Create a fixed asset

Every durable asset the company acquires must appear in the register with its value, its accounts and its depreciation settings. By the end of this page, you will know how to create a fixed asset, record its acquisition at the same time, put an asset under construction into service and create a record from an accounting voucher.

Prerequisites

• The Administrator, CFO or Accountant role.
• The acquisition fiscal year selected and open (not closed).
• Your country’s depreciation periods filled in the rate tables: see Depreciation schedules & charges →.
• For an acquisition from a supplier: the supplier created, with its supplier account.

Create an asset from the register

1. Open the form

   Menu Assets → Fixed assets, Assets tab, New button. The New fixed asset panel opens.

2. Identification

   Enter the Designation (required), a Reference and a Description if needed, then choose the Category. The DGI preset line shows that category’s rate table; the Apply button copies its method and duration.

3. SYSCOHADA accounts

   Choose the Fixed asset account (class 2, detail account) and the depreciation Generation frequency (monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual). The Advanced accounts section lists the other accounts; left empty, they are set automatically (see below).

4. Values

   Enter the Gross value: the purchase cost excluding recoverable VAT, transport, installation and duties included. Add a Residual value if the asset keeps a value at the end of its use; it must stay below the gross value. Fill in the Acquisition date and, if different, the Service date.

5. Accounting

   The Record the acquisition now box is ticked by default. Choose the acquisition mode (see the next section).

6. Economic depreciation

   Choose the Method (Straight-line, Declining-balance or Non-depreciable) and the Duration (months). For declining-balance, a Coefficient between 1 and 3 is required. A Schedule preview shows the first instalments.

7. Save

   Click Save. The asset receives a register number and its depreciation schedule is computed.

Tax depreciation and recovery

Two collapsed sections complete the form. DGI tax depreciation enables a second schedule under tax rules, and derogatory depreciation (amortissement dérogatoire), which records the gap between the two (see the accounts box below). Recovery import is used to enter the depreciation already recorded on an asset acquired before you started using SynkriaOps: see Take over an existing asset base →.

Record the acquisition

The question asked is: How was this asset acquired?

Mode	What SynkriaOps records
Supplier invoice	A supplier invoice, created and posted to the purchases journal: the asset debited to its account, the debt credited to the supplier’s account 4812 (or 4811 for an intangible asset). See below.
Other counterpart	An entry in the Fixed assets journal: the asset debited, the chosen counterpart credited (bank 521, cash 571, fixed-asset supplier 481…).

Tick Recoverable VAT on this purchase and enter the VAT rate to record the VAT in account 4451 (recoverable VAT on fixed assets). Without a rate, no VAT is recorded. More options lets you choose the Entry date (by default, the acquisition date) and, in supplier mode, the Supplier invoice number.

Asset already in the general ledger

Untick Record the acquisition now if the acquisition is already in the books (carried in opening balances, invoice already entered). With no acquisition entry and no sufficient balance on the asset’s account, this asset’s depreciation will not be generated.

You can also record it later: on the record of an asset marked Not linked to the ledger, the Post acquisition entry button opens the same choice, with Preview then Post entry. If your company has enabled an approval workflow for this action, the posting goes to approval and no entry is recorded before the approval.

The debt on an asset: accounts 4811 and 4812

Under SYSCOHADA, what you owe for buying a fixed asset is not an ordinary supplier debt (401): it is a debt to a capital-goods supplier, in account 4812 for a tangible asset, 4811 for an intangible asset (accounts 21). SynkriaOps separates it automatically, without creating a second supplier.

When a supplier invoice contains class 2 lines:

• the “asset” part (net amount and VAT of those lines) is credited to 4812 or 4811;
• the rest of the invoice (expenses, supplies) stays in 401;
• both lines carry the same supplier; their 481… sub-account is created with the first invoice concerned, with the same ending as their 401 number.

Example: an invoice of 1,800,000 XAF including equipment of 1,200,000 XAF and supplies of 600,000 XAF (amounts including VAT) gives 1,200,000 in 4812 and 600,000 in 401.

