AFN-FixedAssets-062502

062502 2002 Blackbaud, Inc. This publication, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Blackbaud, Inc. The information in this manual has been carefully checked and is believed to be accurate. Blackbaud, Inc., assumes no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions in this manual. In no event will Blackbaud, Inc., be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from any defect or omission in this manual, even if advised of the possibility of damages. In the interest of continuing product development, Blackbaud, Inc., reserves the right to make improvements in this manual and the products it describes at any time, without notice or obligation. The Raiser s Edge, MatchFinder, ParaGon, RE:Alum, RE:Event, RE:Member, RE:Queue, RE:Tribute, RE:Volunteer, RE:Zip, and Blackbaud are registered trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc. All other products and company names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective holder. AFN-FixedAssets-062502

Fixed Assets INTRODUCTION......................................1 Fixed Assets Documentation............................................. 3 User s Guide Conventions............................................... 4 SYSTEM BASICS.....................................7 Navigating in Fixed Assets............................................... 8 QUICK SETUP......................................21 Configuration........................................................ 22 Utilities and Housekeeping.............................................. 30 Assets............................................................... 30 Transactions.......................................................... 36 CONFIGURATION....................................39 Organization Settings.................................................. 40 Preferences........................................................... 40 Attributes............................................................ 50 Depreciation Years.................................................... 53 Custom Depreciation Schedules.......................................... 57 Asset Classes......................................................... 61 Establishing Account Distributions....................................... 64 Establishing Interfund Entries.......................................... 67 Establishing General Ledger Settings..................................... 68 SECURITY.........................................73 Security Groups....................................................... 74 Security Users........................................................ 80 Passwords............................................................ 83 UTILITIES AND HOUSEKEEPING........................85 Users in System Form.................................................. 86 System Statistics...................................................... 86 Duplicate Asset Report................................................. 87 Post to General Ledger................................................. 88 Purge............................................................... 95 Validating a Database.................................................. 96 Switch to Mid-Quarter Convention....................................... 98

FIXED ASSETS.................................... 101 Access Assets........................................................ 102 Records............................................................. 102 Assets.............................................................. 109 Activity Tab......................................................... 123 Attributes Tab....................................................... 123 Actions Tab.......................................................... 124 Location Tab........................................................ 129 Media Tab........................................................... 132 Notes Tab........................................................... 137 Transactions......................................................... 141 Rules for New Transactions............................................ 147 Rules for Deletion.................................................... 148 Rules for Editing Transactions.......................................... 148 Adjustments Tab..................................................... 149 Defaults............................................................. 153 Properties........................................................... 158 Preferences.......................................................... 159 Default Report/Label Formats.......................................... 161 Activity Legend...................................................... 170 Favorites............................................................ 171 DEPRECIATION ASSETS............................. 175 Depreciation Calculations.............................................. 176 REPORTS........................................ 183 Main Report Screen.................................................. 184 Preferences.......................................................... 185 Procedures.......................................................... 186 MAIL........................................... 193 Accessing Mail....................................................... 194 Labels.............................................................. 194 Printing Labels...................................................... 195 Mail Basics.......................................................... 205 QUERY AND EXPORT............................... 209 Query Types......................................................... 211 Query Format....................................................... 211 Query Criteria Operators.............................................. 212 Creating Queries..................................................... 217 Using and Editing Queries............................................. 221 Merging Queries..................................................... 226 Exporting Queries.................................................... 227 Printing Queries..................................................... 228 Properties........................................................... 229 Favorites............................................................ 231

Preferences.......................................................... 231 IMPORT..........................................237 Import Screen....................................................... 239 Import Parameter Files............................................... 239 Importing Account Distribution Information............................. 268 Required Import Fields............................................... 272 Field Code Names.................................................... 274 GLOBAL CHANGE..................................279 Global Change Functions.............................................. 280 Making a Global Change.............................................. 282 Preferences.......................................................... 288 APPENDIX........................................291 Configuration....................................................... 292 Reports............................................................. 295 Mail................................................................ 306 GLOSSARY.......................................309 INDEX...........................................323

Introduction In This Chapter Fixed Assets Documentation........................................3 User s Guide Conventions..........................................4 Chapter Format...................................................4 Text Formatting................................................5

