Budgeted Assets in Dynamics 365 Business Central, Part 1

Why is there a field on the Fixed Asset card in Dynamics 365 Business Central labeled “Budgeted Asset”?

We have all seen the field and many of us have used personalization to hide the field.

Let’s see what happens when we activate the field. I am sure many users have activated the field and decided that it was nothing more than a binary value. But activating the “Budgeted Asset” field allows the user to go further if they know more about the capabilities.

Before we try to activate the field on a Fixed Asset, be forewarned: You cannot mark a Fixed Asset that has already been acquired as a “Budgeted Asset”. That alone should give you a hint that there is more functionality than just a field for filtering.

To better understand this setting, let’s look at the Trucks in our fleet, where we see that only FA000120 is a “Budgeted Asset”.

All three Fixed Assets have been set up in the Company Depreciation Book with G/L Integration activated for Acquisition Cost, Disposal, and Depreciation.

Normally, if the Acquisition Cost for the Depreciation Book is integrated to the G/L, acquisition costs cannot be posted via the Fixed Asset Journal. You would have to use the Fixed Asset G/L Journal or a Purchase Invoice to record the acquisition cost.

But if the Fixed Asset is flagged as a “Budgeted Asset” you can use the Fixed Asset Journal to post a projected Acquisition Cost.

If you are utilizing the “Budgeted Asset” functionality, you must remember whether you are reconciling the Fixed Assets reports to the G/L, or you are using the Fixed Asset reports for projection purposes.

The Acquisition Cost for FA00120 was posted as a budgeted entry. Running the Book Value 01 report with the “Budgeted Asset” field blank, the report will include the budgeted Acquisition Cost.

Posting Acquisition Costs for “Budgeted Assets” allows you to include Fixed Assets you plan to purchase throughout the year in your capital expenditures analysis with the Fixed Asset Projected Value report.

In the example below, we have two Fixed Assets we acquired and depreciated through September 30, 2023. We also have a Fixed Asset budgeted to purchase in September. Running the Fixed Asset Projected Value report, we can see what the values of all three Fixed Assets would be as of December 31, 2023, and what additional depreciation expenses we would incur.