The quick answer
Run two CSV imports from Setup > Import/Export > Import CSV Records, both with Import Type Custom Records. First import the assets as Record Type FAM Asset, with the original cost, the full useful life, the original depreciation start date, and where the old system stopped: Last Depreciation Period, Last Depreciation Date, Last Depreciation Amount, Current Net Book Value, and Prior Year NBV. Then import one FAM Depreciation History row per asset whose Transaction Amount is all the depreciation taken before the cutover. Finally click Precompute Depreciation Values on Fixed Assets > Setup > System Setup. FAM then schedules the months that are left from the imported net book value. Neither the imports nor the precompute post a journal. The ledger balances are loaded separately, and the first Asset Depreciation run posts the next month.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and operating-company names are fictional. Use your own records and values when following the steps.
Before you start
This example moves three printing assets from a legacy system into Fixed Assets Management (FAM) for Example Supply Co. The one we follow is Digital Press - Line 2. It cost 93,600.00, has no residual value, and depreciates straight line over 72 months from 11/01/2024. By the cutover the old system had depreciated it for 22 months, through 08/31/2026, at 1,300.00 a month. That's 28,600.00 of accumulated depreciation and a net book value of 65,000.00, with 50 months left. The example uses monthly depreciation, a December 31 fiscal year end, one accounting book, and no revaluation or impairment. Those assumptions are what make the numbers line up.
You need FAM installed and a role that can import custom records and run FAM processes. The asset type (Printing Equipment here), the depreciation method it uses, and the subsidiary have to exist before you import, because the file refers to them. Check that the method, convention, and residual value match how the old system calculated depreciation, or the remaining schedule won't match. You also need the subsidiary's internal ID; in this example it's 3.
The imports create FAM records, not journals. Load the asset cost and accumulated depreciation into the general ledger through your cutover method, usually opening balances, and reconcile the asset register to them. If you use more than one accounting book, validate the assets, history, and schedule in each book. Field labels and required fields can vary with the FAM version, form, and role, so compare your file with the Field Mapping page. Try one asset first.
01. Check the prior-system file
Go to Fixed Assets > Lists > Assets. The FAM Asset List has two assets, FAM000058 and FAM000059. None of the legacy assets is in FAM yet.
Open the asset file, midlife-assets.csv. It has one row per asset, and the column headers match the FAM Asset field names so they map on their own. For LEG-2207, Digital Press - Line 2: Asset Type Printing Equipment, Asset Original Cost and Asset Current Cost 93600.00, Residual Value 0.00, Subsidiary 3, Asset Lifetime 72, and Depreciation Start Date 11/01/2024.
Asset Lifetime is the total useful life, including the months already depreciated. Depreciation Start Date is the original in-service date, not the migration date. There's no Depreciation End Date column; FAM works it out. Asset Original Cost and Asset Current Cost are equal here because the asset was never revalued or impaired.
Further right is where the old system stopped: Last Depreciation Period 22, Last Depreciation Date 08/31/2026, Last Depreciation Amount 1300.00, Current Net Book Value 65000.00, Prior Year NBV 75400.00, and Asset Status Depreciating. Prior Year NBV is the net book value at the end of the previous fiscal year. 22 of the 72 months are used, so 50 remain.
02. Import the assets as FAM Asset records
Go to Setup > Import/Export > Import CSV Records. Set Import Type to Custom Records, Record Type to FAM Asset, and Character Encoding to Unicode (UTF-8). Select midlife-assets.csv and click Next.
On Import Options, keep Add, which creates new records. Open Advanced Options and check that Run Server SuiteScript and Trigger Workflows is checked, so FAM's own scripts run on the imported assets. It also runs any other scripts and workflows your account has on these records, so test the import in a sandbox first. Click Next.
On Field Mapping, every column is mapped to its FAM Asset field. Review each proposed mapping anyway. The file holds the subsidiary's internal ID rather than its name, so click the edit icon on the Subsidiary mapping, set Reference Type to Internal ID, and click Done.
Click Next, enter the Import Map Name Midlife FAM assets, and choose Save & Run. On Import Job Status, the job shows 3 of 3 records imported successfully.
