XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero
Country Restriction: All supported countries
Risk Type: Financial Reporting Risk
Business Function: Fixed Assets
Overview
This XBert finds fixed assets that are still sitting in Draft status even though the bill for them has already been paid. A draft asset has not been registered properly, so it can be missed from your fixed asset register, depreciation and financial reports. Tidying these up keeps your balance sheet accurate and your reporting complete.
What it does
XBert reviews your fixed asset register and the bills linked to each asset. It looks for assets that have been started but never finalised, then checks whether the related bill has actually been paid. It compares the timing of each draft asset against your most recent depreciation activity so it only flags older items that should already have been dealt with.
How it works
XBert first works out a reference date based on your depreciation history:
The date of your most recent depreciation journal, if one exists.
If there is no depreciation journal, the end of your last financial year.
If neither can be found, a fallback of six months ago.
XBert then raises this alert when an asset meets all of the following:
The asset is still in Draft status.
It was purchased before the reference date above, so it is not a brand-new entry you are still working on.
It is linked to a supplier bill, and that bill has been fully paid.
XBert deliberately leaves some items out so it only surfaces things that genuinely need attention. It ignores draft assets where the bill has not been paid yet, and it ignores assets that have already been written off (where a depreciation journal matching the asset's value has been posted). It also stays quiet for organisations that have no registered assets or no recent asset purchases, so newly set-up registers are not flagged unnecessarily.
Example/Use Case
Priya from Maple Lane Joinery buys a new $4,800 panel saw. She starts adding it to the fixed asset register in Xero but gets interrupted and never finalises the entry, so it stays in Draft. Meanwhile the supplier bill is approved and paid in full. Months later the asset is still in Draft, which means it has not been registered, is not being depreciated correctly, and is missing from the fixed asset reports the accountant relies on at year end.
XBert spots the paid, still-draft asset and flags it. Priya opens the register, finalises the panel saw so it is properly registered and set to depreciate, and the books once again reflect what the business actually owns.
Accounting software
This XBert runs on Xero, which provides the fixed asset register XBert relies on.
Which countries it supports
This XBert is available in all supported countries.
Processes
This XBert is part of the Fixed Assets business area. To resolve it:
Open your fixed asset register in Xero and find the draft asset XBert has flagged.
Check the linked supplier bill to confirm the purchase is genuine and has been paid.
If the asset should be on the register, finalise (register) it so it is recorded correctly and starts depreciating.
If the item was entered by mistake or is a duplicate, delete the draft entry.
If the asset has been fully claimed (for example under an instant asset write-off), make sure it is recorded as written off rather than left in draft.
Once the asset is correctly registered, deleted or written off, mark the XBert as resolved.