2 CHAPTER 1 Visit our Web site at www.blackbaud.com for the latest documentation and information. The Fixed Assets package consists of multiple modules. Most of the topics discussed in this guide relate to the Fixed Assets program, but there are some references to other Blackbaud programs with which Fixed Assets can interface, such as General Ledger and Accounts Payable. For more information about these packages, contact Blackbaud s Sales department at 1-800-443-9441. Welcome to Fixed Assets for Windows, Blackbaud s asset management program. This program provides everything an organization needs to manage its assets, including the ability to enter or import asset information, generate depreciation transactions that automatically follow IRS rules, and account for and record the disposal of assets. As a component of Blackbaud s Accounting for Nonprofits programs, Fixed Assets integrates seamlessly with General Ledger for Windows and Accounts Payable for Windows. For example, you can post depreciation and adjustment transactions directly to General Ledger and add new assets from the Purchase Order Receipt screen in Purchase Orders, an optional module for Accounts Payable. This chapter is designed to introduce you to the documentation and other resources available to you for Fixed Assets. Fixed Assets allows you to store basic information about an asset, such as the class, description, serial number, and price. You can also store more detailed information, such as the accounts to which you distribute the asset, the asset project, and the asset depreciation method. You can then generate a variety of reports using information you specify. The following modules are available in Fixed Assets: Assets. With this module, you can create an asset, depreciate an asset using standard depreciation schedules or a custom schedule you define, track depreciation, calculate depreciation over various amounts of time, and adjust posted transactions. Configuration. In Configuration, you can establish system settings, user and system preferences, table entries, depreciation years, and settings that enable posting to General Ledger. Mail. In Mail, you can print labels and label truncation reports using information in the Fixed Assets database. Reports. This module allows you to print the various reports Fixed Assets supports. You can preview, print, export, or send reports as e-mail. Each report has a parameter screen that allows you to produce reports based on different criteria. Security. In this module, you establish access rights for the program. Security is based on groups and users for which you can assign access to specific areas of the program. You can assign each user to a group, depending on their access rights, and assign a password. User access rights are based on their group assignments. Users may be members of more than one group. You can limit access to a module or to individual functions by regulating which groups are allowed to view, add, edit, or delete records. Utilities and Housekeeping. In Utilities and Housekeeping, you perform maintenance procedures for Fixed Assets, such as purging assets from the database, viewing system statistics, posting to the General Ledger, switching to a mid-quarter convention, detecting duplicate assets, and validating the database. Query and Export. Use this module to select and export records that meet criteria you define, for example, when processing an asset report. You can create, open, run, and delete queries with this module. Other options include refreshing, merging, and exporting queries.

INTRODUCTION 3 Import. Use this module to bring information from an outside source to Fixed Assets. Import allows you to set up and save usable import parameter files, define field mappings with drag and drop ease, use separate header fields to identify field mapping, browse field examples to eliminate confusion, and inspect the raw import data before running the import process. Global Change. With this module, you can add, change, or delete information in a field based on a query. In Global Change, you can add, replace, partially replace, delete, increase, decrease, copy, swap, or move selected fields in the database. Accounting Queue. This is an optional module that allows you to schedule a sequence of tasks which you can execute, one after the other, automatically and unattended. Using Accounting Queue can save you time with many of the repetitive functions you accomplish with the Accounting for Nonprofits programs. For example, you can schedule a queue of reports to print overnight. This allows you to schedule more timely tasks during regular working hours. For information about purchasing Queue, contact Blackbaud s Sales Department at 1-800-443-9441. Fixed Assets Documentation The documentation for Fixed Assets consists of this user s guide, the Accounting for Nonprofits Administrator s Guide, an online user s guide, and online help. The user s guide is organized based on setup, data entry, and data manipulation. Chapters 2 through 6 include information on how to set up and maintain Fixed Assets. These chapters include information on Configuration, Security, and Utilities and Housekeeping. Chapters 7 and 8 address data entry and record maintenance for options such as transactions and depreciation, as well as adding, editing, and deleting assets. Chapters 9 through 13 explain how you can manipulate the information in your database to produce queries (a group of records), reports, and labels which you can use as asset identifiers. In addition, these chapters illustrate the import and global change processes. There is also an Appendix that contains detailed information on available fields, sample reports, and import database fields, as well as a glossary which defines concepts specific to Fixed Assets. The user s guide has a two-column format. The smaller of the two columns is a notes column. This column is used for notes, tips, time-savers, and warnings. The following graphics identify these items: The note symbol designates a note or tip related to the information in the main text column. The clock symbol designates a shortcut or timesaving action. The stoplight symbol designates a warning or item of importance. The Accounting for Nonprofits Administrator s Guide provides the information needed to install and set up your Blackbaud accounting programs. This guide provides information essential to establishing and maintaining Fixed Assets.