Add always creates records. If a job only partly succeeds, find the rows that were created before you retry, and rerun only the rest, or you'll get duplicates.
03. Check the imported asset
Go back to Fixed Assets > Lists > Assets. In this example FAM000061, FAM000062, and FAM000063 are listed with Asset Status Depreciating. Your asset numbers come from your account's numbering and will differ.
View FAM000061. Asset Original Cost is 93,600.00, Asset Lifetime 72, Current Net Book Value 65,000.00, Cumulative Depreciation 28,600.00 (93,600.00 − 65,000.00), and Asset Status Depreciating. Treat these as values to verify against the old system, not proof that the history is complete. In newer FAM versions the depreciation-state values are stored on a related FAM Asset Values record. Don't assume the asset import filled that record. If your asset doesn't show these values after the import, check the mapping and the FAM Asset Values record, and plan how it gets loaded, before you continue.
Click the General subtab. Depreciation Start Date is 11/01/2024 and Depreciation End Date is 10/31/2030, which FAM calculated from the start date and the 72-month life. Last Depreciation Period is 22, Last Depreciation Amount 1,300.00, Last Depreciation Date 08/31/2026, and Prior Year NBV 75,400.00. Check the end date on your own assets, because depreciation rules and conventions can move it.
04. Import the depreciation history
The asset now knows where it stands, but its depreciation history doesn't yet. Open the history file, midlife-depreciation-history.csv. It has one row per asset. The Asset column holds each new asset's internal ID; FAM000061 is 4127. Get those IDs after the asset import, for example from a saved search that shows Internal ID next to External ID, before you prepare this file. Don't infer them from the asset number.
For asset 4127: Name Migrated depreciation to 08/31/2026, Asset Type Printing Equipment, Date 08/31/2026, Cumulative Depreciation 28600.00, Net Book Value 65000.00, Prior Year NBV 75400.00, Depreciation Period 22, Depreciation Method Straight Line, Quantity 1, Subsidiary 3, and Accounting Book Primary Accounting Book. There's no Transaction Type column; you set it in the mapping.
Go to Setup > Import/Export > Import CSV Records. Set Import Type to Custom Records, Record Type to FAM Depreciation History, and Character Encoding to Unicode (UTF-8). Select the file and click Next. Keep Add and Run Server SuiteScript and Trigger Workflows, then click Next.
On Field Mapping:
- Map Cumulative Depreciation to Transaction Amount. This one row carries the whole 28,600.00 depreciated before the cutover, not one month's amount.
- Add Transaction Type with the Default Value Depreciation. It's the same on every row, so it doesn't need a column.
- Edit the Asset mapping and set Reference Type to Internal ID. Do the same for Subsidiary.
Click Next, enter the Import Map Name Midlife depreciation history, and choose Save & Run. Import Job Status shows 3 of 3 records imported successfully.
One row for everything before the cutover is a migration shortcut. It gives FAM the opening position but doesn't recreate month-by-month history, so period reports before the cutover still come from the old system. If you need that detail in FAM, import one row per historical period instead.
05. Check the history before the schedule exists
View FAM000061 again and click the Depreciation History subtab. The Accounting Method row runs from 11/01/2024 to 10/31/2030. Click Depreciation Histories on that row.
The page has two rows: the Acquisition on 11/01/2024 for 93,600.00, and the imported Depreciation on 08/31/2026 for 28,600.00 with Net Book Value 65,000.00. Neither has a Posting Reference. That's expected, because they describe depreciation the old system already booked and they don't create journals. In this example there are no rows after 08/31/2026 yet, because FAM hasn't scheduled the rest of the life.
06. Precompute Depreciation Values
Go to Fixed Assets > Setup > System Setup. The Fixed Assets Management page has Save and Precompute Depreciation Values buttons.
Click Precompute Depreciation Values. NetSuite opens FAM Process Status with a Generate Depreciation Schedule process, Queued. Click Refresh until it's Completed. Open Details on the row if you want to check each stage for errors. Don't rely only on the import jobs' success counts.
