Joy Pilot makes managing your assets straightforward by automating key accounting processes, including depreciation calculations, relevant tax allowances, and asset sales. In this article, you’ll learn how to add new assets, customise depreciation settings, and sell or dispose of assets quickly and easily, ensuring accurate accounting records and saving you valuable time.
Navigating to Assets
To manage your assets, start by accessing the Assets section:
From the top grey bar, click Business.
From the dropdown menu, select Assets.
This takes you directly into the Assets area, where you can then manage your records easily.
1. Adding an Asset
Recording an asset in Joy Pilot is quick and simple—it's similar to entering an expense but specifically tailored to accurately track your business assets.
To add a new Asset:
To add a new asset, fill in the following fields in the ‘Add an Asset’ section:
Asset Name – Provide a clear, easily identifiable description.
Purchase Date – Enter the date you acquired the asset.
Purchase Amount – The total price you paid for the asset, including any applicable taxes.
Currency – Select the currency used for the asset purchase.
Who Paid – Specify if it was paid for by the company, or by an individual.
Billable – Indicate if the asset should be billed to a client (it will automatically attach to the next invoice for that client).
Category – Select the appropriate asset group:
Inventory: Items intended for resale.
Land and Buildings: Real estate properties.
Plant and Machinery: Common items such as laptops, desks, chairs, printers (most common; depreciation and capital allowances will automatically be applied).
Motor Vehicles: Vehicles such as cars (depreciation and capital allowances will automatically be applied).
Investments: Financial investments, like term deposits or purchasing other companies.
You can optionally attach relevant documents or add annotations for additional clarity.
Once finished, click Save.
Joy Pilot automatically assigns depreciation and tax allowance settings based on your country’s regulations.
If you'd like to understand how depreciation and tax allowances work in more detail, visit this guide →
2. Depreciation and Capital Allowances
Upon adding an asset, Joy Pilot automatically applies depreciation according to your country's accounting requirements. By default, a 3-year depreciation period is applied, but you can customise this:
Select the asset to update.
Click the cog icon to open depreciation settings.
Adjust the asset's book life period according to your needs (e.g., 3 years to 5 years).
Click Save—Joy Pilot instantly recalculates your depreciation schedule.
Once you’ve successfully added an asset, Joy Pilot immediately applies depreciation settings appropriate to your country's accounting requirements.
3. Selling an Asset
If you’re selling or disposing of an asset, Joy Pilot makes it easy to record your transaction. Simply:
Go into the Asset section and select the asset you're selling.
Next to Disposal, click the 'Add' button, and enter the Sale Date and Sale Amount to record the transaction accurately.
Click Save.
Joy Pilot automatically takes care of all the necessary accounting entries, making sure your records remain accurate.
4. Managing Assets
You can easily update or adjust asset records:
Edit an Asset – Change details such as the asset category, supplier name, or purchase price. At the bottom of the edit field, there is also a link 'Convert to an Expense'. If you mistakenly record a small item (such as a stapler) as an asset, you can quickly convert it to an expense without re-entering details or needing to delete the original entry.
Delete an Asset – Remove an asset entirely if entered incorrectly or no longer needed.
5. Asset Locking and Restrictions
Once an asset is included in your financial records for the first time, there are restrictions on what can be edited:
The sales tax portion becomes locked once the asset is included in the most recent sales tax return.
All asset details are locked once they have been included in a set of annual accounts prepared for your company.
After locking, you can only adjust depreciation or capital allowance rates for future periods. For example, if depreciation spans three years and the asset is locked after the first year, adjustments can still be made for the second and third years until those periods are included in your annual accounts, after which they also become locked.
Summary
Once your assets are added, Joy Pilot takes care of everything automatically, ensuring seamless asset management. It applies appropriate depreciation based on your selected asset lifespan, calculates relevant allowances or adjustments according to local accounting practices, and manages accurate bookkeeping entries when assets are sold or disposed of.
This automation saves you time while ensuring your financial records remain accurate, complete, and compliant with minimal effort.
For more insights on managing your accounts, explore these helpful guides:
Generating Financial Reports in Joy Pilot
Understanding a Balance Sheet