Payments are split between the two debts in proportion to what remains due; the last payment settles each one exactly, with no rounding difference. In the example, a first payment of 900,000 XAF pays 600,000 on 4812 and 300,000 on 401. Matching, the payment schedule, the supplier profile, the subsidiary balances and the general ledger read both accounts together.

Values fixed by the invoice

A record linked to an invoice can no longer change its gross value, its account or its acquisition date: they come from the invoice.

Accounts set automatically

Role	Default account
Accumulated depreciation	28 followed by the end of the asset account number
Depreciation expense	The expense account of the category’s rate table
Disposal by sale	812
Sale proceeds	822
Disposal by write-off	813
Derogatory (if enabled)	145, 6872 and 7872

If one of these accounts does not exist in your chart of accounts, SynkriaOps creates it. You can set others in Advanced accounts.

Choose the revised SYSCOHADA accounts

Several default accounts do not exist in the revised SYSCOHADA chart of accounts. Set them in Advanced accounts:

Role	SYSCOHADA account
Derogatory depreciation	151 (instead of 145)
Derogatory charge	851 Charges to regulated provisions (instead of 6872)
Derogatory write-back	861 Write-backs of regulated provisions (instead of 7872)
Disposal by write-off	812 for a tangible asset (813 does not exist)
Sale of an intangible asset	811 and 821 (instead of 812 and 822)

Put an asset under construction into service

An asset created in the Asset under construction category (account 23) gets the Under acquisition status and is not depreciated.

1. Open the asset’s record, or use the Put into service icon on its register row.

2. Fill in the Service date, the Final account (21x-25x), different from account 23, the Economic method, the Duration (months) and, optionally, the tax method and duration.

3. Click Put into service. SynkriaOps transfers the value from account 23 to the final account, sets the asset to Active and computes its schedule.

Create a record from an accounting voucher

When an accounting voucher or a supplier invoice contains a line on a fixed-asset account (class 2, excluding 28 and 29), a One line corresponds to a fixed asset box appears below its lines, with a Create button. The record created takes over the designation, the value and the account, and stays linked to the voucher.

This record starts with the To complete status: it appears in the register and in the reconciliation, but has no depreciation schedule and generates no depreciation.

The asset record

Tab	Content
Identification	Designation, category, values, dates, accounts and depreciation settings, financing (own funds, loan, finance lease, grant, contribution in kind) and its reference, editable with Edit.
Depreciation	The schedule (economic, tax and derogatory tracks), Print schedule, and impairments.
Journal entries	The acquisition entry and posted depreciation, with Cancel entry.
Assignment	Site, department, service, office, holder, location, and physical characteristics (brand, model, serial number, registration…).
Attachments	Up to 10 PDF, JPEG or PNG supporting documents of 10 MB maximum.
History	Every action traced: creation, edit, putting into service, depreciation, disposal.
Comments	Discussion threads with mentions of colleagues.

The Print button produces the asset record.

Fields locked after posting

As soon as a depreciation is posted or an acquisition entry exists, the accounting fields (category, accounts, values, dates, method, duration) are locked. Assignment and physical characteristics remain editable. A record with a posted depreciation can no longer be deleted: it is disposed of.

Common errors

Message	Cause	Solution
Account … does not belong to class 2 (assets)	Account chosen outside fixed assets	Choose a 2x detail account.
Residual value must be strictly less than gross value	Residual value too high	Lower the residual value.
Fiscal year … is closed	Acquisition fiscal year closed	Select an open fiscal year.
Supplier … has no supplier account	Incomplete supplier record	Complete the record, or choose Other counterpart.
No recoverable VAT on fixed assets account (4451) in the chart of accounts	Account missing from the chart	Create account 4451, or record without VAT.
Serial number … already belongs to record…	Duplicate serial number	Check the asset is not already in the register.

See also

• Depreciation schedules & charges →
• Recording a supplier invoice →
• Validation-rules engine (approval) →