4 CHAPTER 1 We also encourage you to use the online manual and online help. The online manual consists of a series of PDF (Portable Document Format) files which you can install on your computer during the program installation process. We recommend installing the files; however, you can also access the online manual from the Fixed Assets installation CD. Adobe Acrobat Reader, which installs with Fixed Assets, enables you to view the PDF files. If the Acrobat Reader is not installed, you can install it from your Fixed Assets installation CD, or you can download it without charge from the Adobe web page: (http://www.adobe.com). You can view the online manual, or print all, a portion, or one page of the manual. The manual also contains links throughout to help you navigate through the chapters easily. With just a click of the mouse, you can jump from the Table of Contents to the Assets chapter and then to the Adding an asset procedure. As part of the online help, we have added a Notes feature. Notes files are text files created during installation. With these files, you can enter and maintain notes in the Fixed Assets help file while working. For more information, see the Using Online Help section of this chapter. User s Guide Conventions In addition to the graphics mentioned earlier, the user s guide utilizes other conventions to help you locate and identify information. Chapter Format Most chapters consist of the following basic sections: In This Chapter. A content listing of the chapter. Overview. A brief description of the chapter. Procedures. Explanation and step-by-step instructions for completing the process. Reference. A field-by-field description for screens in the program. Field information displays in tables after a brief description and a picture of the screen. Rules. A brief section that appears only when necessary. It lists all rules associated with certain procedures.

INTRODUCTION 5 Text Formatting Throughout Fixed Assets, you see screen shots and procedures directing you to locate frames, drop-down lists, fields, etc. Below is a screen shot that identifies several of the fields we refer to in this manual.

6 CHAPTER 1

System Basics In This Chapter Navigating in Fixed Assets.........................................8 Parts of the Fixed Assets Screen......................................8 Title Bar......................................................8 Menu Bar.....................................................9 Toolbar.......................................................9 Status Bar....................................................10 Standard Buttons.................................................10 Shortcut Keys....................................................11 Using Shortcut Menus.............................................12 Sorting Grid Information...........................................12 Common Screens.................................................12 The Print Setup Screen..........................................13 The Change Password Screen....................................13 Selecting a Directory Screen.....................................13 Calendar.....................................................14 Calculator....................................................14 Save and New/Save and Close......................................14 New Toolbar Button..............................................15 Buttons with Drop-Down Menus.....................................15 Configuration Module..........................................15 Assets Module................................................15 Help Options....................................................16 Tabs...........................................................17 Accessing Tables.................................................17 Exporting to Excel................................................18 Grouping Records in Queries.......................................19 Creating an Output Query..........................................20

8 CHAPTER 2 This chapter is designed to familiarize you with the screens, buttons, and terms throughout Fixed Assets. It addresses standard items such as parts of the screen, toolbar buttons, standard screen buttons, special keys, and common screens that appear throughout the program. After reading this chapter, you should be familiar with the screens, tools, and commands you use to navigate through Fixed Assets. Individual topic chapters present more detailed information and step-by-step procedures. Navigating in Fixed Assets Parts of the Fixed Assets Screen To navigate through Fixed Assets, it is important to understand the parts of the Assets - Fixed Assets screen. Title Bar The title bar, across the top of the screen, states the title of the program. The title bar also contains, in the upper right corner, icons for minimizing, maximizing, and closing the screen.

S YSTEM BASICS 9 Menu Bar The menu bar, just below the title bar, contains the commands for all Fixed Assets functions. Fixed Assets has the basic menu options available in most program modules: File, Edit, View, and Help. Some Fixed Assets modules have additional menu options. To access a command on the menu bar, either: Position the pointer over the desired command and click the left mouse button, or Press Alt + the underlined letter. For example, to access File, press Alt + F. Toolbar The toolbar contains buttons representing common commands used within Fixed Assets. Toolbar Buttons By clicking toolbar buttons, you can easily perform a function, such as saving, without using the menu bar. Some buttons listed below appear only when a record is open. Add a new record Save the current record Preview data prior to printing View or set preferences Access help topics Go to the first record Go to the next record Move up one level E-mail data Display large icons Display list view Copy Add a new group Undo Save and Close Open an existing record Print data Export to Excel Summary Delete data Go to the previous record Go to the last record Export data Cut Display small icons Display details/report view Paste Add a new user Save and New Print Setup

