When to revise estimates
Sometimes your original assumptions about an asset turn out to be wrong. You might need to revise when:
A vehicle is lasting longer than expected
Equipment is wearing out faster than planned
The expected resale value has changed
Technology changes have shortened the useful life of IT equipment
What you can change
You can update two things:
Useful life – make it longer or shorter
Residual value – increase or decrease it
You can change one or both at the same time.
How to revise estimates
Open a Registered or Fully Depreciated asset
Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner
Select Update depreciation schedule
Enter the new useful life and/or residual value
Click Save
Screenshot needed: The three-dot context menu on a registered asset showing the "Update depreciation schedule" option. Navigate to an active asset > click the three-dot menu.
Screenshot needed: The Revise Estimates modal/form showing the useful life and residual value fields. Click "Update depreciation schedule" from the menu above.
How it affects future depreciation
Cybooks does not go back and change past entries. Instead, it adjusts future months based on the current book value and the new estimates.
Example
Detail | Before | After |
Purchase price | EUR 12,000 | EUR 12,000 |
Residual value | EUR 2,000 | EUR 1,000 |
Useful life | 5 years | 7 years |
Depreciation taken (2 years) | EUR 4,000 | EUR 4,000 |
Current book value | EUR 8,000 | EUR 8,000 |
New monthly depreciation | – | (EUR 8,000 - EUR 1,000) / 60 months = EUR 116.67 |
The remaining EUR 7,000 is spread over the remaining 60 months (7 years minus 2 years already gone).
Rules
Useful life must be longer than time already passed – if 36 months of depreciation have been recorded, the new useful life must be at least 4 years (48 months)
Residual value cannot exceed the book value – you cannot set it higher than what the asset is currently worth
Non-depreciable assets – for asset types like Land that do not depreciate, you cannot change the useful life. You can still update the residual value.
Re-opening a fully depreciated asset
If an asset is fully depreciated and you lower the residual value below the current book value, Cybooks changes it back to Active. Depreciation will start again based on the new numbers.
Example: A fully depreciated asset has a book value of EUR 2,000 (matching the residual value). You lower the residual to EUR 500. The asset becomes active again with EUR 1,500 left to depreciate.
Audit trail
Every revision is recorded in the asset history. It shows what changed (old value and new value) and who made the change.