Common questions: fleet depreciation and asset value

Short answers about what your units are worth on paper: purchase price, current value, book value and sold units. Every answer links to the longer article.

Finding the page and reading it

How do I open the fleet depreciation page?

Click Fleet in the left sidebar, then the Depreciation button at the top of the Fleet list. On narrower screens that button sits in the three-dot menu next to + Add Item. The Dashboard's Fleet Depreciation card (View all) and the Reports Fleet Valuation card (View full portfolio) open the same page, which is titled "Depreciation portfolio". See Your whole fleet's asset value.

What do the four cards at the top mean?

Tracked units is how many units are in the table, which is every unit that is not sold, whether or not it has a price. Total purchase and Current value add up the purchase prices and current values that are filled in. Depreciated shows the dollars lost and the average percent lost, weighted by purchase price so a $10,000 machine counts for more than a $500 one. See Your whole fleet's asset value.

What do the Purchase, Current, Depreciation and % columns show?

Purchase is the price entered for the unit and Current is its wear-based value today. Depreciation is Purchase minus Current in dollars, and the % column is that loss as a share of the purchase price (held between 0 and 100 percent), with a small bar. A dash means a number it needs is missing. See Your whole fleet's asset value.

What do the Fleet item, Unit and Status columns show?

Each item gets one row with its name, its unit count and a badge for each status among its units, with a count: Available, Maintenance, Retired or Unavailable. Expanding the row lists its units as "#1 · nickname" or "Unit #1", each with its own status badge. The Book value column is described below. See Your whole fleet's asset value.

How do I expand an item to see its units?

Click the small arrow next to the item name; every item starts collapsed. Clicking the Fleet item column heading expands or collapses all of them. When unit names end in a dash and a number (L-1, L-2), the item opens into groups such as L, each with its own arrow, plus an Other group for names that do not follow that pattern. See Your whole fleet's asset value.

What do the numbers on an item's row add up?

The row totals its units' Purchase, Current, Book value and Depreciation, and its % is the item's total loss divided by its total purchase. The Book value total counts only units that have a schedule, so it can look low next to the Purchase total. A dash in that cell means none of the item's units has a schedule. See Your whole fleet's asset value.

What does the Book value on schedule box mean, and why is it sometimes missing?

It appears only when at least one unit has a complete depreciation schedule, and it counts only those units; the line beside the title reads like "2 of 5 units have a schedule". Its cards are Cost basis (scheduled units), Accumulated depreciation and Book value. The Book value column in the table appears at the same moment. See Your whole fleet's asset value.

Why don't Current value and Book value match?

They measure different things. Current value drops with use (hours, miles, uses or days) at the rates you set on the item. Book value drops by calendar month on the schedule you set for the unit (cost, salvage value and useful life) and ignores how much the unit is used. The page says the two will not match. See Your whole fleet's asset value.

Why isn't Total purchase minus Current value equal to Depreciated?

Each total adds only the units that have that number. A unit with a purchase price but no current value counts in Total purchase but not in Current value or Depreciated, and the reverse is true too. Fill in both values on every unit and the three figures agree. See Your whole fleet's asset value.

Why does a unit show a dash instead of a number?

The number it needs is blank. A dash under Purchase means no purchase price, under Current means no current value, and under Depreciation or % means one of those two is blank (the % also needs a purchase price above $0). Under Book value it means no complete schedule, and hovering shows "No depreciation schedule set". The unit still counts in Tracked units. See How a unit's value depreciates over time.

Entering values

How do I enter a unit's purchase price and current value?

1. Click Fleet and open the item, or open Depreciation, expand the item and click the unit. 2. If the item has one unit you land on its page; if it has several, click the link beside the unit. 3. In the Value over time section, type the Purchase price and Current value in dollars. 4. Click Save asset details.

See How a unit's value depreciates over time.

How do I set a purchase price for every unit of an item at once?

Open the item, click Edit, go to the Add-ons & Maintenance step and open Depreciation & Asset Tracking. Type Purchase price per unit ($); Current value per unit ($) fills with the same number if it is empty. A new unit starts at the item's current value, or at the purchase price when no current value is set. See How a unit's value depreciates over time.

If I change the price on the item, will my units' prices change?

No, not when a unit already has its own value. The item's purchase price and current value are copied only into units that have neither a purchase price nor a current value yet. The unit page says these values belong to that unit alone. See How a unit's value depreciates over time.

How do I set up a depreciation schedule for my books?

