Capital Equipment Management
Capital Equipment Management maintains Rutgers’ capital equipment records, manages all university vehicles, and helps departments implement systems to track their equipment and properly document disposals and/or transfers. The unit also assists departments in implementing systems to track their equipment and properly document disposals and/or transfers:
Fixed Assets
Fixed Assets improve reporting controls between general ledger and sub-ledger activities and the reporting of equipment for Facilities & Administrative submission. Fixed Assets will also include new P&L account segments for equipment purposes and provide units with a more accurate picture of their financial data.
Moveable Equipment
Equipment is either a fixed or moveable tangible asset to be used for operations, the benefits of which extend beyond one year from date of acquisition and rendered into service.
Primary responsibility for control of university equipment, materials and supplies rests with the chancellors, vice presidents, deans, directors or department heads to whom property is assigned. This responsibility includes physical control, maintenance, and security. Equipment and materials of a general nature, such as window air conditioners, classroom furnishings and custodial equipment and supplies are not assigned to a specific division or department and are the responsibility of University Facilities.
See a breakdown of the moveable equipment category.
Capitalization
University capital equipment is defined as all moveable equipment with an original cost of $5,000 or more and a useful life of one year or more. The Property Management Department within University Accounting is responsible for maintaining the university’s capital equipment records and conducting physical inventories of capital equipment.
All purchases are reviewed by Property Management for potential capital items. After the items are received and paid for, Property Management locates the equipment and makes a final determination as to whether the equipment meets the definition of capital equipment. If so, property management bar coded tags are affixed to the items and recorded in the university’s property records.
Depreciation
Depreciation will be calculated monthly using a straight line method taken over a period of either 5, 10 or 15 years.
The acquisition date will be the first day of the month in which the initial invoice is dated. If the asset is funded over a period of greater than one year including manufacturing time, the acquisition date will be the first day of the month when the asset becomes operational.
Any changes to Life, Cost or Acquisition Date will be updated and reported as of the last day of the month in which the update takes place.