Dispose of, Sell or Write Off an Asset
Dispose catches up depreciation, removes cost and accumulated depreciation, books any sale proceeds and records the gain or loss; it cannot be undone.
For School administrators, Accountants. Updated 2026-10-09.
Overview
Open an asset from the Register (View) and select Dispose, available to users with the “edit fixed asset” permission when the asset is not already disposed.
Enter Date of disposal (not before the purchase date and not in the future), Sale proceeds (GH₵, 0 if given away or scrapped), Received into (a cash or bank account, only when proceeds are above zero; defaults to Cash and bank 1000) and a Reason (at least 3 characters). Continue shows a confirmation that says this cannot be undone.
On confirmation the system first posts depreciation up to the last full month before the disposal date, then posts the disposal journal: debit proceeds to the bank account, debit accumulated depreciation 1590, credit the asset cost account, and credit 4300 Gain on disposal of assets or debit 5970 Loss on disposal of assets for the difference between proceeds and book value.
A sale also creates an income entry under Fixed assets in transaction history. The asset becomes Disposed, keeps its history and moves to the Disposed tab, which lists disposed assets with date and amount. Disposed assets cannot be edited or have their status changed. A Lost asset is not depreciated; disposing of it writes it off the books.
Error messages include "This asset has already been disposed of." and "The disposal date cannot be before the purchase date."
Before you start
- The “edit fixed asset” permission
- The disposal date is in an open fiscal year
- An active bank or cash account if proceeds were received
Steps
- Open Fixed Assets > Register and select View on the asset
- Select Dispose
- Enter the date, sale proceeds, receiving account and reason
- Select Continue, then Dispose of asset to confirm
- Check the Disposed tab and the journal in Journals & Ledger
Common problems
The disposal date cannot be before the purchase date
Enter a date on or after the date the asset was bought.
I disposed of the wrong asset
Disposal cannot be undone from the screen. Reverse the disposal journals in Journals & Ledger and contact an administrator or support to restore the asset record.
Choose a cash or bank account
Received into must be an active Cash and bank account.