A register conversion is safe when the last closed year is run in the new system and reconciled, account by account and book by book, to the figures the old system filed, with every difference explained and decided before go-live. Prior depreciation is loaded as filed, never recomputed.
The fear is losing history; the cure is a parallel run.
People stay on software they dislike because the register holds thirty years of decisions, prior depreciation as filed, elections, disposals, and a conversion that recomputes any of it silently produces a schedule that does not match the return. The method that removes the fear is old and plain: load every asset with its prior depreciation in every book exactly as filed, run the last closed year in the new register, set the result against the old system's filed figures account by account, and explain every difference before going live. Nothing is trusted because the software says so; it is trusted because the reconciliation ties.
Federal depreciation schedule, tax year 2026Schedule: Federal · Rates from Table A-1, Pub. 946 (2025)
| Asset | Description | In service | Cost | Method | Life | Prior | 2026 | Accumulated | NBV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10120 | Nonresid. improvement, Bldg 2 | 06/2019 | SL | 39 | 312,000.00 | 52,666.67 | 6,000.00 | 58,666.67 | 253,333.33 |
| 10412 | Vertical machining center | 05/2023 | SL | 10 | 148,500.00 | 39,600.00 | 11,137.50 | 50,737.50 | 97,762.50 |
| 10577 | Delivery van, unit 7 | 09/2024 | SL | 5 | 58,900.00 | 15,706.67 | 8,835.00 | 24,541.67 | 34,358.33 |
| 10603 | Warehouse racking, aisle 3 | 01/2025 | SL | 7 | 24,300.00 | 3,471.43 | 2,603.57 | 6,075.00 | 18,225.00 |
| 10688 | Server cluster | 03/2026 | SL | 3 | 41,200.00 | 0.00 | 8,011.11 | 8,011.11 | 33,188.89 |
| 10240 | Office furniture, HQ 3rd floor | 06/2026 | SL | 7 | 9,600.00 | 0.00 | 457.14 | 457.14 | 9,142.86 |
| 09877 | Forklift, unit 3 | 04/2018 | SL | 7 | 31,750.00 | 31,750.00 | 0.00 | 31,750.00 | 0.00 |
| 10311 | Laptops (12), sales | 02/2024 | SL | 3 | 18,420.00 | 11,768.33 | 4,605.00 | 16,373.33 | 2,046.67 |
| Grand totals, 8 assets shown of 1,203 | 644,670.00 | 154,963.10 | 41,649.32 | 196,612.42 | 448,057.58 | ||||
The five steps.
- Export and file. The asset export with all books, the last filed depreciation schedule and Form 4562, and the disposals report for the last closed year. The file is confirmed and the conversion quoted within one business day.
- Map and load. Fields are mapped by table (method, life, convention, class) and the unusual combinations are flagged; prior accumulated depreciation is loaded by book as filed, not recomputed.
- Run the last closed year in parallel. The new register computes the year the old system already filed.
- Reconcile by account and by book. Cost, accumulated depreciation and current-year expense, old against new, with a cause for every difference: rounding rules, a convention setting, a disposal recorded in one system only, an error carried in the old return.
- Decide and document. For each difference you choose to match the return or to correct going forward; the reconciliation with the decisions is the file the auditor sees. Then go live, with the same account manager.
| By account, last closed year | Old system, as filed | New register, parallel run | Difference | Cause and resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1520 Buildings and improvements, cost | 2,940,000.00 | 2,940,000.00 | 0.00 | |
| 1520 accumulated depreciation | 1,327,100.00 | 1,327,100.00 | 0.00 | Prior depreciation loaded as filed |
| 1540 Machinery and equipment, cost | 1,981,500.00 | 1,981,500.00 | 0.00 | |
| 1540 accumulated depreciation | 1,210,912.40 | 1,210,914.10 | (1.70) | Old system rounded each asset to the dollar; documented, old figure kept as filed |
| 1550 Vehicles, depreciation expense | 117,780.00 | 117,780.00 | 0.00 | |
| 1560 Computer equipment, depreciation expense | 137,426.67 | 136,380.00 | 1,046.67 | Old system had a laptop batch on half-year; the mid-quarter test applied; corrected going forward with the preparer's agreement |
What the differences usually are.
Rounding: two systems rarely round the same way, and the cents are found and kept as filed. Conventions: a batch placed on half-year in a mid-quarter year. Prior periods: an override made to match a return and never documented. Disposals: recorded in the ledger and not the register. And, sometimes, an error in a filed return; we show it rather than reproduce it, and the taxpayer and the preparer decide. The switching pages list what each source system exports and what carries over, field by field; the spreadsheet article lists what a workbook usually carries in.
What to record on the asset.
- Prior accumulated depreciation by book, as filed, as the opening balance, with the source document.
- Every override made to match a filed figure, with the reason and the date.
- The reconciliation report, the causes and the decisions, kept with the first year's file.
- The conversion date, which is the first period the new register owns.
- The old system's final export, archived, for the auditor who asks in three years.
In Fixed Asset Desk: conversion is done by our staff in five to seven business days and the reconciliation report is part of every conversion; the quote is on the file, once.
Sources: The company's conversion method, in use since 1990; AICPA AU-C section 500 on audit evidence for opening balances. Checked 20 September 2026.