Adding assets to a pool

The easiest way to add assets to a pool is to navigate to the Assets tab and then select an Asset Group. Once a group has been selected, multi-select the assets to be disposed by selecting the tick boxes.

Once selected, click on Bulk Actions and then Allocate to a Pool. It is also possible to edit the depreciation method within the asset's edit screen. 

From the dialogue screen you will then be able to choose the type of pool you want to add the assets to. There are three options: General Pool, Low Value Pool and Software Development Pool. By default, the asset will be added for taxation and accounting purposes. To override this, click on the link between the two and uncheck the accounting box. Then click on the Allocate Assets to Pool button.

Note: You can select a whole asset group to allocate to a pool even if some of those assets are already allocated, as Active Ledger will skip over those.

Note: To allocate assets to a pool, the 'Use Small Business Depreciation' checkbox must be selected within the deprecation year. This can be edited from the Manage Years button. 

Select the relevant depreciation year and ensure the checkbox is selected. 

For more information, see the knowledge article: Assets - overview.

From the main Assets screen, you are able to check which assets have not been allocated to a pool by clicking on the 'Show assets not allocated to a pool' checkbox.

Note: A few assets were already allocated to a pool, hence why there is only 2 remaining assets that are not.   

Disposing assets from a pool

Where assets are recorded on the register separately

To dispose of an asset within a pool, navigate to the Assets tab and select the relevant pooled asset. 

For this example, we will select to dispose the Stand-up Desk.    

Open up the 'Disposal' section and fill out the disposal value, date and select whether there was any depreciation in the disposal year.    

Click Save Asset. 

Once you have finalised all your assets, click Post Automated Journals. 

This journal will capture the disposal by writing off the assets cost and accumulated depreciation in full against Gain or Loss on Sale of Assets. 

Note: As your client would have received the cash for the disposal, that bank transaction would have already been coded in the accounts, most likely to the asset cost account. If this is the case, you will have to manually adjust for this through posting a journal to ensure any proceeds received goes to the gain or loss account - Active will not do this for you. 

The net result in the gain or loss account for a pooled asset will be $NIL. It is only when all pooled assets have been disposed of and the pool balance is written off or accessed (depending on whether it is positive or negative, respectively) that a gain or loss would be recognised in the accounts.                

Where the pool is recorded as one asset on the register but contains multiple assets

To dispose of an asset within a pool where the pool is recorded as one asset, navigate to the Assets tab and go to the group where the pooled asset is.

From here, click + New Asset.

Give the asset you are disposing of a name, a cost price of $NIL and the date as of 1 July of the applicable financial year, for example 1 July 2023.  

Click Create Asset. 

Click on the newly created asset and open up the 'Disposal' section. Fill out the disposal value and date and click Save Asset. 

Once you have finalised all your assets, click Post Automated Journals. 

This journal will capture the disposal as below. 

Note: As your client would have received the cash for the disposal, that bank transaction would have already been coded in the accounts, most likely to the asset cost account. If this is the case, you will have to manually adjust for this through posting a journal to ensure any proceeds received goes to the gain or loss account - Active will not do this for you.        

The net result in the gain or loss account for a pooled asset will be $NIL. It is only when all pooled assets have been disposed of and the pool balance is written off or accessed (depending on whether it is positive or negative, respectively) that a gain or loss would be recognised in the accounts.       

Writing off the pool balance

In the Pooling tab of the Assets screen, you can review the pool balances for the selected year. To view a detailed report of the pool's assets, see the knowledge article: Assets - reports on how to run reports.

Here, for each pool balance, for both taxation and accounting purposes, you can write off the balance of the pool where the balance is positive, or access the balance of the pool where the balance is negative. 

You are also able to restore the balance if needed.  

Note: Clicking write off or access the pool balance will effectively dispose of the assets that remain in the pool with a consideration value of $NIL, which will give rise to a gain or loss for accounting purposes and a balancing adjustment for tax purposes - either positive or negative.