Asset Keeper – Version 25 near completion (pre-release on schedule)

We are adding finishing touches to Asset Keeper, Version 25, and anticipate getting the pre-release out to users who have ordered the upgrade on or about December 1, 2009.  This gives you a chance to use the latest and greatest for your year-end processing.  We think you will find the changes and enhancements addictive and will increase your productivity by an order of magnitude.

On a related note, we have received a number of calls asking if Asset Keeper, Version 25, is compatible with Windows 7.  We’ve been running Windows 7 in-house for the last few months and have discovered no compatibility issues while running Asset Keeper 25.

If you are interested in moving to Asset Keeper, but unsure about what you might encounter, you can find a great deal of information about the upgrade process on the Windows Supersite website.  You can jump to it by clicking here.  Click on the Windows 7 button at the top of the screen to find information related to the new OS.

V25 – AK-TRACK (asset tracking add-on option)

One of the most requested features during the last few years has been improved asset tracking.  In version 25, you can optionally purchase AK-TRACK which provides additional fields that are dedicated for asset tracking purposes.  After enabling AK-TRACK (by using the provided activation code), the following fields are available to enter your asset tracking data.  Most of the fields are user-defined, so you can customize the data to meet your specific needs.

• Asset Type – This field is used to identify assets of a specific type or category, such as, vehicles, laptops, phones, etc.
• Asset Location – This field is used to enter the location of the asset, for example, the building, branch, or state.
• Assigned To – This field is where you enter the person who is using or responsible for the asset.
• Date Assigned – This date will correspond to the date the asset was assigned to a specific person.
• Asset Status – This field is used to identify the status of an asset, for example, ready-for-use, broken-needs repair, or broken-unable to repair.
• Notes – There is also an asset tracking notes field where you can enter an infinite amount of notes specifically related to asset tracking.

There are also a number of reports that are designed specifically to provide you with asset tracking information.  These reports are supplemented with data entered in other fields to make the reports more informative and useful.   In addition, a complete tracking history is maintained so you will be able to review the assignment of an asset from the date it was acquired until it is disposed.

If you want to do a better job of managing your fixed assets, then asset tracking should be an integral part of your fixed asset system.   AK-TRACK is your answer to fast and efficient asset tracking integrated into a fixed asset program that you know you can rely on.

Shown below is the Add / Edit screen when asset tracking has been enabled.

Add / Edit screen with asset tracking fields.

Additional information and pricing will be included with your upgrade packet for Asset Keeper, Version 25.  These will begin shipping out around October 15th, 2009.

V25 – Enhancement #14 – Report Specifications

In Version 25, we made some slight enhancements to ALL the report specification screens.  These are the screens that allow you to select the options for the report selected.

In addition to a little redesign of the screens themselves, we now allow you to enter your beginning and ending ranges instead of selecting them from drop down combo listings.

For example, if you select your G.L. A/C# as your primary sort field and you want to print just one account number, let’s say 140 – Equipment, you can enter 140 for the beginning and ending account number instead of selecting it from the drop down listing.  You can still select your range from the drop down listing, but if you are familiar with the accounts and know which ones you want to print, this is much faster than selecting them from the drop down listing.

V25 – Enhancement #13 – Reference supporting external document for each asset.

In some cases, you may wish to link an external document or Excel spreadsheet to an asset.  A good example of this would be when you have self-constructed assets and use an Excel spreadsheet to document the cost of each component that is used to construct the asset.

On the General tab of the Add / Edit screen, there is now a button to link a document with the you have displayed.

Add / Edit – Add Reference Document

In addition, you can also add an explanatory note so it will be easy to determine what the linked document contains.   Currently, only certain types of files are supported – specifically, PDF, Excel, and Word files.

You can also open the supported document from within Asset Keeper by clicking on the appropriate button shown on the following screen.

Add Reference Document details.

V25 – Enhancement #12 – Quick Backup now really quick!

There are over 35 different places where you are prompted to make a backup because Asset Keeper will may change multiple assets.  Everyone knows the importance of making backups, even when you know that the only way to get back to square one is to edit each asset and reverse the change made.

Prior to version 25, the Quick Backup option (when selected) would simply re-route you to the backup option included under the File menu.  As we have come to realize, the problem with this is that even if you made a backup, you may not be able to identify which backup file contains the data you are looking for unless you are meticulous about naming your backup files.

