Capital Asset Procedures

Property, Plant, and Equipment Procedures

The links to the procedure documents listed below provide detailed operational guidance for capital assets that are recorded within the BEN Assets Property Management System (BEN Assets). BEN Assets is a component within the BEN Financials core financial system, and it is used to record the acquisition, tracking, and disposal of the University’s capital assets. It is used on a regular basis by anyone in the University with the operational access. 

• Acquisitions: 
  • Assets Purchased via BEN Buys  
  • Building & Land  
  • Capital Project Closeout  
  • Donated Equipment  
  • Internal Use Software  
  • Manual Journal Entries to Clearing Accounts, Returns, Cash Refunds and Trade-ins  
• BEN Assets Category Codes  
• Relocation  
• Verifying and Tagging of New Assets  

Accounting Policies for Plant Assets

The policy links provided below are the University’s financial policies pertaining to capital assets. The policies provide definitions, dollar level thresholds, and specific accounting guidance for various property, plant, and equipment transactions. 

• Policy 1106 – Plant Assets: Definition  
• Policy 1106.01 – Plant Assets: Land & Buildings  
• Policy 1106.02 – Plant Assets: Equipment & Other  
• Policy 1106.1 – Plant Assets: Capitalization  
• Policy 1106.2 – Plant Assets: Depreciation  
• Policy 1106.3 – Plant Assets: Retirements 
• Policy 1106.31 – Plant Assets: Disposal of Computer Equipment  
• Policy 1106.4 – Plant Assets: Plant Construction Costs  
• Policy 1106.5 – Plant Assets: Property Management  
• Policy 1106.6 – Plant Assets: Equipment in Process  
• Policy 1106.7 – Plant Assets: Internal Use Software Costs  

Contact Information 

For questions about BEN Assets, contact dofproperty@pobox.upenn.edu.