The Settings area lets you configure how Access Assets works across your organisation. You can set up general preferences, manage companies, control asset numbering and depreciation defaults, choose which features are active, and map nominal accounts to asset categories.
These screens are available to users with the system-settings permission (General Settings, Asset Options, Features, Nominal Category Mapping) or the company-settings permission (Company Settings).
Getting here
There are two ways to reach the Settings screens:
Sidebar footer links — click General Settings or Company Settings from the links at the bottom of the sidebar.
Settings navigation — open the Settings section in the sidebar, then choose Asset Options, Features, or Nominal Category Mapping.
General Settings
General Settings lets you configure global application preferences that apply across all companies. The screen is organised into tabs along the left-hand side: Details, Periods, Language, Currencies, Features, Teams, and Users.
What you can do on this screen
Set up automatic asset numbering
Control whether negative asset values are allowed
Choose default base value calculations
Set service period defaults for depreciation
Configure when the system prompts for nominal updates
Set default posting options for the Post Transactions (Update Nominal) screen
Configure default depreciation method, percentage, period, and frequency
Manage audit settings and exception reporting rules
Manage posting periods
Customise field labels (Language tab)
View and manage currencies
Toggle features between live and demo modes
Manage teams and users
Step-by-step instructions
Change general asset settings
Open General Settings from the sidebar footer.
Click the Details tab if it is not already selected.
Under General Settings, adjust the options you need:
Turn Asset Auto Numbering on or off. If turned on, set the Number of Digits and Next Asset Number.
Turn Do Not Allow Negative Bought Value on or off.
Turn Allow Negative Asset Values on or off.
Select a Default Base Value On option (Remaining Value or Original Value).
Set the Service Period Defaults value.
Click Save Changes at the bottom of the screen.
Review the summary of your changes in the confirmation dialogue and click Confirm & Save.
Configure nominal update prompts
Open General Settings and click the Details tab.
Under Prompt Nominal Update, turn on or off the prompts for each transaction type: Depreciation, Addition, Revaluation, Disposal, and Transfer.
Click Save Changes and confirm.
Set default posting options
Open General Settings and click the Details tab.
Under Update Nominal, configure the default options:
Batch Journal — group created journals under a single batch reference.
Use Transaction References — use original asset transaction references on journal lines.
Do Not Post Costing — exclude costing project and cost centre data from journals.
Summarise Journals — aggregate journal lines by nominal account and sub-ledger.
Click Save Changes and confirm.
Set default depreciation settings
Open General Settings and click the Details tab.
Under Default Settings, choose:
A Default Method (Straight Line, Reducing Balance, or Sum of Digits).
A Default Percentage.
A Default Period (Years).
A Default Frequency (Monthly, Quarterly, or Annually).
Optionally turn on Do Not Depreciate by Default so new assets do not depreciate unless overridden.
Optionally turn on Force Transfers on Changing Category to require a transfer transaction when an asset's category changes.
Click Save Changes and confirm.
Configure audit settings
Open General Settings and click the Details tab.
Scroll to Audit Settings. Configure:
Require Submit for Review — audits must be submitted for review before completion.
Require Notes on Condition Change — notes are mandatory when an asset's condition changes.
Require Photos on Condition Change — photos are mandatory when an asset's condition changes.
Under Exception Reporting, turn on or off exceptions for each condition: Good, Fair, Poor, Damaged, Obsolete, and Location Difference.
Click Save Changes and confirm.
Discard unsaved changes
Click Cancel at the bottom of the screen.
A confirmation dialogue appears asking "Discard unsaved changes?".
Click Discard to revert all changes, or Cancel to continue editing.