After giving some thought to this problem, we decided it was time to completely revise the way that the Quick Backup works.

First, we wanted to make it faster.  So when you click the backup button, there are no questions to answer.  The backup is performed extremely fast because we already know what file needs to be backed up and the naming convention for the backup file is done automatically.  You can however, enter a note to further identify the backup file.  In this case, the Quick Backup, screen shown below, is displayed when attempting to add a new method to our data file.

Quick Backup Screen

When you click the Backup Now button, the backup is performed without further prompts.  The backup file is assigned a unique name and is saved in a special folder named QBACKUPS.  It will be created in your DEFAULT data folder.

In addition, the backup file name will be added to a Quick Backup Restore Point log.  You can view your quick backup log or restore a backup by accessing the Quick Backup Restore Point log.  The log is viewed by selecting the Quick Backup Restore Point option on the Backup / Restore screen as shown below.

Backup / Restore / Restore Points screen

A sample of the Quick Backup Restore Point log is shown below.  You can easily restore your file to any of the restore points listed by clicking on it, and then clicking the Restore button.

Quick Backup Restore Point log

V25 – Enhancement #11 – Exclude assets from Form 4797

On the General page of the Add / Edit screen there is a checkbox that when marked will exclude the asset from being included on the IRS Form 4797.  However, to mark this checkbox, you would have to first dispose of the asset, then edit the asset to mark the checkbox.  We have added this checkbox to the Dispose asset screen so that you can mark the checkbox while you are entering the disposal information thereby eliminating the need to edit the asset after disposing.

The following is the Dispose asset screen that is displayed when clicking the Dispose button on the Asset Listing screen.

Dispose Assets screen - Asset Listing

The following is the dispose asset screen displayed when clicking the Dispose button on the toolbar while the Add / Edit screen is displayed.

Dispose Asset - Add/Edit screen

V25 – Enhancement #10 – Depreciation Lives Lookup

There is an icon on the Main Menu toolbar that will display a form that will provide you with the recommended depreciation lives for various types of assets.  In addition to redesigning this screen, we also added a button that allows you to create a category that will be available when adding assets using the Quick Add with Categories.

So the procedure would be to use the Depreciation Lives lookup screen to find the correct lives that should be used for a type of asset, then create a category so that you can use the Quick Add with Categories to speed up your data entry.

Shown below is the newly redesigned Depreciation Lives Lookup screen.

Depreciation Lives Lookup screen

V25 – Enhancement #9 – Asset Summary screen when selecting file

When selecting a data file, an Asset Summary screen will be displayed that provides summary information about the assets in your data file.  You can also turn off the Asset Summary screen (in the Configuration screen) so it will no longer be displayed.  A sample of the Asset Summary is displayed below.

Asset Summary screen

V25 – Enhancement #8 – Quick Add screen improved (high res)

This is the first enhancement that shows the new high resolution screens for some of the options in V25.  In this case, the Quick Add screen (with Categories) is shown below with three modifications to improve the functionality of this option.

If this is your first exposure to the Quick Add screen, you may be surprised to find that if you need to add a number of similar assets, using this screen instead of the Add / Edit screen can reduce the time by more than half.  If you’re looking for a real timesaver, then this may be just the ticket.

Quick Add with Categories (high res screen)

The first change is the replacement of the drop down combo box with a list box showing the categories that you can select from when adding assets.  The list box makes it easier to see the categories that are available to select from.

The second change is shown just below the list box.  The depreciation methods and lives that have been assigned to the category selected in the list box is displayed to make it easier for you to verify that you have the correct category selected.

Finally, we’ve added a couple of more fields – the valuation field and the personal property field to the list of data fields that can be entered using this option.

V25 – Enhancement #7 – Reducing the length of reports

Very often, when printing reports in Asset Keeper, it includes a number of assets that are fully depreciated and therefore, have no effect on the tax recovery amounts (current depreciation, Section 179, or Bonus depreciation).

In V25, we’ve added a configuration option that allows you to turn on a feature that will “combine” fully depreciated assets and print them as ONE asset, which may greatly reduce the length of your reports.  Combined assets are printed for each sort group printed.

Shown below is an example of the Asset Depreciation Short Report with this feature selected.  The red arrow shows the combined assets in two different groups (Asset A/C#, which is the sort field selected).

Combined assets feature on Asset Depr Short Report