Tracking equipment depreciation - which QB version?

[pkelecy]

Which versions of QuickBooks can track equipment depreciation (that actually computes the dollar amount depreciated and current book value for specific pieces of equipment my company owns)?

The info on Intuit's webside was very vague on this, which is why I'm asking here.

Thanks for any help.

Pat

[suzannemead]

The Fixed Asset Manager is found in QBPremier Accountant Edition and QB Enterprise. It is actually a separate module that acts independently of Quickbooks. This is from the Help Files:
When the Fixed Asset Manager is started from within either a QuickBooks Accountant or QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions edition, it pulls in information about fixed assets from an open company file. Then the accountant can determine depreciation for the assets and post a journal entry back to the company file. The accountant can also enter assets in the Fixed Asset Manager and send that information back to QuickBooks.

[pkelecy]

Thanks Suzanne.

I'm a bit surprised though. I would think businesses targeted by other versions ( Contractors or Manufacturers editions especially) would benefit from this feature as well.

So what do most people do (who do not have the Accontants or Enterprise version) who want to compute this? Use a spread sheet? I'm planning to upgrade from an older QB version and am trying to sort out which product to go with.

Thanks again for your help.

[suzannemead]

I believe the thinking is that most businesses have their accountant supply the depreciation numbers for them to post to the appropriate accounts. Therefore they don't need the fixed asset manager. If you are thinking of upgrading I would suggest buying the Accountant Edition. This contains all the reports, etc. of the all other editions. Most of the differences in editions is in the reports they offer, and preset charts of accounts. The accountants edition has a "toggle switch" which allows you to switch amongst the various levels and editions of Quickbooks. I think you would find the Accountants Edition the best buy.

[pkelecy]

Thanks.

The Accountants Edition certainly sounds like the safest choice, and that's probably what I'll go with. I just hope it's no more complicated to use or less stable because of it's versatility.

Pat

[gibbo]

The advice from accountants is generally for users not to do their own depreciation. They say it can be very difficult for them to find errors when the user has incorrectly posted entries. They prefer you to supply the info on what you bought and sold and allow them to make the entries.
And the reality is that most people do not use the depreciation figures in any meaningful way in the day-to-day running of their business. However, you obviously have a need for this which most do not.