Selling Fixed Assets

When you sell a fixed asset, you need to record the income from the sale and remove the asset and associated accumulated depreciation from your company's financial records. You can use an invoice form to record the sale of a fixed asset, or you can enter the entire sales event in a general journal entry. If you use the Fixed Asset Manager, you should enter the asset sale in an invoice because that process ensures that the specific asset is removed from your accounting records.

Enter a Fixed Asset Sale on an Invoice

Press Ctrl+I to open an invoice form.

TIMESAVER

Clicking the Invoices icon on the Home page also opens an invoice form.

Verify the date and invoice number, and make any necessary changes.

Enter the name of the customer who is purchasing the asset.

Click in the Item column; then scroll down the Item list, and click the asset you want to sell.

Enter the sales price of the asset in the Amount column. Note, you might see a window informing you that the sales price in the fixed asset item differs from the sale price you entered here. Click Yes to close that window and continue with your transaction.

Verify the tax status of this customer, and make any necessary changes to the name of the sales tax authority that appears.

Click a save option. You might see a window informing you that the fixed asset item has not been updated to reflect the sale. Click Yes to update the item in your records.

Enter a Fixed Asset Sale in a Journal Entry

Select Make General Journal Entries from the Company menu.

Verify that the date and journal entry number are correct, and make any necessary changes.

Enter the account you use for recording the deposit of cash, or enter your undeposited funds account.

Enter the amount of money you received in the Debit column.

Enter a brief, descriptive memo.

Enter the asset account you used to record the cost of this asset.

Enter the original cost of the asset in the Credit column.

Enter the asset account you used to record the accumulated depreciation for this asset.

Enter the amount of depreciation you previously recorded for this asset as a debit. This might or might not be as much as the cost you entered in step 7.

Enter the account you use to record the income or loss from the sale of fixed assets. If you have not yet created such an account, click the Add New option at the top of the account list and set up a new account.

QuickBooks automatically computes the income or loss from the sale of this asset.

Click a save option.

See Also

See "Setting Up Income Accounts," on page 22, for information on creating a new account.