Intangible Asset Summary — Complete User Guide — Two Accounts Web

Comprehensive guide for the Intangible Asset Summary report — enabling, creating, reading, and validating the movement of every intangible asset across cost, additions, disposals, amortization, and gain/loss for a period

Table of Contents

1. What Is the Intangible Asset Summary Report?
2. Prerequisites — Enabling via the Customize Menu
3. Navigating to the Report
4. The Report List
5. Creating a Summary — Field-by-Field
6. Report Output Columns
7. How the Summary Is Calculated
   • 7.1 Opening Balance
   • 7.2 Acquisition Cost (Additions)
   • 7.3 Consideration Received and Disposals
   • 7.4 Amortization
   • 7.5 Profit and Loss on Disposal
   • 7.6 Closing Balance
   • 7.7 Asset Inclusion Rules
8. Related Settings and Configuration
9. Sample Data and Report Output
   • 9.1 Sample Setup
   • 9.2 Report Output
   • 9.3 Calculation Verification
10. Reporting and Accounting Impact
11. Accounting Regulation Validation
12. Common Notes and Best Practices

1. What Is the Intangible Asset Summary Report?

The Intangible Asset Summary report presents the full movement of every intangible asset over a date range you choose. For each asset it shows, in a single view:

• the opening balance (cost and accumulated amortization carried in before the period),
• the acquisitions (additions to cost during the period),
• the disposals and the gain/loss recognized on disposal,
• the amortization charged during the period, and
• the closing balance at the period end.

Each asset is shown as a small group with two lines — At cost and Accumulated amortization — followed by a Total row for the whole business. It is the standard period-over-period roll-forward required for intangible asset reporting (IAS 38 §118(c)).

2. Prerequisites — Enabling via the Customize Menu

The report appears under Reports only when the Intangible Assets area is enabled for the business. Intangible Assets is not shown by default in a brand-new company.

How to Enable

1. Open the Customize Menu from the navigation bar (the hamburger / menu icon).
2. Turn on the Intangible Assets tab. (This also enables the Intangible Asset list and the Amortization Entries tab that feed this report.)
3. Once enabled, the report is available under Reports → Intangible Assets → Intangible Asset Summary.

3. Navigating to the Report

From the main navigation bar:

1. Open Reports.
2. Go to the Intangible Assets category.
3. Click Intangible Asset Summary.

This opens the report list — every summary you have created (and saved) for the business appears here, sorted by its From Date.

4. The Report List

The list shows one row per saved summary, with three columns:

Each row is clickable:

• Click the row to open the summary output (the asset movement roll-forward).
• Edit opens the summary form to change the dates or description.

A New Report button at the top creates a fresh summary.

5. Creating a Summary — Field-by-Field

Click New Report to open the summary form. It contains three fields:

1. Enter a From Date and a To Date.
2. Optionally enter a Description.
3. Click Save.
4. The report opens showing the summary output for that period.

6. Report Output Columns

The summary opens with a subtitle:

For the period from {From Date} to {To Date}

Each intangible asset is shown as a group (named by the asset name) containing two lines:

• At cost — the movements of the asset's cost (the balance-sheet cost account).
• Accumulated amortization — the movements of the accumulated-amortization contra-account.

Six amount columns are shown (all displayed with parentheses for credit/negative amounts):

A Total row at the bottom sums every column across all displayed assets.

7. How the Summary Is Calculated

The report is built from the intangible-asset General Ledger transactions for each asset, up to and including the period's To Date. Before building the summary, the system processes disposals: any asset flagged as disposed (with a disposal date) has its cost removed, its accumulated amortization reversed, and its book value recognized in the disposal gain/loss account. The summary then reads three account types for each asset:

• the Intangible Assets, at Cost account (or the asset's cost control account),
• the Accumulated Amortization account (or its control account), and
• the Profit/Loss on Disposal account.

7.1 Opening Balance

Cost (and accumulated amortization) recorded before the From Date — including any opening-balance entries — make up the opening balance. On the cost line this is a positive (debit) amount; on the accumulated-amortization line it is a credit (shown in parentheses).

7.2 Acquisition Cost (Additions)

Additions are increases to the cost account during the period that are not opening-balance entries — for example a purchase invoice that adds the asset, or an asset placed into service mid-period.

7.3 Consideration Received and Disposals

This column shows cost reductions during the period — most commonly the cost removed when an asset is disposed during the period, or a downward cost adjustment. A full disposal therefore shows its cost removal here, while the carrying amount flows to the Profit (loss) column and the closing cost returns to zero.

7.4 Amortization

The amortization charged in the period — the accumulated-amortization transactions posted through Amortization Entries (excluding opening-balance entries). It appears on the accumulated-amortization line as a credit (in parentheses).

