Switching from spreadsheets
From the depreciation workbook to a register that reconciles itself.
Most registers under a thousand assets start in Excel. The workbook usually works until someone leaves, a formula is overwritten, or the auditor asks for the roll-forward. We convert the workbook as it is.
What we need from you
The workbook, with every tab, as it is. The last filed depreciation schedule and Form 4562, so that we can reconcile to what was actually filed rather than to the workbook's current state.
| Source field | Fixed Asset Desk field | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Internal book | Book | Mapped |
| Tax book | Federal | Mapped |
| State book | State | Mapped |
| AMT book | AMT | Mapped |
| ACE book | User-defined book 1 | Mapped |
| Prior accumulated (all books) | Prior depreciation by book | Loaded as filed |
| Property type / est. life | Class / life | Table |
| Averaging convention | Convention | Table |
| G/L asset acct, expense acct | GL accounts | Mapped |
| Custom field 3 (Grant no.) | Custom: Grant number | Created |
| Validation: 1,284 loaded · 0 rejected · 3 warnings (unusual method and life combinations flagged for review) | ||
What carries over, field by field
| In spreadsheets | In Fixed Asset Desk | How |
|---|---|---|
| Asset rows | Asset records | Mapped column by column; the map is saved for future imports |
| Cost, date, category | Cost, in-service date, class | Validated; dates and classes that fail validation are listed for you |
| The depreciation columns | Prior accumulated depreciation by book | Loaded as filed; where the workbook's figure differs from the return, we ask which to keep |
| Tax workpaper (if separate) | Federal book | Loaded as a second book |
| Location and department columns | Location and department | Direct |
| Sold and scrapped rows | Disposals with dates | Loaded as events |
| Notes column | Asset notes | Kept |
How the tie-out works
- You send the export and your last filed schedule. We confirm the file within one business day and give you a fixed conversion quote.
- We load every asset with prior accumulated depreciation in each book. Methods, lives, conventions and elections are mapped, not re-derived, so history is preserved exactly.
- You run the last closed year in parallel. Our reconciliation report lists cost, accumulated depreciation and current-year expense by account and by book against your filed figures.
- Differences are explained before go-live. Each one is documented with the cause, usually a rounding rule or a convention setting in the old system. You keep the reconciliation for your auditor.
- Go live with the same account manager. Five to seven business days from the file to the parallel run.
Things to know
Common findings in workbooks: assets depreciated past zero, disposals deleted rather than recorded, half-year convention applied to every asset regardless of the mid-quarter test, and bonus depreciation taken in a year the state did not allow it. We list what we find; you decide what to correct.
Cost
Workbooks under 500 assets with one book usually convert for a small fixed fee; complex workbooks are quoted after we see them.
Sources for statements about spreadsheets
Statements about the spreadsheet on this page come from the vendor's public website and from published user reviews as of September 2026. They describe what reviewers reported, not our own testing.
- The project's own conversion experience with spreadsheet registers since 1990
- research/competitors/tracking-and-saas-vendors.md in the project repository, on how vendors position against spreadsheets
Try it on your own register.
The 14-day trial is the full product. Load a spreadsheet of your assets, run a schedule, and compare it with what you filed. No card is needed.