What the Critical Field Updater does
Sage Fixed Assets is a solid depreciation system, and most of its users never need help. The exceptions are predictable: an acquisition, a revaluation, a CIP project that went live on a different date, an import that went wrong, or a consolidation of many entities. In each case the fields that need to change are the critical depreciation fields, which Custom Import can't update on existing assets and Bulk Edit only partly covers.
Angela Bolton built the Critical Field Updater in 2012 to make those changes in bulk. It corrects critical fields such as class, life, method, placed-in-service date, acquisition date and acquired value across many assets, companies and books at once, following the same effective-date rules the product itself uses, so depreciation is recalculated the way it would have been had each asset been edited by hand. Every change is listed before and after, so the result can be reviewed and shown to an auditor. It has been used on client data ever since.
When you need it
Four situations account for almost every request.
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Conversions
Data that arrived from another system with defaulted dates, flattened lives or the wrong method, and now has to be corrected in place.
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Consolidations
Companies merged or split after a deal, with fiscal years, books and fields that have to line up before the balances can come together.
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Policy changes
A new capitalization policy, revised useful lives, or a change in method that has to be applied across a large population consistently.
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Cleanups after an assessment
The corrections a Fixed Asset Health Assessment turns up, made in bulk once the right values have been decided.
How it’s offered
Done for you
Tell us what needs to change and roughly how many assets are involved. You get a fixed-scope quote and a written plan, and nothing in your Sage Fixed Assets data is touched until you approve it. We run the changes, reconcile before and after, and hand back the report.
A licensed version, being rebuilt
A new version of the tool is being rebuilt so teams can run their own corrections with the same safeguards. Join the list and you will hear when it is ready.
Common jobs, explained
A task guide for each of the corrections we are asked for most, with what changes, which effective-date rule applies, and what to watch out for. Start with the guide to changing critical depreciation fields if you are not sure which one you need.
Critical field changes in bulk
Bulk change placed-in-service dates
Change the placed-in-service date on hundreds of assets with the right effective-date rule, keeping asset history intact.
Bulk update acquisition cost
Correct or add to the acquired value of many assets after depreciation has run, without editing each asset or reimporting.
Salvage, Section 179 and accumulated depreciation
Bulk Edit covers method and life only. Update salvage value, Section 179 and beginning or current accumulated depreciation on many assets at once.
CIP placed-in-service corrections
Assets capitalized before they were ready, or projects that slipped: reset depreciation and correct placed-in-service dates in bulk.
Bonus eligibility date corrections
100% bonus depends on placed-in-service and acquisition dates around January 20, 2025. If those dates are wrong, correct them in bulk.
Acquisitions, revaluations and conversions
Purchase accounting updates
Load valuation fair values, new acquisition dates and useful lives after an acquisition, book by book, without rebuilding the company.
Revaluations and restatements
Fresh-start accounting, impairments and restatements: update book values on existing assets in bulk across companies, with an audit-ready report.
Lower-cost data conversion
Quoted for a mass change or a data conversion, or thinking about deleting and reimporting? Compare the options.
Merging and splitting
Merge and consolidate companies
Merge companies that won't merge, or consolidate dozens of entities into one, with fiscal years, books, fields and balances aligned.
Split company data
Selling a division or spinning off an entity? Split assets into a new company with dates, cost and accumulated depreciation intact.
Split assets and load cost segregation
Split assets, load cost segregation studies and record partial dispositions with accumulated depreciation allocated correctly.
Request a quote
Tell us what needs to change and roughly how many assets are involved. You’ll get a fixed-scope quote, usually within two business days. Nothing in your Sage Fixed Assets data is touched until you approve the plan.
Join the list for the new version
The Critical Field Updater is being rebuilt as a licensed tool your own team can run. Leave your details and you will hear when it is ready. One email when there is news, nothing else.
Independent by design
Fixed Asset Consultant is an independent firm. It is not a software vendor or reseller and does not speak for any software provider. Product support, defects and licensing for Sage Fixed Assets sit with the software provider; what we bring is fixed-asset expertise applied to your data, and a written plan for every change before it is made.
Sage and Sage Fixed Assets are trademarks of The Sage Group plc or its affiliates. Fixed Asset Consultant’s services and the Critical Field Updater are not provided, sponsored or endorsed by Sage. Content on this page is general information, not tax or legal advice.