The two methods
Every asset uses one of two methods, chosen on the asset (or inherited from its class):
SLM — Straight Line
Depreciation is a fixed amount each year: (cost − residual) ÷ useful life. You give either the useful life in years or a rate on cost. The amount stays constant year after year.
WDV — Written Down Value
Depreciation is a fixed % of the opening WDV each year, so it gets smaller over time. You give the depreciation rate %.
Residual (salvage) value
Both methods are floored at the residual value — the asset is never depreciated below it. In the SLM example above, the cost less residual is the "depreciable base". For WDV the residual also caps the total accumulated depreciation, so the block can't fall below the salvage amount.
Day-wise pro-rata
In the years an asset starts, improves, or is disposed of, depreciation is prorated to the exact number of days held.
- Acquisition year — an asset put to use on 1 Oct 2025 in an April-start FY only gets the portion of the year it was held (Oct–Mar).
- Addition year — each capital addition also depreciates from its own date, not the asset's.
- Disposal year — depreciation stops on the disposal date.
This is the fiddly bit that spreadsheets get wrong, and it's exactly what the engine handles for you.
Capital additions
A capital addition is money spent improving an existing asset, and it's added to the gross block. Just FAR keeps the original base and each addition separate: the base continues on its original schedule, while the addition depreciates from its own date at the same method and rate. This keeps the block and accumulated depreciation honest.
Mid-life adoption (opening balances)
Most clients already own assets when they start using the software, so instead of rebuilding history you adopt them as on a date:
- Opening WDV — the written-down value as at the date.
- Accumulated Depreciation — must reconcile: gross cost − opening WDV (Just FAR checks this).
- As-on date — normally 31 March (the prior FY-end) or 1 April (the FY opening day). Avoid random mid-year dates.
Keep the original put-to-use date (it can be years ago), and the engine continues the schedule from the opening balances. Later additions are treated as new money after that snapshot.
Financial years
A schedule is always computed for a whole financial year, which starts in the configured month (default April). The FY selector in the window chooses which year you're looking at. Assets are matched to years by their dates, so changing the FY start month recalculates every past year.
Disposals & profit/loss on sale
When you dispose of an asset (status → Disposed, with a date and sale proceeds):
- Depreciation is calculated up to the disposal date only.
- The closing WDV at that date becomes the book value.
- Profit or loss on sale = sale proceeds − closing WDV. Positive is a profit, negative is a loss.
- In the schedule the asset moves to the deduction columns so the block always foots: closing gross − accumulated dep = closing WDV.
Month-by-month apportionment (ERP)
For monthly postings, Just FAR splits the year's depreciation across the 12 months of the FY, weighting each month by the same day-proration the annual figure uses, then scaling so the 12 months sum exactly to the authoritative (residual-capped) annual amount. That's what the Journal (ERP) export feeds into your accounting system.