10 CHAPTER 2 Annotate Add to Favorites Search for Duplicates Status Bar The status bar, across the bottom of the window, acts as your guide throughout Fixed Assets. As you move through the program, messages such as available shortcut keys display on the status bar. For example, when you are in a field with a table lookup available, the message Press F7 for Table Lookup appears. Standard Buttons There are many standard buttons throughout Fixed Assets that appear on the screens, rather than on the toolbar. These buttons function in the same manner, regardless of where they are located. The function of each button is described below. Search for or look up data to fill in the field. Access the drop-down list of entries associated with that field. Search for a file. Adjust numbering, in numeric fields, by clicking up or down. Open the calculator so you can calculate the desired financial data for the field. Open the calendar so you can locate the correct date for the field. Move the selected field to the frame on the left. Move all fields to the frame on the left. Move the selected field to the frame on the right. Move all fields to the frame on the right. Add information. Insert an item into a list. Cancel an operation. Move forward one screen to the next step. Print current information. Move an item down one line in a list. Delete existing information. Edit existing information. Complete a command, leave a screen, or close a dialog box. Move back one screen or step. Begin processing the function. Move an item up one line in a list.

S YSTEM BASICS 11 Add a new record. Load a distribution from a saved file. Browse for a file. Open the selected item. Update the screen to reflect changes. Purge selected records from the database. Delete all selected values. View the item as it appears when printed. Continue to the next step. Sort (or change the current order of) items. Search for a particular item or record in the database. Clear the search criteria screen. Close the current record. Return values to the program s defaults. Distribute amounts evenly. Copy the selected information to the clipboard for future use. Clear all information from the screen. Display the assets summary screen. Highlight/select all records. Shortcut Keys Throughout Fixed Assets, there are special shortcut keys and shortcut methods to help you with data entry. Function keys are the primary source for shortcuts. When a shortcut is available, the status bar at the bottom of the open window tells you which function key to press. ENTER TAB SHIFT CONTROL BACKSPACE HOME The ENTER key (sometimes called the RETURN key) is marked by a hooked arrow that points down and then to the left. On some keyboards, the word Enter is also printed on the key. This key signals to the computer that entry of a command, field, or data is complete. In Configuration, you can set your system preferences so this key moves the cursor to the next field or to the next line. If you select this option, you can use CTRL + ENTER to create hard returns. The TAB key is usually marked by two arrows pointing in opposite directions and/or the word Tab on the key. It is also used to signal to the computer that entry of a command, field, or data is complete. Pressing this key moves the cursor forward to the next field. The SHIFT key allows you to select more than one item in a list. To select consecutive items, select the first item, press SHIFT, hold the key down, and select the second item. Press the SHIFT and TAB keys to move the cursor to the previous field. The CONTROL key allows you to select more than one item in a list. To select items not in consecutive order, select the first item, press CONTROL, hold the key down, and select the second item. A large left-facing arrow marks the BACKSPACE key. Sometimes the word Backspace appears on the key. You can use this key to delete one character to the left of the cursor. Place the cursor at the beginning of a field by pressing the HOME key.

12 CHAPTER 2 END DELETE F1 F3 F5 F7 Place the cursor at the end of a field by pressing the END key. Press the DELETE key to remove the highlighted characters or entry in front of the cursor. The F1 key activates online help. Press this key from any point in the software to access context-sensitive help. The F3 key inserts the default value of a field into the current record. A message at the bottom of the screen indicates default fields. In date fields, F3 inserts the current date. Press the F5 key to refresh grids. The F7 key activates Table Lookups. This key also activates a calendar in date fields and a calculator in currency fields. F7 accesses the Account Search Criteria where the linking of records is available. Using Shortcut Menus Within some of the grids in Fixed Assets, you can access commonly used commands by placing the cursor in the grid and then clicking the right mouse button. A shortcut menu appears. The commands available vary to match your location in the program. Sorting Grid Information You can sort grid information by the column header item (e.g., Asset Number, Asset ID, Depreciation Method, etc.), in ascending or descending order. For example, if you click the Transaction Date header, the list displays in ascending order, with the oldest date at the bottom. Click the header again, and the order toggles to descending order, with the oldest date at the top. Common Screens The following screens are common throughout Fixed Assets:

S YSTEM BASICS 13 The Print Setup Screen The Print Setup screen is common to most Windows programs. To access this screen, select File, Print Setup on the main menu bar. Use this screen to designate a path to your printer and to select paper orientation, size, and source. The Change Password Screen The Change Password screen is common to most Fixed Assets modules. You can access this screen by selecting Edit, Change Password on the menu bar. Use this screen to change your system and user passwords. For more information, please see the Security chapter. Selecting a Directory Screen If a field requires a path to a file, the search button usually appears with the field. To locate the path, click the ellipsis. The Select Import File screen appears.

