Understanding the Lead Schedule by Location Report in Fixed Asset Manager

QuickBooks Fixed Asset Manager offers a family of lead schedule reports that organize client asset data into a traditional accounting format — and the Lead Schedule by Location variant groups everything by where each asset is assigned.

What the Report Shows

The Lead Schedule by Location report presents an activity summary of a client’s assets, grouped by the year each asset was placed in service. Fixed Asset Manager sorts the entries by asset number within each group and orders them by Date Acquired. The report is designed to deliver as much asset detail as possible in the classic lead schedule layout that accountants and auditors expect.

Three other variations are available for users who need a different grouping:

• Lead Schedule by Category — groups assets by their assigned category.
• Lead Schedule by G/L Asset Account — groups assets by the general ledger account they post to.
• Lead Schedule by Tax Form and Property Description — groups assets by their associated tax form and property description.

Preparing the Report

Before printing or reviewing any of these lead schedule reports, there are setup steps to complete. Each asset record needs to have the required fields filled in on the Asset tab. Assets must also have categories applied to them, and the number of months used for depreciation calculations needs to be selected. Skipping any of these steps can result in incomplete or misleading output.

Column Reference

The report includes a broad set of columns that capture the full depreciation picture for each asset:

• Asset Description — the name assigned to the asset.
• Date Acquired — the date the asset was placed in service.
• Cost — the original cost of the asset.
• Sold? — indicates whether disposal information has been entered for the asset.
• Tax System — the depreciation rule set that applies to the asset.
• Method — the calculation method used for the asset.
• Life — the asset’s useful life, displayed in a year/month format.
• Convention — the averaging convention applied to the asset.
• Business Percentage — the percentage of time the asset is used for business purposes.
• Section 179 Deduction — any Section 179 deduction taken for the asset.
• Depreciable Basis — the basis still available for depreciation.
• Prior Depreciation — total depreciation taken in prior years of service.
• Current Depreciation — the current year depreciation calculation.
• Accumulated Depreciation — the total depreciation taken for the asset to date.

Printing Considerations

Because the report spans many columns, the default portrait orientation can make it difficult to read when printed. Switching to landscape orientation generally produces a more legible hard copy. To make the change, open the File menu and select Print Setup, choose Landscape as the orientation, and confirm the selection. The report reformats automatically to match the new page layout.

When to Use Each Variation

Choosing the right lead schedule variant depends on what the reviewer needs to see. The by Location grouping makes sense when a client operates across multiple sites and asset accountability is tracked physically. The by G/L Asset Account variation is better suited for reconciling Fixed Asset Manager against the general ledger. The by Category and by Tax Form variations serve tax preparation and review workflows where assets need to align with filing requirements or property classifications.

For broader guidance on QuickBooks reporting and troubleshooting, our QuickBooks knowledge base covers common reporting questions and setup issues across Desktop and Online editions.