About asset transfers—Fixed Assets Management

Transfer an asset to move it between departments, projects, or other dimensions while maintaining accurate records and clear visibility into ownership changes. Unlike editing the asset directly, transferring creates a journal entry in the General Ledger to record the change.

When you transfer an asset, Sage Intacct performs the following actions:

  • Updates the allocation and dimension fields on the asset.

  • Creates journal entries to reflect the asset's new dimensions in the General Ledger, as of the transfer date.

  • Records the transfer on the asset's Transfer history tab.

After transferring, any new asset-related journal entries will use the updated dimensions. Previous journal entries remain unchanged.

The following restrictions apply to transfers:

  • You can only transfer assets that are in the Ready for review or In service states.

  • Transfers between entities are only allowed if both entities use the same base currency and the asset was created at the top level.

Additionally, after an asset is transferred, the following conditions apply:

  • To place an asset in service, the in-service date must be on or after the most recent transfer date.

  • To revert a depreciation posting, it must be dated after the most recent transfer date.

  • To place an asset back in review or delete an asset, all transfers on the asset must be reverted.

  • To dispose of an asset, the disposal date must be after the most recent transfer date.

Learn how to transfer an asset.

Setup

Before you can transfer an asset, define a transfer journal in Fixed Assets Management configuration. The asset must also have an Asset GL account assigned.

Learn how to define a journal for asset transfers.

About the transfer date

When you transfer an asset, you specify a transfer date. This date is used as the posting date for transfer journal entries.

The transfer date must meet the following requirements:

  • Be on or after the acquisition date.

  • Be on or after the most recent transfer date, if any.

  • Be after the most recent partial disposal, if any.

  • Be within an open period.

If the asset is in service, the date must also meet the following requirements:

  • Be on or after the in-service date.

  • Be after the actual posting date of the most recently posted depreciation entry across all schedules (if any).

  • Be before the scheduled posting date of the next not posted depreciation entry across all schedules.

In the following scenario, the valid transfer dates are from December 1st to December 30th.

Example Depreciation schedule
Period Scheduled posting date Actual posting date State
1 August 31st -- Historically posted
2 September 30th -- Historically posted
3 October 31st October 31st Posted
4 November 30th November 30th Posted
5 December 31st -- Not posted

Journal entries for asset transfers

When you transfer an asset, Intacct automatically creates journal entries to update the asset's dimensions and allocation in the General Ledger as of the transfer date. The journal entries created depend on whether the asset has accumulated depreciation, the number of depreciation schedules, and if it's an inter-entity transfer. See the examples below for more details.

The journal entry fields also include the following information from the asset:

  • Posting date: The transfer date of the asset.

  • Description: "Transfer: ID--Name", where "ID--Name" is replaced with the asset's ID and name.

  • Memo: The description field of the asset.

Examples

For assets without accumulated depreciation and non-depreciable assets, Intacct creates a single journal entry in the transfer journal. This entry debits and credits the Asset GL account with the asset cost.

Scenario:

  • Asset cost: $1,000.00

  • Total accumulated depreciation: $0.00

Transfer journal entry:

Transfer journal entries

GL account

 Dimensions Allocation

Debit ($)

Credit ($)
Asset New dimensions New allocation 1,000.00  
Asset Old dimensions Old allocation   1,000.00

For assets with accumulated depreciation, Intacct creates the following journal entries:

  • A journal entry in the transfer journal to debit and credit the Asset GL account with the asset cost.

  • A journal entry for each depreciation schedule to debit and credit the Accumulated depreciation GL account with the total accumulated depreciation for that schedule.