1. Open the unit's page (see above) and make sure its Purchase price is saved. 2. In Depreciation schedule, choose Straight line or Declining balance under Method. 3. Fill in In-service date, Salvage value and Useful life (months); for Declining balance also pick the Acceleration factor. 4. Check Book value today, then click Save asset details.

See How a unit's value depreciates over time.

What is the difference between Straight line and Declining balance?

Straight line writes off the same amount every month: purchase price minus salvage value, divided by the useful life in months. Declining balance takes a fixed percent of the remaining value each month, so early months drop more; the Acceleration factor sets the pace (2.0 double declining, 1.5 150% declining, or 1.0 straight-line rate). With either method the value stops at the salvage value once the useful life is over. See Your whole fleet's asset value.

What do In-service date, Salvage value and Useful life mean, and what are the limits?

In-service date is the day the unit went into service, and months are counted from it. Salvage value is what you expect it to be worth at the end; if you leave it blank Renta saves $0, and a salvage above the purchase price is treated as the purchase price. Useful life (months) is counted in whole months, from 1 to 1200. See Your whole fleet's asset value.

Why don't I see a book value for my unit?

Renta shows a book value only when the unit has a method other than No schedule, a purchase price, an in-service date and a useful life. Until then the unit page says "Nothing is shown until all three are filled in", and the portfolio shows a dash. A missing input never appears as $0. See How a unit's value depreciates over time.

What happens if I set Method back to No schedule?

Saving with No schedule erases that unit's in-service date, salvage value and useful life, so nothing springs back if you pick a method again later. The purchase price and current value stay. See How a unit's value depreciates over time.

How is the book value worked out each month?

Renta counts whole months since the in-service date; a month counts only once the same day of the month is reached, and there is no part-month amount. Straight line takes one equal slice per month, and declining balance applies its rate to each month's opening value. A unit whose in-service date is in the future shows its full cost, and one past its useful life shows its salvage value. The figure is recalculated each time the page loads. See Your whole fleet's asset value.

Is the book value tax advice? Can I give it to my accountant?

Give it to your accountant as a starting point, not as a filing. The page says it is not tax advice and is not MACRS, Section 179 or bonus depreciation. The unit page carries the same warning next to Book value today. See Your whole fleet's asset value.

How Current value drops with use

How does a unit's Current value go down on its own?

The first time a booking is marked completed, Renta checks each unit on it. If the item has a depreciation rate and the unit's meter has moved since its last charge, Renta lowers Current value by that rate and adds a line to the Depreciation log. The same check runs when someone updates a meter reading on the Maintenance page, and a reading entered at pickup or dropoff is counted when the booking completes. Reopening and completing the same booking again does not charge twice. See How a unit's value depreciates over time.

How do I set a depreciation rate on an item?

1. Open the item, click Edit, go to the Add-ons & Maintenance step and open Depreciation & Asset Tracking. 2. Choose the meter in Tracking unit. 3. In the rate field (labeled "Depreciation per" plus the meter, such as hour or use), choose Fixed ($) or Percent (%) and type the amount. 4. Save the item.

See How a unit's value depreciates over time.

What is the difference between Fixed ($) and Percent (%)?

Fixed ($) charges that many dollars for every unit the meter moves, so 10 hours at $5 an hour lowers the value by $50. Percent (%) charges that percent of the purchase price (or of the current value if there is no purchase price) once each time the meter moves, however far it moved. The on-screen hint says "Percent of purchase price per tracking unit", but the amount is not multiplied by how far the meter moved. See How a unit's value depreciates over time.

Why can't I set a depreciation rate on my item?

The Tracking unit list is built from the item's maintenance tasks that are measured in hours, miles, util. days or uses, plus Uses once Enable maintenance tracking is on. With none of those, the card says "Add maintenance tasks or enable individual tracking to configure meter-based depreciation rates." Add a task measured in one of those units, or turn on maintenance tracking, and the list appears. See Maintenance schedules on one item.

Why hasn't my unit's value dropped after rentals?

Renta lowers a unit's value only when the item has a depreciation rate above zero, the unit has a Current value, and the unit's meter moved since the last charge. Utilization days and Uses go up on their own when a booking is completed, but Hours and Miles change only when someone enters a reading, for example at pickup, at dropoff or on the Maintenance page. On a unit's page only the meters the item's active maintenance schedules count get a box next to the value fields. See How a unit's value depreciates over time.

If I correct a unit's Current value or readings by hand, does Renta charge wear again?