14 CHAPTER 2 To search through directories, select a drive from the drop-down list in the Look in field, then select the folder you want to browse. Click Open. Calendar Fields requiring date information have a calendar button. Click the calendar to open the calendar. You can view the days, months, and years, then select a date for the corresponding field. Click the left or right arrows to scroll to the desired month. Double click a date to enter it in the field. Click Today to return the calendar to the current date. Calculator Fields requiring monetary values have a calculator button. Click the calculator to open the calculator. You can calculate fundamental math functions such as adding, subtracting, and multiplying, etc., as well as more advanced functions like finding a square root or converting a whole value to a decimal. Click the keys to calculate an amount in the field, then click Paste to add the entry to the field. The Back button allows you to move the cursor back one space in the calculator window. Save/New and Save/Close The Save and New and Save and Close options are available from either the File menu or the toolbar and help make data entry an easier task. When creating a series of new records, you can select Save and New to save the record you are adding and bring up a new blank record. This eliminates the additional steps of closing the record and selecting File, New to open the next blank record, greatly reducing data entry time when you are adding a large number of records. Save and Close saves the current record before closing the record, combining two steps into one and ensuring any additional information is saved. Click the down arrow on the Save button to display the drop-down menu as shown below. Save

S YSTEM BASICS 15 You can select the Save option from the drop-down menu. New Toolbar Button Another toolbar button feature that makes data entry easier is the New toolbar button menu. When adding records using the New toolbar button, you can click the arrow to the right of the button to access a drop-down menu of record types. For example, if you are in Assets and click New, a drop-down menu appears. Once you select a record type, the New button assumes the icon of the record type and continues to create new records of the selected record type until you access the drop-down menu and select a new type. This makes for quick and easy data entry, especially when you are adding a series of assets. Buttons with Drop-Down Menus Fixed Assets contains some buttons with drop-down menus that display various options. Configuration Module On the Depreciation Years tab in Configuration, the New Depreciation Year button appears. You can click this button to display the Future Depreciation Year(s) screen, or click the down arrow to select either New Depreciation Year (Future) or New Depreciation Year (Past) from the drop-down menu. Assets Module On the Activity tab of an asset record in Assets, a New Transaction button appears. Click the New Transaction down arrow to select Period Depreciation or Annual Depreciation from the drop-down menu.

16 CHAPTER 2 Help Options Click the down arrow on the Help button to display the drop-down menu shown below. This menu features the latest Help options such as Online Documentation and Blackbaud on the Web. Help From this menu, you can select the help option you want. If you highlight Blackbaud on the Web, a sub-menu appears. If you have internet access, select Online Support or Blackbaud on the Web to access either of those help resources.

S YSTEM BASICS 17 Tabs Another integral part of Fixed Assets is the tab. Tabs in Fixed Assets function the same as tabs on folders in a filing cabinet; they allow you to see at a glance the available information in each folder by the tab. You can access information by clicking the tab. The following is a standard asset record illustrating the use of tabs. Accessing Tables You can use and create tables in Fixed Assets to increase data entry speed and efficiency. There are four ways to access tables entries: Arrow Keys Typing F7 A down arrow next to a text box indicates a table lookup is available. Click the arrow to access a drop-down list of entries for the field. A down arrow next to a button indicates there are additional options from which to choose. Click the arrow to access the drop-down list of additional options. Place the cursor in a text box and then press the down arrow key on your keyboard to scroll through the available entries. Typing an entry into a text box is another way to access an entry. If the entry you type does not exist in the table, the program displays a dialog box asking if you want to add the new table entry. Click Yes to add the new entry. This function is only available if you set the appropriate user preference in Configuration. Pressing F7 also accesses tables. The message Press F7 for Table Lookup appears on the status bar when a table is available.

18 CHAPTER 2 When you press F7, a window appears so you can add, delete, or modify table entries. Exporting to Excel Throughout Fixed Assets, you can use grids to enter and display information. Using the Export to Excel function, you can export information from these grids for use in Microsoft Excel. With your cursor in the grid, select File, Export to Excel, or click the right mouse button and select Export to Excel from the shortcut menu.

