CPA Technology Advisor gives Fixed Assets Manager 4.5-star rating ~ December 2006

Fixed Assets Manager offers asset depreciation and management with support for an unlimited number of companies, cost centers and divisions. It also supports an unlimited number of user-defined books in addition to the basic four: Federal, AMT, ACE and Accounting. Red Moon Solutions also offers two other programs: Like-Kind Exchange Matching, a product designed for companies that have significant operations in the retail leasing of personal property, and WorldPro, an HR personnel management product in support of international assignments. Fixed Assets Manager ranges from $1,000 to $2,200 for a stand-alone version. Network versions and online hosting services are available.

NAVIGATION/EASE-OF-USE -- 4.5 Stars
Fixed Assets Manager’s interface consists of a customizable multi-paneled screen with a collapsible menu tree in a vertical pane on the left, a section on the bottom showing recent asset activity, and the main work screen (an asset listing) in the middle. The program utilizes traditional pull-down menus and icons across the top, along with forward and back buttons. During company and asset setup, templates and wizards assist in many processes, including selection of defaults, books and other items. Assets displayed within a company’s files can be sorted and filtered based on the user’s criteria.

Selecting an asset brings up the tabbed Asset Input window, the main data-entry screen that allows users to select depreciation methods and conventions; enter asset location and type; and add descriptions, images, and other data. Users can choose from standard asset types or from types covered by the IRS MACRS Class Lives Table. Data is automatically populated across all available books, but selections can be easily overridden by (authorized) users. Whether input manually or automatically, the program validates conformity of assets to IRS rules based on the asset type. Navigation throughout is intuitive and relatively straightforward. The asset listing is well organized and provides a good centralized location for viewing summary details and selecting assets with which to work.

MANAGEMENT FEATURES -- 5 Stars
Fixed Assets Manager supports all IRS promulgated depreciation methods, including MACRS, ACRS, straight-line and 125%/150%/200% declining balance methods. It can also perform calculations for short and partial years; mid-quarter convention; sum-of-year’s digits; monthly calculations; apply the annual limitation for passenger automobiles, trucks and vans; Section 280F recapture; Section 179 expensing and recapture; ITC calculations; amortization; Indian Reservation Property; and units of production.

As noted above, Fixed Assets Manager automatically assigns default information for Federal, AMT, ACE and Accounting books based upon the asset type and IRS class codes. Users can define an unlimited number of additional depreciation books, which can be created by duplicating an existing book and then editing. Password security is included, and an audit trail called the Event Viewer is provided, tracking most changes made to assets in the database. Fixed Assets Manager supports multiple methods of asset disposition, including transfers, mass and partial dispositions, splitting and un-splitting, and supports the calculation of negative depreciation for assets with negative cost.

Depreciation forecasts can be projected for up to 60 years of yearly depreciation, and up to 12 months in the future for monthly depreciation. The program does not presently support barcode scanning but does support the import of digital photos for asset identification.

INTEGRATION -- 4.5 Stars
Fixed Assets Manager can import asset data from Access, Excel and text files; can export period data into a file for import back into the GL of professional accounting packages; and can be integrated into financial and ERP platforms. It does not presently integrate directly with third-party tax packages, although Red Moon Solutions can provide an integration solution with corporate income tax products, such as Vertex’s VantageTax product. The company noted that it has partnered with SAP America, Inc. to offer Fixed Assets Manager for use with SAP Business One.

REPORTING -- 4.5 Stars
Fixed Assets Manager has very comprehensive reporting abilities, with options to produce reports for all entities, asset summaries, depreciation, dispositions, adjusted basis, journal entries, reconciliation, forecasts and many others. It also includes the ability to create user-specified reports. The program prompts the user when depreciation requires a calculation prior to printing to ensure accuracy, and enables users to create custom report sets. IRS-compliant tax Forms 4562, 4684, 4797 and 6252 can be generated through the reporting system.

HELP/SUPPORT -- 4.5 Stars
Built-in assistance features include the traditional Help index along with some right-click menu options. The Red Moon Solutions website has a Fixed Assets Manager support area. Unfortunately, very little is presently available beyond product/system information and FAQs. No tutorial is presently available. Technical support is included at no additional cost. Sales demos, online training, onsite training, consulting, data conversion, installation and other services are also available through Red Moon Solutions.

SUMMARY
Fixed Assets Manager is used by Big 4 accounting firms on their clients’ accounts, which is reflective of the power this program has. It can handle very large companies or at least entities with very large and complex asset management needs, yet the system is scalable and can be used by small companies and accounting firms, as well.

2006 Overall Rating: 4.5 Stars

From the CPA Technology Advisor Dec. 2006 Review of Fixed Asset Management Systems.