Fixed assets management is a segment of company finances that small businesses generally regard as a chore. Not many SMEs handle it properly or fully realise its importance to the stability of the business or the statutory requirements surrounding it.
Now the problem can be easily solved through Pastel Fixed Assets, a new software program launched by accounting and payroll software specialist Softline Pastel.
"We are well in touch with the SME market in terms of its accounting and business software needs. The demand for a simple and effective solution to fixed assets management has become increasingly evident, and even more so after the introduction of Capital Gains Tax (CGT)," says Softline Pastel managing director Steven Cohen.
"The CGT legislation forces companies and close corporations to keep asset registers and include information such as cost price, depreciation and the date of disposal of any asset. So an asset register is not only conducive to good accounting procedures and control but is required by law. There could be serious implications if assets are not properly accounted for."
Cohen adds that SMEs want to see financial solutions that add value to their business and thus Pastel Fixed Assets was developed to give them complete control of their fixed assets, including the "very important depreciation and tax calculations, asset valuation, depreciation forecasting and management of disposals and acquisitions".
An inherent problem for companies has been keeping track of assets within the organisation when they are shifted from one department to another. Cohen says the software includes the capability to conduct full audit trails to show exactly where each asset is held and where it has been in the past. "Businesses are also required to keep the original documents relating to the purchase of the asset. These documents can be scanned into the software program and attached to the asset register, saving time and money, and providing instant access to proof of purchase, the price and the date."
The software offers six depreciation methods - straight line, reducing balance, immediate write-off, plant and machinery, equal allowance and unit of usage. Companies can select the method most appropriate to each asset.
Other features of the software include the physical verification of assets, their division across departments or locations and reports for revaluation and insurance purposes.
Pastel Fixed Assets is SARS-friendly, catering for traditional statutory reporting for financial statements purposes, as well as the new Capital Gains Tax requirements, by reporting on the capital gains portion based on both actual cost and revaluation value.
The software makes it easy to create capex budgets for assets and to track asset orders against these budgets using the 'detail`, 'summary`, 'cash flow forecasting` and capex reporting facilities to control purchases. An unlimited number of assets can be tracked and the software makes provision for many asset types or categories, as well as unlimited departments and cost centres.
Among the useful reports that can be quickly generated for management are status reports that summarise all assets on the register and revaluation and insurance reports. Users may also define and customise reports to meet their individual requirements.
Assets can also be defined with sub-assets to cater for items such as machinery assemblies, and depreciated at different rates. Automatic computations maintain both book and tax asset values and different rates can be applied for book and tax values as well as different asset categories.
"Pastel Fixed Assets offers SMEs complete peace of mind as far as their fixed assets management and reporting requirements are concerned. The software integrates seamlessly, is easy to use and handles today`s onerous statutory requirements with ease. It also offers our dealers and value-added resellers opportunities to add value to their existing customer bases," says Cohen.
Share