Scenario:

  • Asset cost: $1,000.00

  • Total accumulated depreciation for schedule 1: $150.00

  • Total accumulated depreciation for schedule 2: $55.00

Transfer journal entry:

Transfer journal entries

GL account

 Dimensions Allocation

Debit ($)

Credit ($)
Asset New dimensions New allocation 1,000.00  
Asset Old dimensions Old allocation   1,000.00

Depreciation schedule 1 journal entry:

Depreciation schedule 1 journal entries

GL account

 Dimensions Allocation

Debit ($)

Credit ($)
Accumulated depreciation Old dimensions Old allocation 150.00  
Accumulated depreciation New dimensions New allocation   150.00

Depreciation schedule 2 journal entry:

Depreciation schedule 2 journal entries

GL account

 Dimensions Allocation

Debit ($)

Credit ($)
Accumulated depreciation Old dimensions Old allocation 55.00  
Accumulated depreciation New dimensions New allocation   55.00

If the transfer is inter-entity, the journal entries also include lines to debit and credit the inter-entity payable and receivable accounts. Learn more about inter-entity transactions.

Scenario:

  • Asset cost: $1,000.00

  • Total accumulated depreciation for schedule 1: $150.00

  • Total accumulated depreciation for schedule 2: $55.00

  • Basic inter-entity account mapping plan

Transfer journal entry:

Transfer journal entries

GL account

 Dimensions Allocation

Debit ($)

Credit ($)
Asset New dimensions New allocation 1,000.00  
Asset Old dimensions Old allocation   1,000.00
Inter-entity transfer journal entries

GL account

 Location

Debit ($)

Credit ($)
Inter-entity payable New location   1,000.00
Inter-entity receivable Old location 1,000.00  

Depreciation schedule 1 journal entry:

Depreciation schedule 1 journal entries

GL account

 Dimensions Allocation

Debit ($)

Credit ($)
Accumulated depreciation Old dimensions Old allocation 150.00  
Accumulated depreciation New dimensions New allocation   150.00
Depreciation schedule 1 inter-entity journal entries

GL account

 Location

Debit ($)

Credit ($)
Inter-entity payable New location   150.00
Inter-entity receivable Old location 150.00  

Depreciation schedule 2 journal entry:

Depreciation schedule 2 journal entries

GL account

 Dimensions Allocation

Debit ($)

Credit ($)
Accumulated depreciation Old dimensions Old allocation 55.00  
Accumulated depreciation New dimensions New allocation   55.00
Depreciation schedule 2 inter-entity journal entries

GL account

 Location

Debit ($)

Credit ($)
Inter-entity payable New location   55.00
Inter-entity receivable Old location 55.00  

Transferring between entities and locations

The transfers you can make depend on whether an asset was created at the top level or an entity level.

Transfers between entities are only allowed if both entities use the same base currency and the asset was created at the top level. When an asset is transferred between entities, Sage Intacct automatically creates inter-entity transaction journal entries to reflect the change. See an example of an inter-entity transfer journal entry.

Use the table below as a guide to see which transfers are allowed.

Allowed asset transfers

Asset creation level

 Original location

Allowed transfer locations

Top level

 Entity A

  • A sublocation of Entity A

  • Entity B (with same base currency)

  • A sublocation of Entity B (with same base currency)
A sublocation of entity A

  • Entity A

  • A different sublocation of Entity A
Entity level Entity A

  • A sublocation of Entity A
A sublocation of entity A

  • Entity A

  • A different sublocation of Entity A

Transfer history

After an asset is transferred, a record of the transfer is added to the asset's Transfer history tab. From there, you can drill down to view details about the transfer, including the asset’s previous dimensions and associated journal entries.

Learn how to view the details of an asset transfer.

Reverting an asset transfer

If you make a mistake when transferring an asset, you can revert the transfer.

When you revert a transfer, Sage Intacct performs the following actions:

  • Restores the asset's previously assigned dimensions and allocation

  • Deletes the journal entries associated with the transfer from the General Ledger

  • Removes the transfer record from the asset's transfer history

You can only revert the most recent transfer. To revert an older transfer, first revert each transfer after it, starting with the most recent.

Learn how to revert an asset transfer.