Quickbooks 2019 Tutorial for Beginners - How to Use the Fixed Asset Item List

QBUniversity.org - In this Quickbooks 2019 tutorial for beginners I walk through how to use the fixed asset item list.
This essentially replaces the Fixed Asset Manager and is a great tool to record and track your fixed assets you use in your business.
In this video I walk through what a fixed asset is, how to set it up in the Fixed Asset Item List, and then how to record it in your books (be careful with this part because just recording it in the Fixed Asset Item List can mess you up).
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[@Mymusicfmw33]

Thank you! I discovered the fixed asset list today. As a newly opened business, I have many fixed assets to track (copier, laptops, furniture, etc.). Thanks again.

[@QbuniversityOrg]

MS Cellaneous you’re welcome

[@thatsylishbabe4572]

@@QbuniversityOrg thank you, just discovered your channel, started using quickbooks for my business, how to add assets opening balance, please not I bought them last year before I started using quickbooks.

[@franciscoortiz6217]

Great tutorials, Concise and clearly explained.

[@QbuniversityOrg]

Thanks!

[@SyedFidaAliShah]

Thank you for helping me out sir...

[@QbuniversityOrg]

You’re very welcome!

[@kristinford7431]

Thank you for this information. I was wondering why the assests weren't in the account. How do I document the "transaction" if the assets for obtained during a transfer of assets when business split?

[@elliesvideos2507]

Good video! Thanks! Here's a question if I have assets purchased before the business started with my money - After I enter them on the fixed assets item list do I also enter them in the chart of accounts in the fixed assets book as a debit and then credit the Opening balance equity? Thanks!

[@zubairusman2544]

Hi. Great information. But need to ask you when you say that Cost we must take sales tax and any shipping charges. I think when we are purchasing we must include withholding charges. Correct me if I am wrong. Please advise

[@lesly411]

Question 1 How do I record it as an "item" in a journal entry? Computer and printer purchase and paid with owners personal credit card for the new business . I will "credit" share holder distribution (as this will not be reimbursed for him) And what will I "debit" ? Question 2 There were '2 cell phones" and a "hot spot" purchased are these entered as equipment too FA? The down payment given came from personal credit card and monthly payments will come together with the phone bill.

[@anthonypaccione188]

So it’s not recorded until you match the payment to the asset? I bought equipment and my accountant told me to make a liability account and put the payment towards that. After the account is zero and fully paid, I don’t know what to do because if I make an asset account the payments went to the liabilities. Also I started a new quickbooks 2 years ago and I don’t know how to record my assets because I’m not matching payments to them so what I bought 4 years ago, I don’t know how to record them. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[@Rofida-S7u]

Thanks alot but Can I make fixed asset item sub of another item????

[@jamesmiringu8114]

it was of much help . is there a way to input fixed depreciation charges. thanks

[@QbuniversityOrg]

You can create the monthly journal entry then memorize it to automatically enter

[@daisydiaz1107]

Thank you for this! Question would be can you get the fixed asset to reflect your books without the check being written? Because if it is written then it would become a problem when doing the reconciliation because it never came out of the checkings accounts

[@QbuniversityOrg]

Yep, I am assuming you mean if you finance the asset purchase? Yes, you can, you would have to record the net amount of the check and the liability on the Expense tab as a negative amount.

[@impactodelsurenterprise2440]

Can you please explain in details on that last sentence?

[@johntedesco6128]

I get the concept of tracking fixed assets so you can track the companie's overall value. I have a digital marketing agency so I don't purchase a lot of equipment regularly however we have some pretty expensive equipment purchased in the past year. How would I go through and add them to my brand new quickbooks file for 2020 if I paid for them last year with an account that I no longer have?

[@QbuniversityOrg]

Well, ideally you would add that account that you no longer have to your QB file and add all the transactions that were in that account while you had it so you capture all of the expenses.

[@danatavares2038]

Thanks for the video. How do I track fixed assets that I expense? Will the value show up on a balance sheet even though it’s been assigned to a expense account when I record the payment?

[@QbuniversityOrg]

Do you mean expense as in put straight to an expense account or section 179/bonus?

[@velaterraceshotelaccountin943]

Thanks for the video. How could I expense asset in the Income Statement?

