Welcome to Fixed Assets
AxisSynapse Fixed Assets is the capitalized property module — every piece of equipment, furniture, vehicle, building, software license, or leasehold improvement that crosses the workspace's capitalization threshold lives here. The module exists because the financial close requires a defensible depreciation expense each period, the auditor needs the asset register that ties to the GL, and operations needs to know what's where, who's responsible, and when it's due for maintenance or replacement.
TL;DR — Open Fixed Assets → Register for the current asset list. New assets land via Acquisitions (from Procurement or manual). Depreciation runs each period via Month-end close. Disposals + impairments are their own flows that end the asset's life on the books.
What the module covers
| Field | What it does | Accepted values / default |
|---|---|---|
| Asset register | The master record of every capitalized asset. | Covered in [Asset lifecycle](/fixed-assets/asset-lifecycle). |
| Depreciation | Per-period expense recognition across the useful life. | Covered in [Depreciation and month-end close](/fixed-assets/depreciation-and-month-end-close). |
| Impairment + disposals | Ending an asset's life on the books — sale, scrap, total loss, impairment write-down. | Covered in [Impairment and disposals](/fixed-assets/impairment-and-disposals). |
| Maintenance + custody | Tracking who has it, where it is, and when it's serviced. | Threaded through the asset record; not a standalone surface. |
| Leases (ROU assets) | Right-of-use assets under ASC 842 / IFRS 16. | Same register; lease-classification fields drive the unique posting + reassessment behavior. |
The three audiences
| Field | What it does | Accepted values / default |
|---|---|---|
| Asset accountant | Acquires, depreciates, impairs, disposes. | Full UI. Owns the financial side. |
| Property / facilities manager | Tracks custody, location, maintenance, condition. | Operational surfaces; can update custody + location without finance access. |
| Auditor | Reconciles asset register to GL; tests depreciation; tests existence + valuation. | Read-only export of the register at point in time + the period's roll-forward. |
Capital vs expense
Not every purchase is a fixed asset. The workspace's capitalization policy sets the threshold (commonly $1,000 / $2,500 / $5,000 per unit, sometimes higher for de minimis safe-harbor tax purposes). Items under threshold expense immediately; items at or above threshold capitalize and depreciate.
The module enforces the threshold on acquisition: a Procurement receipt below threshold expenses through Procurement's GL; at or above threshold creates a candidate asset record for the asset accountant to confirm.
Where to start
- New to the module? Asset lifecycle covers the acquisition → in-service → ongoing → disposal arc.
- Running the monthly close? Depreciation and month-end close.
- Writing down or disposing of an asset? Impairment and disposals.
How Fixed Assets pairs with other modules
- Procurement raises the PO + receives the asset — the asset record is created automatically when the receipt crosses capitalization threshold. See Procurement → Purchase orders.
- Inventory never holds capital items long-term — when a capital purchase is received into inventory by accident, the asset reclassification flow moves it correctly.
- HCM owns the custodians; assigning custody pulls from the HCM directory.
Common gotchas
- "This is the same asset under a different name." Asset numbers (your tag numbers) must be unique. If you're seeing ghosts, it's probably the same asset re-recorded after a retire-and-reacquire — merge or reverse the duplicate.
- "Depreciation looks wrong for this asset." Check the in-service date, the useful life, and the method. The number is mechanical given those three; the inputs are where errors live.
- "The audit needs an existence test." The custody + location fields are the existence test; a periodic physical asset count matches them against reality. Don't wait for the audit to run the count.
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