Not for what you already corrected. When you save a Current value, Renta treats it as correct for the meter readings saved with it and charges only movement after that. Save asset details always saves the Current value along with the readings shown there, so a reading typed there costs no value; to charge wear for a changed reading, update it on the Maintenance page instead, which adds a Manual meter update line. See How a unit's value depreciates over time.

Why does the chart say "Not enough history yet"?

The chart under Value over time needs two or more points: a starting value (the purchase price, or the value before the first change if there is no price) and at least one change. Until then it shows "Not enough history yet", and the Depreciation log shows "No depreciation events recorded yet." See How a unit's value depreciates over time.

What do the columns in the Depreciation log mean?

When is the date and time. Trigger reads Rental return (a link to the booking) or Manual meter update (no booking, the reading was changed directly), and Meter delta is how far the meter moved, such as +5 hours. Value before, Value after and Drop show the change in dollars, newest line first. See How a unit's value depreciates over time.

Is there a floor on how low a value can go?

The wear-based Current value never goes below $0, and each drop is rounded to the cent. A schedule's book value never goes below the salvage value. The % column stays between 0 and 100 percent even if a unit's Current value is higher than its purchase price. See Your whole fleet's asset value.

Missing, sold, retired and archived units

Why is my item missing from the depreciation table?

The table lists individual units, not items, so an item appears only once it has unit records. The usual triggers are Enable maintenance tracking, Assign per unit variants, or a quantity above 1 with a purchase price. An item with no units keeps its value on the item itself, which shows on its Details page and in the Dashboard and Reports totals but not in this table. A sold unit is also left out. See Your whole fleet's asset value.

Why does the page say "No tracked units yet"?

It means no unsold unit exists in your account. The full message reads "Enable per-unit tracking and set a purchase price on a fleet item to populate this view." Once an item has units (see the answer above), they appear here even before you price them. See Your whole fleet's asset value.

What happens to depreciation when I mark a unit as sold?

The unit leaves this table and every total on the page, but its purchase price and current value are not changed. Its page shows a Sold banner with the sale price and how far above or below its value the sale was. Undo sale clears the sale record and the unit returns to the table. See Marking a unit as sold.

What does "above book value" mean on a sold unit's banner?

The banner compares the sale price with the unit's Current value, the wear-based number, and not with the scheduled Book value. It reads "$600.00 below book value", "above book value" or "same as book value", and it is left out when the unit has no Current value. See Marking a unit as sold.

Do retired or archived units stay in the table?

Yes. The table leaves out only sold units, so a unit with the Retired badge, or a unit whose item has been archived, still shows with its numbers. Retired is not the same as sold: a sale also records the price and date, and the buyer if you enter one. See Marking a unit as sold.

Other places asset value appears

Why do the Dashboard and Reports numbers differ from the portfolio?

They count differently. The Dashboard Fleet Depreciation card and the Fleet Valuation card on Reports count items (Items Tracked, Items Priced), include only units that have a purchase price, skip archived items and do not take out sold units. The portfolio counts every unsold unit, includes units of archived items, and shows unpriced units with dashes. Their Depreciation figure is total purchase minus total current value, never below zero. See Fleet health and maintenance snapshot.

Where else does asset value show up?

On an item's Details page, the Value box shows Purchase price, Current value and Depreciated; an item with several units adds them up and labels the first box "Purchase price (all units)", and an item with one unit opens straight to that unit's page. On each unit's page the same three figures sit at the top of Value over time. The Dashboard has Fleet Depreciation, and Reports has Fleet Valuation inside the Rental Utilization tab. See How hard your fleet is working.

What does the Fleet Valuation card on Reports say?

It counts only items that have a purchase price and says how many of your fleet items that covers, so a partly priced fleet is not mistaken for the whole fleet's worth. With no priced items it reads "Set a purchase price on your fleet items to track their current value and depreciation here." with a Go to Fleet Depreciation link. See How hard your fleet is working.

What does the Consider selling badge mean?

It shows on an item's card in the Fleet list when any one of its units has a value at or below the Sell Threshold ($) you set on that item (an item with no unit values uses its own current value). Set the threshold under Depreciation & Asset Tracking in the item editor. The editor says "below your threshold", but the check is at or below. See Browsing your fleet.

Do my customers see what I paid for a unit or its depreciation?

No. Purchase price, current value and depreciation appear only in admin screens: the Fleet pages, a unit's page, the Dashboard and Reports. See Your whole fleet's asset value.