S YSTEM BASICS 19 Fixed Assets opens Excel and begins exporting the grid information. A screen appears showing you the progress of the export. When complete, the Excel worksheet appears containing the information from the grid. You can now use and manipulate this information in Excel. Grouping Records in Queries With Fixed Assets, you can group records together, then perform functions on all records within the group. For example, you might want to add a building code to all assets over four years old that belong to the Math department. Rather than searching for each record, opening it, and adding the code, you can group the correct asset records and then add the building code to all of the records in one operation. You can group records by creating a query. The query process examines all records, selecting and grouping those matching criteria you have established. For the example above, the program groups all asset records matching the over four years old and belong to the Math department criteria together. After you establish the criteria for a query, you can name and save the query for use throughout Fixed Assets.

20 CHAPTER 2 From Assets, select Query, Open as List from the menu bar to open the Available Queries search screen. Enter the criteria, such as the Query Name and Description, and click Find Now to view the queries matching the criteria. To select a query, highlight the query and click Open. All records in the query open as a list.you can then scroll though these records. Creating an Output Query A checkbox labeled Create exception query is also available throughout Fixed Assets. Exception queries provide a list of omitted information. These queries are static and you cannot manipulate them. A checkbox labeled Create Output Query is available in many areas of Fixed Assets. You can use this option to create a static query, or a snapshot of the information taken at that moment. Static queries do not automatically update to include new information added to the database after the initial query. You can use static queries to produce reports that include only those records in the output query; however, you cannot edit the query. For more information about queries, see to the Query and Export chapter.

Quick Setup In This Chapter Configuration...................................................22 General Tab.....................................................22 Tables Tab......................................................22 Depreciation Years Tab............................................23 Custom Depreciation Schedules Tab..................................24 Asset Classes Tab................................................24 Adding Asset Classes...........................................24 Distributions Tab.................................................25 Adding an Account Distribution..................................25 Interfund Entries Tab..............................................25 Establishing Interfund Entries....................................26 General Ledger Tab...............................................26 Establishing General Ledger Settings..............................26 Establishing the Depreciation Expense Journal Reference..............27 Defining the Accumulated Depreciation Journal Reference.............27 Security Groups..................................................28 Adding a Group...............................................28 Security Users...................................................29 Adding a User.................................................29 Passwords......................................................29 Utilities and Housekeeping........................................30 Users in System Form.............................................30 Validating a Database.............................................30 Assets..........................................................30 Record Basics...................................................31 Opening a Record..............................................31 Opening a Query..............................................32 Opening a Group of Records as a List..............................32 Adding an Asset (using the Asset Wizard)..........................32 Adding an Asset (manually)......................................34 Depreciating Asset(s)...........................................35 Disposing of an Asset...........................................36 Transactions....................................................36 Adding a Transaction..............................................36 Generating Depreciation Transactions..............................37 Adjustments.....................................................37 Adding an Initial Adjustment.....................................37 Editing an Adjustment..........................................38

22 CHAPTER 3 This chapter introduces the critical steps you must complete to get Fixed Assets up and running as quickly as possible. The steps are organized by module and procedure. If you require more detailed instructions on any step, please refer to the appropriate chapter in the manual. To maximize the long term benefits of Fixed Assets, we recommend you follow the manual s more detailed instructions. Configuration You must establish some general information about your organization and define parameters for posting to General Ledger before calculating depreciation. For more information about Configuration, see Configuration on page 39. General Tab The program stores basic information about your organization on the General tab of Configuration. Enter your organization s Address, Phone number, and Tax ID. Your organization s name is hard-coded in the program. If this information is incorrect, contact Blackbaud Customer Support to have it corrected. Tables Tab Organizing data in tables promotes the consistent use of Fixed Assets and helps you avoid unnecessary duplication. We recommend you establish data entry procedures before entering table entries to most efficiently use tables in the program. The Tables tab is where you add table entries. On the Tables tab, you can have the Tables List display All Tables, Fixed Assets Tables, or Shared Tables by selecting one of the three options from the drop-down list at the top of the Tables frame. The Tables frame displays a list of the available tables. When you highlight a table, the entries defined for that table display in the Table Entries frame. You can view table entries using the long description or the short description, if the entry has both descriptions. From the Table Entries frame, you can Add, Edit, Insert, and Delete entries by clicking the buttons or right clicking a selected table and accessing a drop-down list. You can also move entries Up and Down within the list, Sort entries, and Print entries. If you want to add a new table, you can do so from the Attributes tab You can define the new table by Description, Data Type, and Table Name. Once you create it, the new table appears in the list of available tables on the Tables tab. Table entries provide you with a set of options to select from during data entry. For example, when entering an asset location, you select the location from the Location table. You can choose to view all table entries, active and inactive, or just active entries by marking the Display active entries only checkbox at the bottom of the Table Entries frame. Inactive table entries display on the Tables tab in gray text, helping you differentiate between active and inactive entries at a glance. Using table entries helps maintain format consistency during data entry, which is important for producing accurate reports and statements. For example, one user might enter the asset location information as 2nd Floor of the Ashley Center, but another user would enter Ashley Center, 2nd Floor. With a table, both users can select the organization s standard: Ashley Center, 2nd Floor.