The precompute builds forecast rows on each asset's depreciation history. It doesn't post anything, so a completed process isn't evidence that any month posted.
07. Review the remaining schedule
View FAM000061 and open Depreciation Histories again. The list is sorted newest first. Record now reads 1 - 50 of 52: the Acquisition, the imported row, and 50 scheduled months. The top row is the last month, 10/31/2030, Depreciation 1,300.00, Net Book Value 0.00.
Scroll to the bottom of the page. The oldest row on this page is the first scheduled month, 09/30/2026: Depreciation 1,300.00, Net Book Value 63,700.00. That's the 65,000.00 net book value over the 50 remaining months, and the same monthly amount as 93,600.00 over 72.
Change Record to 51 - 52 of 52. The last two rows are the imported Depreciation of 28,600.00 on 08/31/2026 with Net Book Value 65,000.00, and the Acquisition. The schedule picks up straight from the imported position.
Check the result
- Import Job Status shows 3 of 3 for both the asset file and the history file.
- FAM000061 shows Current Net Book Value 65,000.00, Cumulative Depreciation 28,600.00 and Last Depreciation Period 22.
- Depreciation End Date is 10/31/2030.
- Generate Depreciation Schedule is Completed on FAM Process Status.
- Depreciation Histories has 52 rows: the Acquisition, the imported 28,600.00 row and 50 months of 1,300.00.
- The first scheduled month is 09/30/2026 at 63,700.00, and the last is 10/31/2030 at 0.00.
The two calculations only agree like this for straight line with no residual value and a consistent history. After a revaluation, a changed life, or a residual value they can differ, so check the first scheduled amount against the old system. The precompute only forecasts. The scheduled rows get a Posting Reference when Asset Depreciation posts them, and its Depreciation Period is an up-to date that picks up any earlier unposted months. Here the first unposted row is 09/30/2026, so a run up to 09/30/2026 should post one month of 1,300.00 for this asset, not a catch-up amount. Check that first run's process details and journal before you trust it. For the depreciation run itself, see how to run fixed asset depreciation and check the journal.
Common questions
What should Transaction Amount be on an imported FAM depreciation history row?
For a single opening-position row, it's all the depreciation taken before the cutover, not one month's amount. In this example that's 28,600.00, which is 22 months at 1,300.00. The monthly amount goes on the asset as Last Depreciation Amount.
Why do imported depreciation history rows have no Posting Reference?
They record depreciation the old system already booked. They aren't journals FAM created, so there's nothing to link. The ledger side comes from your opening balances, which you load separately.
Should I include Depreciation End Date when importing FAM assets?
No. Import the original Depreciation Start Date and the total Asset Lifetime and let FAM work out the end date. Here 11/01/2024 plus 72 months gave 10/31/2030. Check the date on your assets, because conventions and depreciation rules can move it.
Does importing a midlife asset post journal entries in NetSuite?
No. The FAM Asset and FAM Depreciation History imports create records only, and Precompute Depreciation Values doesn't post either. Load the cost and accumulated depreciation into the general ledger separately. Journals start with your first Asset Depreciation run after the cutover.
Why does my imported fixed asset have no depreciation schedule?
The imports don't build the future schedule. In this example the asset's Depreciation Histories showed only the Acquisition and the imported row until Precompute Depreciation Values ran. Click it on Fixed Assets > Setup > System Setup and wait for Generate Depreciation Schedule to complete on FAM Process Status.
What does Precompute Depreciation Values do in NetSuite FAM?
It queues a Generate Depreciation Schedule process that builds the forecast depreciation rows on each asset's history. It posts nothing. In this example it added 50 rows of 1,300.00, from 09/30/2026 (net book value 63,700.00) to 10/31/2030 (0.00).
How does FAM calculate the remaining depreciation for a migrated asset?
For straight line with no residual value, the remaining schedule is the imported net book value spread over the months left. Here that's 65,000.00 over 50 months (72 minus the 22 already taken), or 1,300.00 a month, the same as 93,600.00 over 72. After a revaluation, a changed life, or a residual value the two can differ, so compare the first scheduled month with the old system.