How it works
When you approve a bill or expense and a line item is coded to a fixed asset account, Cybooks automatically creates a draft asset for you. This makes sure nothing that should be capitalised slips through the cracks.
What triggers it
Auto-creation happens when:
A bill or expense is approved (moves to Open status)
A line item is coded to an account that belongs to an active asset type
For example, your "Computer Equipment" asset type uses account 1481. If you approve a bill with a line item on account 1481, Cybooks creates a draft "Computer Equipment" asset automatically.
Tip: This only creates drafts. Assets are never automatically registered or depreciated. You still review and complete them yourself.
What gets created
The draft asset includes:
Asset type – matched from the line item account
Purchase price – the line item amount
Purchase date – the bill or expense date
Useful life – pre-filled from the asset type defaults
Link to the source document – you can click through to the original bill or expense
You still need to:
Give the asset a name
Review and adjust the details if needed
Register the asset to activate it
Pending drafts banner
When auto-created drafts need your attention, an amber banner appears at the top of the Fixed Assets page showing how many are waiting.
Screenshot needed: The amber "pending drafts" banner at the top of the Fixed Assets list page. To trigger this, create and approve a bill with a line item coded to a fixed asset account (e.g. 1481 Computer Equipment), then navigate to Fixed Assets.
What happens if you delete the bill or expense
It depends on the asset status:
Asset status | What happens |
Draft | The draft asset is deleted automatically |
Registered or Fully Depreciated | The deletion is blocked – you must unregister or delete the asset first |
Other (e.g. Disposed) | The link between the asset and document is cleared, but both stay |
Important: You cannot delete a bill that has a registered or fully depreciated asset linked to it. Unregister or delete the asset first.
One asset per line item
Each qualifying line item creates one draft asset. If a bill has three line items coded to fixed asset accounts, three separate drafts are created. Duplicates are not created if an asset already exists for that line item.
Viewing the source document
On the asset detail page, assets from purchases show a link to the original bill or expense. Click it to go directly to that document.
Tips
Review auto-created drafts promptly and give them clear names
If a line item was coded to the wrong account, change it on the bill – the draft asset will be cleaned up automatically
Use the pending drafts banner to stay on top of new assets that need attention