[@QbuniversityOrg]

Well if its small enough you would just put it in an expense account, but if you are talking about depreciation then you would need to enter the depreciation through a journal entry

[@stanleydueck4904]

Thanks for the video! I am starting to use quick books for my company and I already have a lot of fixed assets that I still need to record in quickbooks. How do I add those without messing up my bank accounts? The assets are payed for already from before I used quikbooks desktop

[@QbuniversityOrg]

You will have to do journal entries to get those on the books. You will have to debit the asset account and credit an equity account

[@stanleydueck4904]

Thanks for your response, yes I did the journal entries, in my balance sheet it shows, my accumulated depreciation and the fixed asset item shows as well, but in my Fixed Asset List as in this video 6:40, It's all blanks. How do you get those numbers to show?

[@paragoninvestmentscorp2811]

If you purchase a computer with a 3 year service plan do you account for the service plan separately?

[@QbuniversityOrg]

I would add it as part of the cost

[@EvolvedApe]

What about fixed assets that are tied to contracts? We lease copier machines.

[@QbuniversityOrg]

Should be no difference except maybe you want to enter the Contract Number in with each asset

[@lexilin3574]

Thank you. How do you add a fixed asset when you put down a deposit of 5k and the remainder of 20k is to be paid in 8 weeks. So the full price is 25k . That would be the opening balance equity and then rest is shown as a loan payable. Just having and issue accounting for the down payment

[@QbuniversityOrg]

You would still put the full amount of the purchase on the Item tab for the fixed asset and on the expense tab you split the transaction between the cash spent and the loan

[@lexilin3574]

@@QbuniversityOrg Thank you. I see the issue now is I’m in QB pro 2021 so it’s a bit different

[@QbuniversityOrg]

@@lexilin3574 you’re welcome!

[@timbaker6108]

Mat, I notice on the Fixed Asset Item List you show accumulated depreciation and book value. How were you able to do this? I don't see where I can associate an item to a Journal Entry.

[@QbuniversityOrg]

Unfortunately I believe this is only available in the Premier Accountant Edition and Enterprise. The Fixed Asset Manager is still in those versions, so when you add in the FA Item, it calculates depreciation for you and enters it with the Item.

[@timbaker6108]

@@QbuniversityOrg I have Desktop 2019. Thought so..arrrg. Is there any way you can think of to record depreciation expense using the Fixed Asset Item created as you did when you recorded the purchase (write check)? I notice that in the Fixed Asset Item List I can add a Book Value column.

[@QbuniversityOrg]

@@timbaker6108 Not in the regular versions of QB. I did just do a video though (yesterday I uploaded it - most recent video) on recording depreciation. It's a bit manual but you can set it up using Memorized Journal Entries so you can set it and forget it

[@timbaker6108]

@@QbuniversityOrg Saw it and that is how I do it as well. Simple, but does not track individual asset book value. C'est la vie.

[@QbuniversityOrg]

@@timbaker6108 yeah I know...we use a 3rd party fixed asset software with all of our clients...

[@CricketVideos678]

how to record three similar fixed assets like three laptops?

[@QbuniversityOrg]

If they are each under $2500 I would just expense them as Office Supplies. Otherwise you can add them in the Fixed Asset list as well to track them

[@michaelcarmack4087]

Great help. But what if you where trading in a car and need to pay off a fixed asset

[@QbuniversityOrg]

You would have to treat that as a sale of the vehicle traded in and the purchase of the new asset

[@stephenlinton7178]

What about the tax when you write the cheque?

[@QbuniversityOrg]

the tax goes into the cost basis of the asset

[@stephenlinton7178]

@@QbuniversityOrg So you dont account for the tax when creating a fixed asset even though when paying from the chequing account it has tax?

[@QbuniversityOrg]

Stephen Linton that’s correct. It is counted as part of the cost basis

[@danatavares2038]

Would the tax be assigned a class for the purpose of tracking for sales tax reports?

[@ecosystems]

This video does not work welll when you have 600 assets. Most companies that have a lot of assets apply tag numbers to their assets.

[@QbuniversityOrg]

Correct. And they use a separate fixed asset system to track depreciation

[@omegaman7241]

thanks for this. Question is how do you show percentages of depreciation and amounts per year to use on income tax forms

[@QbuniversityOrg]

Omega Man generally you have to do this through a journal entry. I typically tell clients to divide the cost by the number of months (certain assets have certain lives) and make a recurring journal entry for the monthly depreciation. Usually I’ll just tell them the monthly amount to enter