Field reference — Details tab
Field | Description |
Asset Auto Numbering | When turned on, the system generates asset numbers automatically. |
Number of Digits | The number of digits in auto-generated asset numbers (1 to 8). Numbers are zero-padded. |
Next Asset Number | The next number the system will use when creating an asset. |
Do Not Allow Negative Bought Value | Prevents negative values on asset purchases. |
Allow Negative Asset Values | Allows assets to hold negative values. |
Default Base Value On | Controls how base values are calculated: Remaining Value or Original Value. |
Service Period Defaults | The number of periods after the current period before depreciation starts. Leave at zero to depreciate in the current period. |
Depreciation (prompt) | Prompts for a nominal update when processing depreciation. |
Addition (prompt) | Prompts for a nominal update when processing additions. |
Revaluation (prompt) | Prompts for a nominal update when processing revaluations. |
Disposal (prompt) | Prompts for a nominal update when processing disposals. |
Transfer (prompt) | Prompts for a nominal update when processing transfers. |
Batch Journal | Groups created journals under a single batch reference. |
Use Transaction References | Uses original asset transaction references on journal lines. |
Do Not Post Costing | Excludes costing project and cost centre data from journals. |
Summarise Journals | Aggregates journal lines by nominal account and sub-ledger. |
Default Method | The depreciation method applied to new assets. |
Default Percentage | The annual depreciation rate for new assets. |
Default Period (Years) | The expected useful life in years for new assets. |
Default Frequency | How often depreciation is calculated (Monthly, Quarterly, or Annually). |
Do Not Depreciate by Default | When turned on, new assets will not depreciate unless overridden. |
Force Transfers on Changing Category | Requires a transfer transaction when an asset's category changes. |
Require Submit for Review | Audits must be submitted for review before completion. |
Require Notes on Condition Change | Notes are mandatory when an asset's condition changes during an audit. |
Require Photos on Condition Change | Photos are mandatory when an asset's condition changes during an audit. |
Warnings and messages
Message | When it appears |
"Number of digits must be between 1 and 8" | You turned on auto numbering but entered a number of digits outside the allowed range. |
"Next asset number is invalid for the configured number of digits" | The next asset number exceeds the maximum value for the chosen number of digits. |
"Settings saved successfully!" | Your changes were saved. |
"Discard unsaved changes? You have unsaved changes. Are you sure you want to discard them?" | You selected Cancel while there are unsaved changes. |
Company Settings
Company Settings lets you configure settings for individual companies. When you first open this screen, you see a list of all companies you have access to. Select a company to view and edit its settings. The company settings screen has four tabs: General, Transaction Options, Integrations, and Ledger Mapping.
If you have access to only one company, you go straight to its settings.
What you can do on this screen
View and search the list of companies
Add a new company
Duplicate an existing company
Edit company details (name, description, currency, colour, active status)
View and manage posting periods for a company
Configure transaction options for a company
Set up nominal account defaults for a company
Configure costing defaults and posting rules
Connect a company to a financial system integration
Map purchase analysis codes and nominal accounts to asset categories (Ledger Mapping)
Export ledger mappings to CSV
Import ledger mappings from CSV
Step-by-step instructions
Search for a company
Open Company Settings from the sidebar footer.
Type a company name in the Search companies field at the top of the screen.
The list filters to show matching companies.
Add a new company
Open Company Settings.
Click Add New Company (or Add New if you are already viewing a company).
Complete the fields in the dialogue that appears.
Click Create to add the company.
Edit company details
Open Company Settings and select a company.
On the General tab, update the fields you need:
Company Name (required)
Description
Currency (locked if the company has existing assets)
Company Color
Active Status (inactive companies are hidden from most views)
Click Save Changes at the bottom of the screen.
Review the summary of your changes and click Confirm & Save.
Configure transaction options
Open Company Settings, select a company, and go to the Transaction Options tab.
Configure the options:
Allow Zero Value Additions — allow assets to be added with zero value.
Force Depreciation Before Period End — require all depreciation before closing a period.
Preserve In-Period Depreciation — do not reverse depreciation that occurred within the current period.
Auto Transaction Reference — automatically generate transaction reference numbers.
Set default Nominal Accounts for each transaction type.
Set default Costing cost centres for each transaction type.
Configure Post Costing Transactions to choose which transaction types post costing information.
Configure Post Credit to Costing to choose which transaction types post credit to costing.
Click Save Changes and confirm.
Connect a financial system integration
Open Company Settings, select a company, and go to the Integrations tab.
Find the integration you want to enable (for example, Access Financials or Access Dimensions).
Turn on the toggle for that integration.
Select a Database Instance from the list that appears.
Click Save Changes and confirm.
