What registration does
Registration activates a draft asset in your accounting system. When you register an asset, Cybooks:
Gives it a unique asset number (e.g. FA-1)
Creates the accounting entries to add the asset to your Balance Sheet
Works out any catch-up depreciation if the start date is in the past
Moves the asset from the Draft tab to the Active tab
How to register
Open a draft asset and click the Register button.
Before you register: Make sure the purchase price, purchase date, depreciation start date, useful life, and residual value are correct. Most of these cannot be changed after registration.
Good to know: When you create an asset using the "Already had it" or "Something else" options, Cybooks registers it automatically. You only need to register manually for purchase-linked drafts.
Screenshot needed: A draft asset detail page showing the Register button. Navigate to Fixed Assets > Draft tab > click on any draft asset.
What you can still change after registration
After registration, you can edit:
Asset name
Description
Serial number
To change financial details like price or useful life, you would need to either unregister (if no depreciation has run) or use Revise Estimates.
Accounting entries on registration
The entries depend on how you added the asset:
Purchased from a bill: No extra entry is needed. The bill already recorded the cost.
Opening balance (already had it):
Account | Debit | Credit |
Fixed Asset Account (e.g. Vehicles) | Purchase price | |
Opening Balance Equity | Purchase price |
Something else (donation, exchange, etc.):
Account | Debit | Credit |
Fixed Asset Account (e.g. Vehicles) | Purchase price | |
Your selected credit account | Purchase price |
Catch-up depreciation
If the depreciation start date is earlier than the current month, Cybooks works out all the depreciation that should have been recorded and creates one single entry for the entire period. This keeps your books clean instead of creating dozens of backdated entries.
For example, if you register an asset today that started depreciating 18 months ago, you get one catch-up entry covering all 18 months.
Good to know: For opening balance assets, the catch-up goes to Opening Balance Equity instead of Depreciation Expense. This way, historical depreciation does not inflate your current year expenses.
Unregistering an asset
If you registered an asset by mistake or need to change locked fields, you can unregister it to go back to draft.
You can only unregister if:
The asset has no depreciation entries. If depreciation has been run, roll back all entries first.
What happens when you unregister:
The asset goes back to Draft status
The asset number is cleared (a new number will be assigned when you register again)
Any accounting entry from registration is reversed
You can edit all fields again
Tip: If your asset already has depreciation entries and you need to change the useful life or residual value, use Revise Estimates instead. You do not need to unregister.