QUICK SETUP 23 Adding a Table Entry In Configuration, you can add to the list of available table entries on the Tables tab. For example, if your organization creates a new department, you can add it to the Department table. When you add a table entry, it appears at the bottom of the list. For more information about adding table entries in Configuration, see Adding a table entry on page 45. You have the following options when adding a table entry: You can establish a Long Description and/or Short Description. If a table has a short description, it is always required and must be unique within each code table. In tables with long descriptions, the long description is also required. If you enter the long description and leave the short description blank, the short description defaults to the first characters of the long description. If you enter the short description and leave the long description blank, the long description defaults to the short description. You can define an entry and then disable the entry by marking Deactivated? This disables the entry without deleting it from the program. Deactivating table entries is useful if you need to enter an option for the next year, but you do not want it available for use in the current year. You can also deactivate an entry that is no longer in use but needed for historical reference. You can have the program Display active entries only on the Tables tab by marking the checkbox. Depreciation Years Tab From the Depreciation Years tab in Configuration, you can view, create, edit, and delete future and past depreciation years. This tab allows you the flexibility of defining depreciation years with periods as few as 1 and as many as 13. You must define Depreciation years before entering Assets. For more information about the Depreciation Years tab, see Depreciation Years on page 53. Adding Future or Past Depreciation years You can add a future or past depreciation year on the Depreciation Years tab. For more information about adding future or past depreciation years, see Depreciation Years on page 53. You have the following options when adding a future or past depreciation year: You can determine an identifier for the year in the Depreciation year ID field and a Description for the depreciation year you are creating. You can choose how many depreciation periods you want in the year. You can enter between 1 and 13. You can enter the depreciation period End Date for the year in the Depreciation Periods grid. The program automatically enters the Start Date based on the end date you enter. When defining periods, the Period 1 start date and Period 2 end date must be continuous and cannot be more than a 12 month year. For example, if a year ends November 4, 1999, the next year must start November 5, 1999. You can click Clear All to reset the grid, or if you want to copy the depreciation year from another year, click Copy From.

24 CHAPTER 3 If you want to create additional future depreciation years, mark the Create _ future depreciation years following this period format option. You can create up to 98 additional future depreciation years following this format. Custom Depreciation Schedules Tab You can save and use depreciation schedules for any asset. There are several types of depreciation schedules predefined in Fixed Assets; however, your organization may want to use another method to formulate depreciation. To do so, you must create a custom depreciation schedule. From the Custom Depreciation Schedules tab, you can create, open, or delete a custom depreciation schedule. For more information about the Custom Depreciation Schedules tab, see Custom Depreciation Schedules on page 57. Adding a Custom Depreciation Schedule In Configuration, you can add a custom depreciation schedule on the Custom Depreciation Schedules tab. For more information about custom depreciation schedules, see Custom Depreciation Schedules on page 57. You have the following options when adding a custom depreciation schedule: You can determine the name of the new depreciation schedule in the Schedule name field. This name can be a maximum of 12 characters. You can enter a description of the schedule in the Description field. This description can be a maximum of 50 characters. The description appears on the Depreciation tab of the asset record. You can click Copy From to copy a depreciation schedule from an established table. The depreciation schedule does not have to total 100 percent. It can be less than or equal to 100 percent. You can enter the number of years for the schedule in the Number of years field, or use the up and down arrows to search for a number. You can enter the percent of depreciation for each year in the Depreciation% column. Click Clear All to erase all percentages in the grid. Click Distribute Evenly to distribute the remaining percentage evenly across all years. Asset Classes Tab You may want to establish your own asset classes to suit your organization s special needs. There are several predefined classes loaded in your Fixed Assets software with predefined recovery periods. You can find a description of the predefined classes in the Appendix. When defining asset classes, you can define a default depreciation method, accumulated depreciation account, and default depreciation expense distribution for the class. From the Asset Classes tab, you can create, open, edit, or delete an asset class. Adding Asset Classes In Configuration, you can add asset classes on the Asset Classes tab. For more information about adding asset classes, see Asset Classes on page 61. You have the following options when adding asset classes:

