Real Asset Management International — Asset Station

From the Dec. 2008 Review of Fixed
Asset Systems

Real Asset Management International offers a broad suite of asset accounting,
tracking and management systems for mid-sized and larger enterprises, government
entities and other organizations, providing comprehensive depreciation functionality
with support for both GAAP and IFRS standards, along with extensive reporting
capabilities, including GASB 34 compliance. The vendor’s Asset Station
is geared toward the smaller enterprise market, providing the same level of
functionality to professionals managing entities with up to 1,000 assets, including
a complete audit trail. The system offers integration with Excel and other programs
and is upwardly scalable into the vendor’s networkable Asset4000 system.
The single-user system starts at $499, with annual updates at $60 per year.

NAVIGATION/EASE-OF-USE – 4.5 Stars
Asset Station offers numerous wizards for setting up companies and creating
assets, in addition to guiding users through asset import or manual entry, and
consequent setting of their opening balances, classification, remaining life,
depreciation methods and conventions. Asset entry tasks are further simplified
by the ability to use existing items as templates, copying all or part of the
information across to additional assets. The primary interface offers several
customization options and is both aesthetically and functionally well-designed,
with intuitive navigation and toolbars that provide quick access to key functions,
lists and reports. An additional Explorer-style collapsible menu also gives
users access to additional management functions, while summary financial information
is viewable in a display at the bottom of the screen.

The main work area of the screen provides a searchable and filterable asset
selection screen displayed in a spreadsheet format that includes sortable columns
for asset descriptions, costs, capitalization date and other information. The
system allows asset queries to be saved in a customizable searches list. Detailed
asset information is provided on tabbed screens that offer overviews of various
asset information, depreciation, notes, and asset disposal and life data. Images
and documents can be attached to asset files. The detailed screens make good
use of selection lists and other devices for speeding data entry, while global
change tools enable users to quickly edit groups of assets. Asset Station also
provides wizards for reporting and other functions.

MANAGEMENT FEATURES – 4.5 Stars
Asset Station’s customization options, which allow for tailoring of virtually
all description fields, enable extensive track-ing of various asset details
with the ability to track any kind of asset across its depreciable and maintenance
life. The system offers multiple methods of asset transactions, including traditional
disposals, mass and partial disposals, like-kind exchanges, splitting, unsplitting
and combinations, in addition to supporting related, parent/child and manufactured
assets.

As previously noted, the program supports all traditional GAAP, IRS and IFRS
depreciation methods and conventions, including ACRS, MACRS, straight-line,
modified straight-line, units of production, sum-of-the-year’s digits,
declining balance, non-depreciating and amortization, with the ability to manage
all types and classifications, including Indian and governmental entities. Since
it is designed for generally less complex entities with smaller asset bases,
the system only allows one book per asset.

Asset Station can manage asset depreciation and tracking for any number of
business entities and subunits with as many as 1,000 assets each, which can
be grouped in any manner. The system also offers multi-currency capabilities,
which may be most useful to entities managing assets in geographically diverse
locations. The program includes asset projection and analysis functions, in
addition to a complete audit trail.

INTEGRATION – 4 Stars
The program includes wizards for importing asset data from Excel and many accounting
applications, and Asset Station’s export capabilities enable the output
of data into Excel and various text formats. This data can then be imported
by most accounting applications and routed into the GL. No direct integration
is offered with tax preparation systems, but the same two-step, export-import
process can be used to move data into most trial balance packages.

REPORTING – 4.5 Stars
Asset Station’s report library includes standard options for asset registers,
disposals, acquisitions, detailed histories, depreciation details, depreciation
summaries and analyses, and provides ample customization tools. Reports can
be viewed on-screen, printed or saved as Excel or PDF files.

HELP/SUPPORT – 4 Stars
Asset Station is very intuitive to use and provides a variety of assistance
functions, such as task-related guidance, right-click menus and a traditional
Help index. The system also includes a print and electronic user’s manual.
The company’s website provides product updates and whitepapers, but lacks
self-help FAQs or a knowledgebase. Access to live technical support for the
system costs an additional $99 per year, and annual product renewals are $60.
Several training options are offered at less than $100 per course.

2008 OVERALL RATING: