NetSuite Fixed Asset Reconciler Bundle

Announcing a Fixed Asset supplementary bundle that can diagnose and help resolve discrepancies

NetSuite Fixed Asset Common Questions

Over the past few years, I have had the privilege of helping clients understand and use NetSuite’s Fixed Asset Management tool (“FAM”). I’ve been approached with support requests over time, and begin to see some recurring patterns in the nature of these requests. Here are some of the common challenges posed by clients in trying to understand their Fixed Asset numbers:

• Why do the Asset Net Book Values not tie out to the balances in the Fixed Asset ledger accounts?
• How can I be sure that the system-generated Depreciation Journal Entries are correct?
• Where can I find a breakdown of the Assets that were Depreciated in the system-generated Depreciation Journal Entries?
• Why do the native Fixed Asset reports offered as part of the FAM module not tie to saved searches driven by Fixed Asset records?
• We adjusted Depreciation Journals, yet the FAM system reports are still incorrect. Why?

FAM Records

I’ve written previously about NetSuite’s Fixed Asset Management tool (“FAM”), and the below previous articles describe some of the foundational record structure of the module.

https://meir.prolecto.com/2022/05/30/finally-trace-fixed-asset-depreciation-journal-entries-back-to-underlying-assets/

https://meir.prolecto.com/2019/12/29/fixed-asset-management/

Many of the challenges with using NetSuite’s Fixed Asset Management tool stem from the way that FAM differs from general subledgers like Accounts Receivables / Accounts Payable. The various records that the FAM module contains do not directly impact the ledger, rather they support and drive automation that in turn creates transactions. This implies a risk, since an entry can theoretically be booked to the GL that doesn’t match what shows in the FAM module.

What Can Go Wrong?

Here are some specific scenarios that cause FAM reports to fall out of sync:

• Historical mid-life assets imported did not include special records for accumulated depreciation to-date
• Journal Entries were manually booked to Fixed Asset accounts, without corresponding entries in the module
• Asset records or Depreciation History Records were manually modified or deleted after Depreciation was posted
• Initial Acquisition records are missing or do not have a date

Announcement! Fixed Asset Module Reconciler

After engaging in several repeat troubleshooting projects helping clients understand their Fixed Asset reporting in NetSuite, I realized that it would be helpful to create a supplementary system that could help clients quickly diagnose and fix problems with their Fixed Asset environment. With support from the Prolecto Team, I’ve created a new bundle that is a complete toolkit to locate any problems with Fixed Asset records. The flagship report in the bundle is a SuiteQL Query that shows the breakdown of assets depreciated on a Journal Entry for depreciation generated by the FAM module, as described in my previous article.

Example: Journals Not Linked to FAM

Here’s an example of a common problem: Journal entries booked manually for depreciation. These Journals have no linkage to FAM, thus generally they would throw off the reporting. The saved search to locate these is relatively simple if you understand the record structure in NetSuite. There are no direct links from assets to depreciation journals, but there is an indirect link through a record called “BG Summary Record”. A saved search that find Journals for Depreciation that are missing a link to a BG Summary record will reveal these entries:

Conclusion

My very first project as a NetSuite consultant was a Fixed Asset implementation project. It is very gratifying to be able to provide what I believe is a very valuable resource to the community. Like all Prolecto bundles, the FAM Reconciler is free to our clients. If you would like to hear more about getting more transparency into your Fixed Asset technology, or for all NetSuite related projects, please reach out! We would be glad to hear from you.