Only one integration can be active per company. If you want to switch to a different integration, turn off the current one first.
Add ledger mappings
Open Company Settings, select a company, and go to the Ledger Mapping tab.
Click Add Mappings. A dialogue opens. You must have a financial integration connected to add mappings.
Choose a Mapping Type: Purchase Analysis Codes or Nominal Accounts.
For each row, select a Category and a ledger code (purchase analysis code or nominal account).
Click Add Row to add more mappings.
Click Create Mappings to save.
You can also import mappings from a CSV file using the Import CSV/Excel button, or download a blank template using Download Template.
Delete a ledger mapping
On the Ledger Mapping tab, find the mapping you want to remove.
Select the delete button on that row.
Confirm the deletion in the dialogue that appears. This action cannot be undone.
Export ledger mappings
On the Ledger Mapping tab, click Export.
A CSV file is downloaded to your device.
Discard unsaved changes
Click Cancel at the bottom of the screen.
A confirmation dialogue asks "Discard unsaved changes?".
Click Discard to revert, or Cancel to continue editing.
Field reference — General tab
Field | Description |
Company Name | The name of the company. Required. |
Description | An optional description for the company. |
Currency | The currency for this company's assets and transactions. Locked if the company already has assets. |
Company Color | A colour used to identify the company in the interface. |
Active Status | When turned off, the company is hidden from most views. |
Field reference — Transaction Options tab
Field | Description |
Allow Zero Value Additions | Allows assets to be added with a zero value. |
Force Depreciation Before Period End | Requires all depreciation to be processed before a period can be closed. |
Preserve In-Period Depreciation | Prevents reversal of depreciation that occurred within the current period. |
Auto Transaction Reference | Automatically generates transaction reference numbers. |
Asset Cost | The nominal account for asset cost transactions. |
Depreciation B/S | The nominal account for balance sheet depreciation. |
Depreciation P/L | The nominal account for profit and loss depreciation. |
Disposal | The nominal account for disposal transactions. |
Revaluation B/S | The nominal account for balance sheet revaluations. |
Revaluation P/L | The nominal account for profit and loss revaluations. |
Disposals Bank Account | The nominal account for disposal bank transactions. |
Additions WIP Bank Account | The nominal account for work-in-progress and bank account additions. |
Field reference — Ledger Mapping tab
Column | Description |
Analysis Code / Nominal Code | The code from the financial system. |
Analysis Name / Nominal Name | The name of the code in the financial system. |
Category Code | The asset category code in Access Assets. |
Category Name | The name of the asset category. |
Warnings and messages
Message | When it appears |
"You do not have access to this company. Please contact your administrator to request access." | You tried to view a company you do not have permission to access. |
"Incomplete Integration Configuration" | You enabled an integration but did not select a database instance. |
"You have enabled an integration but haven't selected a database instance yet. Please select a database instance to save this change." | You tried to save with an integration enabled but no database instance selected and no other changes to save. |
"Connect a financial integration to add or edit ledger mappings." | The Ledger Mapping tab shows this when no integration is connected for the selected company. |
"No database instances found for this product type connected to your organisation." | No database instances are available for the selected integration type. |
"This will permanently delete the purchase analysis code mapping." | You are about to delete a purchase analysis code mapping. |
"This will permanently delete the nominal account mapping." | You are about to delete a nominal account mapping. |
"Currency cannot be changed because this company has assets" | The currency field is locked because the company already has assets. |
"Discard unsaved changes? You have unsaved changes. Are you sure you want to discard them?" | You selected Cancel while there are unsaved changes. |
"Review the changes you're about to save to this company." | The save confirmation dialogue, showing a summary of all changed fields. |
"You do not have permission to edit company settings" | The Save Changes button is disabled because you do not have the company-settings permission. |
Asset Options
Asset Options lets you configure system-wide settings for asset management, transactions, and financial integrations. The screen is organised into tabs along the left-hand side: Details, Transactions, Periods, Language, Features, Teams, Users, and Companies.
This screen shares many of the same settings as General Settings but includes additional transaction-level configuration, nominal account mappings, costing rules, and integration management.
