures with your tax preparer each year.

Section 179 limits by year.
Section 179 limits by year.

7. Users

Click Users, then Add user.

Adding or editing a user.
Adding or editing a user.
  1. Enter their email (used to sign in) and name.
  2. Tick their roles. A person can have more than one, for example Preparer and Approver. Auditors get Viewer only.
  3. Tick the companies they may see. Administrators always see every company.
  4. Enter a temporary password and give it to them in person or by phone. They must change it when they first sign in.
  5. Click Save.
The user list shows each person's roles, companies and status.
The user list shows each person's roles, companies and status.

From a user's page you can also set a new temporary password, Disable the account (they can't sign in, and their history is kept), Reset two-factor if they lose their phone, or Unlock them after too many wrong passwords.

8. Sign-in and approval rules

The sign-in setting.
The sign-in setting.
  • Require two-factor sign-in: on, everyone sets up an authenticator app. Off, a password is enough. When turning it off you can also remove the app from everyone who set one up. If you turn it off, keep the site reachable only from your office and VPN.
  • Allow people to approve their own entries: off by default, so a second person always approves. Turn it on only if your team is too small to work that way; self-approved items are marked in the audit log and the change log.

What next

With Setup done, bring in each company's spreadsheet: see Importing your spreadsheet.