Overview
Assets don't always depreciate quietly to completion — they get sold, written off, impaired, or set up by mistake. This article covers every way an asset leaves (or changes) its normal life, and which action fits which situation.
Which action do I use?
Situation | Action | What happens to posted depreciation |
Draft asset created by mistake | Delete | n/a — nothing posted yet |
Active asset set up by mistake, want to stop it | Cancel | Stays on the books |
Active asset set up wrong, want it fully unwound | Void | All reversed in one journal |
Asset sold | Dispose (Sold) | Cleared as part of the disposal journal |
Asset scrapped, lost, or worthless | Dispose (Written Off) | Cleared as part of the disposal journal |
Asset value changed (impairment or write-up) | Revalue | Untouched — future schedule adjusts |
Disposing an asset
An active or completed asset is disposed from its detail page via the Dispose action.
The form takes:
Disposal Date — can't be before the asset's start date or its latest posted depreciation date
Method — Sold (requires Proceeds and a Cash Account) or Written Off (no proceeds)
Gain/Loss Account — required for both methods
Description — optional; appears on the disposal journal
The disposal journal removes the asset from the books: it credits the Asset Account with the capitalized cost, debits Accumulated Depreciation with the depreciation booked so far, and books the difference:
Sold — debits the Cash Account with the proceeds; the gap between proceeds and net book value goes to the Gain/Loss Account.
Written Off — the remaining net book value goes to the Gain/Loss Account as a loss.
All pending schedule lines are cancelled and the asset moves to disposed.
Disposing in bulk
For something like an annual fleet turnover, select the assets on the Fixed Assets list and use the Dispose bulk action — fill the form once and the same date, method, proceeds, and accounts apply to each asset, which each post their own disposal journal. Only active or completed assets are disposed; anything else selected is skipped.
Note: A bulk Sold disposal requires the selected assets to share one currency. Written Off works across currencies.
Revaluing an asset
An active asset can be written up or down from its detail page via the Revalue action — for example, an impairment.
The form takes:
Revaluation Date — can't be before the start date or the latest posted depreciation date
Adjustment — signed amount added to the asset's total (negative = write-down)
Revaluation Expense Account — the P&L side, e.g. an impairment expense account
Accumulated Revaluation Account — a contra-asset account holding the running revaluation balance, so the Asset Account keeps the original cost
The revaluation posts a journal between those two accounts, updates the asset's Total and Remaining Amounts, and spreads the new remaining base evenly across the pending schedule lines.
Note: A revaluation is rejected if it would drop the asset to or below its salvage value, or leave nothing to depreciate (dispose the asset instead). Completed assets can't be revalued — there are no pending lines left to absorb the change.
Cancelling an asset
Cancel stops future depreciation and keeps everything already posted. All pending lines are marked cancelled, no journals are created or reversed, and the asset moves to cancelled.
Cancel also works when nothing has posted yet — it's how you remove an asset that was activated by mistake, since Delete only covers drafts.
Voiding an asset
Void fully unwinds an active asset that has at least one posted line. It reverses all posted depreciation in a single journal (debit Accumulated Depreciation, credit Depreciation Expense), marks the schedule voided, restores the Remaining Amount, and moves the asset to voided. You choose the posting date for the void journal.
Cancel vs. Void in one line: Cancel keeps booked depreciation on the GL and just stops; Void reverses everything that posted.
Deleting an asset
Only draft assets can be deleted — from the detail page or via row/bulk actions on the list. Configured assets can't be deleted; use Cancel, Void, or Dispose instead, each of which leaves the appropriate audit trail.
Questions about asset disposals or adjustments? Reach out through the chat bubble or at support@softledger.com — happy to help.