7.5 Profit and Loss on Disposal

The disposal result for the period. When an asset is disposed, the system creates the disposal entries that remove cost and accumulated amortization and recognize the carrying amount (cost − accumulated amortization) in the disposal gain/loss account. The summary shows this recognized amount on the At cost line's Profit (loss) column.

The disposal profit/loss account is the asset's custom disposal account if set; otherwise the system's default intangible-asset gain/loss on disposal account.

7.6 Closing Balance

The net position after all movements: opening balance plus acquisitions plus disposals plus amortization plus disposal results. For an active asset it equals cost minus accumulated amortization; for an asset disposed in the period the cost line returns to zero.

7.7 Asset Inclusion Rules

An asset is included when it has intangible-asset General Ledger activity in the period, and either:

• it is not disposed, or
• it is disposed but its disposal date is on or after the From Date (assets disposed before the period start are excluded — they are already gone).

8. Related Settings and Configuration

Although the report itself has only two date fields, its output depends on how intangible assets are set up:

9. Sample Data and Report Output

For FY2026: 1-Jan-2026 to 31-Dec-2026.

9.1 Sample Setup

General Ledger activity within FY2026:

9.2 Report Output

For the period from 1-Jan-2026 to 31-Dec-2026

9.3 Calculation Verification

IA-001 — Patent XYZ:

Opening cost        = 100,000 (opening balance, 1-Jan-2026)
Opening amortization = (6,000) (opening balance)
Amortization        = (100,000 − 6,000) × 20% = (18,800)
Closing cost        = 100,000
Closing amortization = (6,000 + 18,800) = (24,800)

IA-002 — Trademark ABC:

Opening cost        = 50,000
Opening amortization = (2,500)
Amortization        = (50,000 − 2,500) × 10% = (4,750)
Closing cost        = 50,000
Closing amortization = (2,500 + 4,750) = (7,250)

IA-003 — Software License:

Opening cost        = 30,000
Amortization        = 30,000 × 33% = (9,900)
Closing cost        = 30,000
Closing amortization = (9,900)

IA-004 — Customer Database (purchased 1-Mar, disposed 30-Apr-2026):

Acquisition         = 20,000 (purchase, 1-Mar-2026)
Disposal cost removal = (20,000) → closing cost = 0
Carrying amount recognized in P&L = cost 20,000 − accumulated amortization 0 = 20,000
Profit (loss) column = 20,000

Total verification:

Opening balance column = 100,000 + 50,000 + 30,000 + 0 (cost)
                        + (−6,000 − 2,500 + 0 + 0) (amortization)
                        = 171,500                                        ✓
Acquisition cost        = 20,000 (IA-004)                                ✓
Consideration received  = (20,000) (IA-004 disposal)                    ✓
Amortization            = 18,800 + 4,750 + 9,900 = (33,450)             ✓
Profit (loss)           = 20,000 (IA-004)                               ✓
Closing balance         = 180,000 − 41,950 = 138,050                    ✓

10. Reporting and Accounting Impact

• Balance Sheet: Intangible assets appear as two lines — Intangible Assets, at Cost (debit balance) and Accumulated Amortization (credit balance, contra-asset) — with Net Intangible Assets = Cost − Accumulated Amortization. The closing balances in this report are the amounts that feed these lines at the period end.
• Profit & Loss: Two intangible-asset items appear under expenses — Amortization Expense (the period's amortization charge) and Gain/Loss on Disposal (gain or loss from disposals). The Profit (loss) column of this report corresponds to the disposal P&L account activity.
• Cash Flow Statement: Purchases and proceeds from the sale of intangible assets are classified as investing activities. Amortization is a non-cash expense and is added back in the indirect method.
• Trial Balance: The cost, accumulated-amortization, amortization-expense, and disposal gain/loss balances all update to the period-end figures.
• Amortization Calculation Worksheet: The complementary report that calculates amortization per asset and proposes an Amortization Entry; once posted, those entries update the Amortization column of this summary.

11. Accounting Regulation Validation

12. Common Notes and Best Practices

• Align the period to your reporting period. Use the same From/To as the Balance Sheet and P&L so the closing balances tie out to the financial statements.
• Run after period-end processing. Ensure all acquisitions, disposals, and Amortization Entries are recorded and that disposals have both the disposed flag and a disposal date before generating the report.
• Use it with the Amortization Calculation Worksheet. Post any proposed Amortization Entries first, then re-run the summary so the Amortization column reflects the corrected charge.
• Check the Profit (loss) column for disposal completeness. A disposed asset's At cost line should show its closing balance at zero; if it still has a non-zero closing cost, the disposal processing may not have run for that asset.
• Keep control accounts consistent. Because the report reads whatever cost / accumulated-amortization / disposal accounts each asset resolves to, a custom control account that is set or changed must be in place for the figures to tie to the Chart of Accounts.

End of Intangible Asset Summary Guide