Associations

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Associations are used to sort assets during data entry (by clicking a column heading in the Asset List window) , to categorize assets for reporting purposes, and to enter additional information needed for personal property tax returns. They may also be used to focus the list of available assets when reassigning assets or selecting assets for a mass transfer or mass disposition.

Choose Setup > Associations to modify application-defined associations or create custom associations.

An application-defined association is any association that is not custom. Note that the oil & gas association is available only for certain activities for 1040, 1120, 1065, and 1041 clients.

There are two types of associations for both application-defined and custom associations - those that maintain a list of acceptable values and those that do not.

  • Associations that maintain lists - Some of the application-defined associations (groups, locations, types, divisions, and oil & gas) maintain lists. You can also set up custom associations to maintain lists. There are also some application-defined associations for which the application maintains lists, such as County - KY and City - MI. These associations are designed to work with personal property tax returns. Note that you cannot edit the lists for these associations.

    For every association that maintains a list, you can access the Association Properties dialog and enter a list of acceptable values. (You can also add a value to the list by entering it in an association field. The application will ask if you want to add the value to the list of acceptable values for that association.) Once entered, the acceptable values will be available from the drop-down list for each association. For example, if you modify the Groups association to include Equipment, Vehicle, and Land/Building as acceptable values, then Equipment, Vehicle, and Land/Building will be available from the drop-down list in the Groups field during asset data entry.

    Note: You can view the list of acceptable values for an association on the Association Properties Dialog. However, there is not an option to print the list.

  • Associations that do not maintain lists - Some application-defined associations do not maintain lists, such as Serial #. If you choose to create custom associations for which each asset will have a unique value, you can choose a data format (instead of entering a list of acceptable values) for that association.

    For each custom association that does not maintain a list of acceptable values, you must access the Association Properties dialog and choose the data format (text, date, or currency) that is acceptable for that association. Examples of associations that would not maintain a list of acceptable values are check number and purchase order number. Note that the number and checkbox data formats are available only for certain application-defined associations that do not maintain lists. Custom associations cannot be set up to use these data formats.

Notes

  • Application-defined associations cannot change between maintaining and not maintaining a list of acceptable values.
  • Once set up, you can modify the properties of an association that maintains a list of acceptable values so that it does not maintain a list. The list that you were maintaining will be deleted, and the association will accept entries only in text format.
  • You cannot edit certain application-defined associations. Most of these associations end with a state postal code (for example, County - KY). These associations appear in the Associations dialog only if an personal property tax return is available for a state that is attached to the current client.
  • If an association is needed for an personal property tax return, the association will appear in blue with an asterisk next to it in the Asset Detail dialog.
  • You can copy associations and association values from the Fixed Assets CS template to existing clients. See Transferring template items to existing clients for information.

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