Dispose of a fixed asset

Q: Can I undo a disposal?

Edit or delete its journal voucher ( Change or delete a saved voucher ). The unit is marked as disposed by the screen; ask your support contact if you need it to be live again.

Disposing of a unit records the money received, takes the asset's value off its ledger and books the gain or loss. In this release the disposal screen does not clear the unit's accumulated depreciation and does not see the depreciation you posted, so check its journal or post the disposal yourself.

Accounting Fixed assets
4 min read
Updated October 20, 2026

For Accountant

On this page

When to use which
Dispose of a unit
Post the disposal yourself
Common questions

When to use which

Situation	Use
You sell the unit to a customer and give an invoice	Sales Invoice (Fixed assets sales) (Sell a fixed asset)
You send the unit back to the supplier	Purchase return (fixed assets) (Return a fixed asset to the supplier)
You scrap or sell it without an invoice and want one record	Disposal details on the unit (below)
You need the books exactly right with depreciation	A journal voucher you post yourself (below)

Dispose of a unit

Open the unit
Who
Accountant
Where
Fixed assets settings > Fixed assets policy > select the unit
What changes
The unit's page shows its Depreciation policy, Location details and Disposal details.
Open Disposal details
What changes
A side window asks for the Disposal method and Disposal date, and shows the Assets value (the unit's book value), the Total depreciation and the Current value. Enter the Disposal amount (what you received), choose the Cash/Bank ledger it went to and the date and numbering series of the journal voucher.
Save
What changes
"Assets disposal process saved successfully". A journal voucher is made.

What the disposal screen changes

Area	Change
Cash or bank	Debited by the Disposal amount
The asset's fixed assets ledger	Credited by the book value less the total depreciation shown
Loss or gain on disposal	The difference between the Disposal amount and the current value
Accumulated depreciation	Not cleared: its credit balance stays
The unit	Marked as disposed, so depreciation stops
Approval	The voucher is posted at once, even where journal approval is on

Post the disposal yourself

For a correct result when depreciation has been posted, use a journal voucher (Make adjustments with a journal voucher) dated the disposal date:

Line	Ledger	Amount
Debit	The cash or bank ledger	What you received
Debit	The asset's Accumulated depreciation ledger	The depreciation posted to date for the unit
Credit	The asset's Fixed assets ledger	The unit's cost (its Book value)
Debit or credit	Loss on disposal (debit) or Gain on disposal (credit)	The difference that makes the voucher balance

If you used the screen first, correct its journal voucher so that it matches this layout; do not add a second voucher on top of it.

Worked example: selling the machine after two years

The machine in Depreciate fixed assets cost 120,000. Two years of depreciation have been posted, 40,000 in all, so its net value is 80,000. It is sold for scrap for 70,000, paid into the bank.

Line	The disposal screen's journal	The journal the books need
Bank, debit	70,000	70,000
Accumulated depreciation ledger, debit		40,000
Fixed assets ledger, credit	120,000	120,000
Loss on disposal, debit	50,000	10,000

With the right journal the machine's cost and its accumulated depreciation both leave the books, and the loss is the real one: the net value of 80,000 less the 70,000 received. With the screen's journal the loss is 40,000 too large and the accumulated depreciation ledger still holds 40,000. If you used the screen, edit its voucher: add the accumulated depreciation line and lower the loss to 10,000.

Had the machine sold for 90,000, the last line would be Gain on disposal, credit 10,000: debits 90,000 + 40,000, credits 120,000 + 10,000.

Common questions

The gain or loss looks too large.

The screen compares what you received with the cost, not the cost less depreciation. Post the disposal by journal voucher.

The Accumulated depreciation ledger still has a balance after disposal.

The disposal screen does not clear it. Debit it with the depreciation posted for the unit, as in the table above.

Can I undo a disposal?

Edit or delete its journal voucher (Change or delete a saved voucher). The unit is marked as disposed by the screen; ask your support contact if you need it to be live again.

The unit still shows in stock.

The disposal records money and gain or loss; it does not take the unit out of stock.

The Disposal method list is empty and the screen will not save.

The disposal methods are a list kept in the system, and the method is required. Ask your support contact to add the methods you use; meanwhile post the disposal with a journal voucher as above.