QUICK SETUP 25 You can determine a Class description for the asset class. The maximum character length is 50. You can select a Depreciation method on the General tab of the Add an Asset Class screen. The method you enter serves as the default depreciation method for all assets in this class. If you leave this field blank, there is no default depreciation defined for the class. This means that when you create a new asset in that class, the Depreciation method field is blank; however, you can still add a depreciation method for the asset. Depending on the depreciation method selected, you may have to specify a Recovery period, Convention, Rate, Property class, Salvage value, or Useful life. You can select the Default accumulated depreciation account. You can build an account number by segment, or you can search for the account by clicking the binoculars. The account lookup defaults to Asset type accounts. This is the account to which depreciation is credited when posting to General Ledger. The accumulated depreciation account is a contra account for assets. On the Distribution tab of the Add an Asset Class screen, you can define the default account distribution to which you want to debit or expense the depreciation when posting to General Ledger. The account lookup defaults to Expense type accounts. You can click Load Distribution to select an account distribution to apply, Distribute Evenly to distribute the amount across all accounts evenly, or Delete All to delete all account distributions. The text in the bottom right corner displays the remaining percentage to distribute. Distributions Tab From the Distributions tab in Configuration, you can establish account distributions. Account distributions allow you to define how depreciation is divided between accounts. For more information about adding an account distribution, see Adding an account distribution on page 65. Adding an Account Distribution In Configuration, you can add an account distribution on the Distributions tab. For more information about the Distributions tab, see Establishing Account Distributions on page 64. You have the following options when adding an account distribution: On the Add an Account Distribution screen, you can enter the Distribution name. Complete the grid information by adding the Account No., Percent, and Project. The program automatically enters the Account Description and Project Description when you enter the Account No. and Project. The total distribution must equal 100 percent. You can distribute 100 percent evenly over the established accounts by clicking Distribute Evenly. Interfund Entries Tab To distribute funds in the same account among multiple projects, enter the account number once for each project, and then enter the individual projects for that account number. With interfund entries, you can create General Ledger transactions that automatically transfer money between funds. The description of the interfund entry must be unique. You cannot delete or modify entries in use. For more information about establishing interfund entries, see Establishing Interfund Entries on page 67.

26 CHAPTER 3 Establishing Interfund Entries In Configuration, you can establish interfund entries on the Interfund Entries tab. For more information about the Interfund Entries tab, see Establishing Interfund Entries on page 67. You have the following options when establishing interfund entries: You can enter a Description of the interfund entry. The description is used as an identifier throughout Fixed Assets and must be unique. You can select a Source Account. This is the account from which funds are being transferred. You can type in the account number, or if you do not know the number, click inside the cell and then click the binoculars to search for the account. Once you complete this information, the program automatically enters the Source Description. You can select a Destination Account. This is the account to which funds from the Source Account are being transferred. Once you enter the Destination Account, the program automatically enters the Destination Description. General Ledger Tab If you are using Blackbaud s General Ledger, you can take advantage of a built-in provision of Fixed Assets that allows seamless transaction entry into the general ledger through posting. For more information about the General Ledger tab, see Establishing General Ledger Settings on page 68. When you periodically post batches of transactions from Fixed Assets, you can reference each journal entry with a source code for identification and routing to the desired accounts (i.e., accounts payable and/or accounts receivable accounts). This feature provides seamless interaction between the activity in your Fixed Assets program and the fund accounting management of General Ledger. The Post to General Ledger option in Utilities and Housekeeping uses the information on this tab. If you do not have General Ledger, you can still enter reference information to make data entry easier when entering information printed on the posting report to your general ledger. Establishing General Ledger Settings In Configuration, you can establish General Ledger settings on the General Ledger tab. For more information about establishing General Ledger settings, see Establishing General Ledger Settings on page 68. You have the following options when establishing settings for General Ledger: You can select a source code in the Fixed Assets source code field, or press F9+F4 to look up a source code. The drop-down list in this field is only available if General Ledger is present. Otherwise, the Fixed Assets source code field is a text field. You can select the desired code (e.g., Fixed Assets, Adjustments, or Accounts Receivable).