What you can do on this screen
Configure general asset management settings (auto numbering, negative values, base value, service period, costing, sub-ledger options)
Set nominal update prompt preferences
Set journal posting preferences
Configure transaction processing rules (HCSS mode, zero value additions, depreciation enforcement, auto references)
Set default depreciation method, percentage, period, and frequency
Configure audit workflow, mandatory fields, exception triggers, and custom fields
Assign nominal accounts for each transaction type
Set costing cost centres for each transaction type
Control which transaction types post costing and credit entries
Manage posting periods
Customise field labels
Toggle features between live and demo modes
Manage teams, users, and companies
Reset all settings to defaults
Step-by-step instructions
Configure general settings
Open Asset Options from the Settings navigation.
Click the Details tab if it is not already selected.
Under General Settings, adjust the options:
Turn Asset Auto Numbering on or off.
Turn Prevent Negative Values on or off.
Set the Service Period Defaults value.
Turn Compulsory Costing on or off to require project and cost centre on all categories and assets.
Turn Allow Sub Ledger Override on or off.
Turn Sub Ledger Mandatory on or off.
Select a Default Base Value On option (Remaining Postings or Original Postings).
Click Save Changes at the bottom of the screen.
Review the summary and click Confirm & Save.
Configure nominal update and journal settings
On the Details tab, scroll to Nominal Update Settings.
Under Prompt Nominal Update Before Period End, tick or untick each transaction type: Depreciation, Addition, Revaluation, Disposal, Transfer.
Under Journal Settings, turn Summarise Journals by Default on or off.
Click Save Changes and confirm.
Configure transaction settings
On the Details tab, scroll to Transaction Settings.
Configure:
HCSS Mode — turn on to use Historic Cost Summary Statement nominal accounts for detailed cost tracking. Turn off for standard nominal accounts.
Allow Zero Value Additions — permit adding assets with zero initial value.
Force Depreciation Before Period End — require all depreciation before closing periods.
Preserve In-Period Depreciation — do not reverse depreciation for backdated disposals.
Auto Transaction Reference — automatically generate transaction references. When turned on, set the Next Transaction Number (1 to 999,999,999).
Click Save Changes and confirm.
Set default depreciation settings
On the Details tab, scroll to Default Depreciation Settings.
Optionally turn on Do Not Depreciate to disable depreciation for new assets by default.
Select a Default Method (Straight Line, Reducing Balance, Sum of Digits, Period Ratio, or None). This field is required.
Enter a Default Percentage (0 to 100). This field is required.
Enter a Default Period (Years) (0 or greater). This field is required.
Select a Default Frequency (Monthly, Quarterly, Half Yearly, Yearly, or N/A). This field is required.
Optionally turn on Force Transfers on Category Change.
Click Save Changes and confirm.
Configure audit settings
On the Details tab, scroll to Audits.
Turn Require Submit for Review on or off to enable or disable the approver workflow.
Under Mandatory Fields on Condition Change:
Turn Require Notes on Condition Change on or off.
Turn Require Photos on Condition Change on or off.
Under Exception Triggers, tick or untick each condition: Good, Fair, Poor, Damaged, Obsolete, Location Difference.
Under Custom Fields, configure up to five custom text fields. For each field, turn Visible on or off. If visible, optionally turn Mandatory on. Labels for custom fields can be changed on the Language tab.
Click Save Changes and confirm.
Set nominal accounts for transactions
Click the Transactions tab.
Under Nominal Accounts, select a nominal account for each transaction type:
Asset Cost
Depreciation B/S (balance sheet)
Depreciation P&L (profit and loss)
Disposal
Revaluation B/S
Revaluation P&L
Disposals Bank Account
Additions WIP / Bank Acc
Click Save Changes and confirm.
Set costing defaults
On the Transactions tab, scroll to Costing.
Select a cost centre for each transaction type: Depreciation, Addition, Disposals, Revaluation. These cost centres are used when posting nominal journals if no cost centre is set on the asset.
Click Save Changes and confirm.
Configure post costing transactions
On the Transactions tab, scroll to Post Costing Transactions.
Tick or untick each transaction type to control whether it posts costing information: Depreciation, Additions, Revaluations, Disposals.
Under Post CREDIT to Costing, tick or untick each transaction type: Depreciation, Additions, Revaluations, Disposals.
Click Save Changes and confirm.
Reset to defaults
Click Reset to Defaults at the bottom left of the screen.
All settings are reverted to their default values. You still need to click Save Changes to apply.
Discard unsaved changes
Click Cancel at the bottom of the screen.
A confirmation dialogue asks "Discard Unsaved Changes?".
Click Discard Changes to revert, or Keep Editing to continue.
Field reference — Details tab
Field | Description |
Asset Auto Numbering | Automatically generates asset numbers when turned on. |
Prevent Negative Values | Blocks negative bought values for assets. |
Service Period Defaults | Number of periods after the current period before depreciation starts. Leave at zero to depreciate in the current period. |
Compulsory Costing | Requires project and cost centre on all categories and assets. |
Allow Sub Ledger Override | Allows users to override the company default sub-ledger on assets. |
Sub Ledger Mandatory | Requires the sub-ledger field on all assets. |
Default Base Value On | Controls how base values are calculated: Remaining Postings or Original Postings. |
HCSS Mode | Uses Historic Cost Summary Statement nominal accounts for detailed cost tracking. When off, the system uses standard nominal accounts. |
Allow Zero Value Additions | Permits adding assets with zero initial value. |
Force Depreciation Before Period End | Requires all depreciation to be processed before a period can be closed. |
Preserve In-Period Depreciation | Prevents reversal of depreciation for backdated disposals. |
Auto Transaction Reference | Automatically generates transaction references (for example, ADD-1, DEP-1, TRA-1). |
Next Transaction Number | The next number used when auto-generating transaction references (1 to 999,999,999). Only shown when Auto Transaction Reference is turned on. |
Do Not Depreciate | Disables depreciation for new assets by default. |
Default Method | The depreciation calculation method for new assets. Required. Options: Straight Line, Reducing Balance, Sum of Digits, Period Ratio, None. |
Default Percentage | The annual depreciation rate percentage (0 to 100). Required. |
Default Period (Years) | The expected useful life in years. Must be 0 or greater. Required. |
Default Frequency | How often depreciation is calculated. Required. Options: Monthly, Quarterly, Half Yearly, Yearly, N/A. |
Force Transfers on Category Change | Requires a transfer transaction when an asset's category changes. |
Require Submit for Review | Enables the approver workflow for asset audits. |
Require Notes on Condition Change | Notes must be provided when an asset's condition changes during an audit. |
Require Photos on Condition Change | At least one photo must be attached when an asset's condition changes during an audit. |
Custom Field 1-5 (Visible) | Shows or hides the custom field on audit asset screens. |
Custom Field 1-5 (Mandatory) | Makes the custom field required. Only available when the field is visible. |
Field reference — Transactions tab
Field | Description |
Asset Cost | Nominal account for asset cost transactions. |
Depreciation B/S | Nominal account for balance sheet depreciation. |
Depreciation P&L | Nominal account for profit and loss depreciation. |
Disposal | Nominal account for disposal transactions. |
Revaluation B/S | Nominal account for balance sheet revaluations. |
Revaluation P&L | Nominal account for profit and loss revaluations. |
Disposals Bank Account | Nominal account for disposal bank transactions. |
Additions WIP / Bank Acc | Nominal account for work-in-progress and bank account additions. |
Depreciation (costing) | Default cost centre for depreciation transactions. |
Addition (costing) | Default cost centre for addition transactions. |
Disposals (costing) | Default cost centre for disposal transactions. |
Revaluation (costing) | Default cost centre for revaluation transactions. |
Warnings and messages
Message | When it appears |
"Default Method is required" | You tried to save without selecting a depreciation method. |
"Default Percentage is required" | You tried to save without entering a depreciation percentage. |
"Default Percentage must be between 0 and 100" | The depreciation percentage is outside the allowed range. |
"Default Period (Years) is required" | You tried to save without entering a depreciation period. |
"Default Period (Years) must be 0 or greater" | The depreciation period is a negative number. |
"Default Frequency is required" | You tried to save without selecting a depreciation frequency. |
"Language label(s) cannot be empty: [field names]" | One or more custom language labels have been cleared. Labels cannot be blank. |
"Configuration updated successfully" | Your changes were saved. |
"Changes discarded" | You discarded your unsaved changes. |
"No changes detected" | You selected Save Changes but no settings have been modified. |
"Failed to save feature settings. Other settings were saved successfully." | Feature settings could not be saved, but all other changes were applied. |
"Review the changes you're about to save to your asset configuration." | The save confirmation dialogue, showing a summary of all changed fields. |
"Discard Unsaved Changes? You have unsaved changes to your asset configuration. If you cancel now, all modifications will be lost and the UI will be reset to the last saved state." | You selected Cancel or tried to navigate away while there are unsaved changes. |
Features
The Features screen lets you control which application modules are in live mode or demo mode. Modules in live mode are fully active. Modules in demo mode are available for preview but do not affect live data.
Features are grouped into categories: Core Operations, Transaction Management, Operational Tools, Analytics and Reporting, System Administration, and Configuration.
What you can do on this screen
View all available feature modules, grouped by category
Search for a specific feature by name or description
Switch an individual feature between live and demo mode
Switch all features to live mode at once
Switch all features to demo mode at once
Save or discard your changes
Step-by-step instructions
Switch a feature between live and demo mode
Open Features from the Settings navigation.
Find the feature you want to change. You can use the search field to filter by name or description.
Select the mode toggle for that feature to switch it between Live and Demo.
Click Save Changes at the bottom of the screen.
Switch all features to live or demo mode
Open Features.
Click All to Live to set every feature to live mode, or All to Demo to set every feature to demo mode.
Click Save Changes.
Discard changes
Click Discard Changes at the bottom of the screen.
All unsaved changes are reverted.
Warnings and messages
Message | When it appears |
"Your feature settings have been saved successfully." | Your changes were saved. |
"An error occurred while saving settings. Please try again." | The system could not save your feature changes. |
"An error occurred while switching modes. Please try again." | A single feature mode change failed. |
"An error occurred during bulk operation. Please try again." | The bulk action (All to Live or All to Demo) failed. |
"Your unsaved changes have been discarded." | You selected Discard Changes. |
"You have unsaved changes" | Shown in the footer when you have made changes that have not been saved. |
"No features found" | Your search did not match any features. Try adjusting your search query. |
Nominal Category Mapping
Nominal Category Mapping lets you create links between nominal accounts from your financial system and asset categories in Access Assets. These mappings control which category an asset is assigned to based on its nominal account code.
What you can do on this screen
View all existing nominal-to-category mappings
Search mappings by nominal account code, name, category code, or category name
Add a new mapping between a nominal account and a category
Delete an existing mapping
Export all mappings to a CSV file
Save or discard changes
Step-by-step instructions
View mappings
Open Nominal Category Mapping from the Settings navigation.
The table shows all existing mappings with their nominal account code, nominal account name, category code, and category name.
Use the search field to filter mappings.
Add a new mapping
Open Nominal Category Mapping.
Click Add Mapping.
In the dialogue that appears, select a Nominal Account and a Category.
Click Save to create the mapping.
You can only create one mapping per nominal account. If a mapping already exists for the chosen nominal account, the system shows an error.
Delete a mapping
Find the mapping you want to remove in the table.
Select the delete button on that row.
A confirmation dialogue appears: "Are you sure you want to delete this mapping? This action cannot be undone."
Click Delete to confirm, or Cancel to keep the mapping.
Export mappings to CSV
Click Export at the top of the screen.
A CSV file containing all mappings is downloaded to your device.
Save or discard changes
After adding or removing mappings, click Save to keep your changes.
To undo all unsaved changes, click Discard.
Field reference
Column | Description |
Nominal Account Code | The code of the nominal account from the financial system. |
Nominal Account Name | The name of the nominal account. |
Category Code | The code of the asset category in Access Assets. |
Category Name | The name of the asset category. |
Warnings and messages
Message | When it appears |
"Please select both nominal account and category" | You tried to save a mapping without selecting both a nominal account and a category. |
"A mapping already exists for this nominal account" | A mapping for the chosen nominal account has already been created. Each nominal account can only be mapped once. |
"Are you sure you want to delete this mapping? This action cannot be undone." | You are about to delete a mapping. |