The quick answer
Go to Fixed Assets > Transactions > Asset Split and select the asset in Asset ID/Name. It needs a Quantity greater than 1. In the Assets Generated from Split sublist, enter the number of units to move in Split Quantity and press Tab. NetSuite fills the new asset's cost and book value in proportion to the quantity, which you can then edit, and Original Asset After Split shows what the original keeps. Click Add, then Split, and refresh FAM Process Status until the Asset Split process is Completed. FAM creates a new asset with its own asset ID, lowers the original's quantity and cost, and adds a negative Acquisition row to the original's depreciation history. In this single-book example, the split posts no journal.
The screenshots show sample data. The company, user and asset names are fictional. Use your own asset and quantities when following the steps.
Before you start
Tamarack Survey Group bought six rugged field tablets on one vendor bill, and the bill became one FAM asset: FAM000071, Rugged Field Tablets, Asset Type Computer Equipment, in the Tamarack Survey Group : Colorado subsidiary. It has Quantity 6 and Asset Original Cost 7,200.00, which is 1,200.00 per tablet, and depreciates straight line over 36 months from 10/01/2026. Depreciation hasn't started yet, so its status is New and its net book value is the full 7,200.00. Two of the tablets now need their own asset record so they can be transferred or disposed of separately later.
You need Fixed Assets Management installed and a role with the FAM permissions to view assets and run Asset Split. Menus and permissions vary by role, so test with the role that will do the work. The example uses one accounting book, no alternate depreciation methods and an asset with no depreciation posted, but status New isn't a requirement: an asset that is already depreciating can be split too. It should be active and not disposed, and the original has to keep at least one unit. If you select an asset with Quantity 1, NetSuite shows the message "Asset split is available to assets with more than one (1) quantity."
Asset Split has no reverse or combine step. Deleting the new asset won't restore the original, so settle the quantity and amounts before you click Split.
01. Check the bulk asset before the split
Go to Fixed Assets > Lists > Assets. On the FAM Asset List, FAM000071 Rugged Field Tablets shows Asset Original Cost and Asset Current Cost 7,200.00, Asset Status New and Quantity 6. Quantity is the last column on the list.
Click View on FAM000071. Asset Original Cost and Asset Current Cost are 7,200.00, Cumulative Depreciation is 0.00, Current Net Book Value is 7,200.00 and Asset Status is New.
02. Enter the split on Asset Split
Go to Fixed Assets > Transactions > Asset Split. In Asset ID/Name, select FAM000071 Rugged Field Tablets. The page reloads with the asset's values: Quantity 6, Original Cost and Current Cost 7,200.00, Current Book Value 7,200.00, Depreciation To Date 0.00 and Asset Status New. On the Split Details subtab, Original Asset After Split starts with the whole asset: Split Quantity 6 and Original Cost 7,200.00.
Scroll to the Assets Generated from Split sublist. Each line you add becomes one new asset record, so you can add several lines to create several assets in one split. Click Split Quantity, enter 2 and press Tab to leave the field. The line fills in proportion to the quantity: Original Cost, Current Cost and Current Book Value 2,400.00, which is two sixths of 7,200.00, with Depreciation To Date, Residual Value and Last Depreciation Amount 0.00. Original Asset After Split updates at the same time to what FAM000071 will keep: Split Quantity 4 and 4,800.00 for each cost and book value field.
After Tab, the cursor sits in Original Cost on the line. If the units weren't worth the same, you can change the amounts here, but review the related fields together. FAM checks that Split Quantity isn't zero, that the original keeps at least one unit, that Current Book Value plus Depreciation To Date equals Current Cost, that Last Depreciation Amount isn't more than Depreciation To Date, and that the new assets don't take more than the original has. This example keeps the proportional split.
Click Add to commit the line. Check Original Asset After Split once more before you go on.
03. Split the asset and follow the process
Click Split. NetSuite opens FAM Process Status with the new Asset Split process at the top, status Queued. Click Refresh. The status changes to In Progress and Process Stage shows 1/3: Split Assets. Keep clicking Refresh until the status is Completed.
Click Details on that row. In this run, 1/3 Split Assets is Completed with the message New assets created: 1 and Assets split: 1. 2/3 Split Alternate Depreciation Methods and 3/3 Delete Old Forecast Values are Not Required, because this asset has no alternate methods and no forecast rows yet. The Errors column is empty. The stages, their numbering and their statuses depend on the asset and your FAM setup. An asset with an alternate or tax depreciation method completes stage 2, which copies those methods to the new asset. An asset with forecast rows completes the forecast stage, because the old forecast was worked out on the original's full balance.
04. Compare the two assets in the asset list
Go to Fixed Assets > Lists > Assets. FAM000071 now shows Asset Original Cost and Asset Current Cost 4,800.00 and Quantity 4. A new row, FAM000072 Rugged Field Tablets, shows Computer Equipment, 2,400.00, status New and Quantity 2. Together the two assets still hold 6 tablets and 7,200.00.
05. Open the new asset and read where it came from
Click View on FAM000072. Asset Original Cost, Asset Current Cost and Current Net Book Value are 2,400.00, Cumulative Depreciation is 0.00 and Asset Status is New. The new asset inherits the original's name, description, asset type, depreciation method, lifetime, dates, subsidiary and classifications, so check those fields on your form. It copies the description as it is, so FAM000072 still says "Rugged field tablets, 6 units". Edit the name or description on both assets if they mention a quantity or you need to tell them apart.
On the Notes subtab, User Notes has a note by -System- titled FAM000072 was split from FAM000071, with the memo This asset was generated from FAM Process 4127. The note is how you trace a split asset back to its original and to the FAM process that created it. The process number is the FAM process record, not an asset ID.
06. Confirm the split in the original asset's history
Go back to Fixed Assets > Lists > Assets, click View on FAM000071, click the Depreciation History subtab, then click Depreciation Histories on the Accounting Method row. The first row is the original Acquisition dated 10/01/2026: Transaction Amount 7,200.00, Net Book Value 7,200.00, Quantity 6. Below it is the split, also an Acquisition dated 10/01/2026: Transaction Amount -2,400.00, Net Book Value 4,800.00, Quantity 4.
Check the result
- Asset Split is Completed on FAM Process Status, and its Details show New assets created: 1 and no errors.
- FAM000071 shows 4,800.00 and Quantity 4 on the FAM Asset List.
- FAM000072 shows 2,400.00, status New and Quantity 2.
- FAM000072 has the -System- user note FAM000072 was split from FAM000071.
- FAM000071's history has an Acquisition of -2,400.00 with Net Book Value 4,800.00 and Quantity 4.
In this single-book example, neither history row has a Posting Reference. The split moved value between two asset records and didn't post a journal. With Multi-Book Accounting or tax methods linked to a book, FAM can create journals for those books, so check Posting Reference and look for journals in your account.
For an asset that has already depreciated, Asset Split also divides Depreciation To Date, Current Book Value, Residual Value and Last Depreciation Amount in the same proportion, its history can get depreciation adjustment rows as well, and FAM deletes the old forecast depreciation rows. Reconcile the history, book values and alternate methods on both assets, and confirm their schedules before the next depreciation run.
Common questions
Why can't I select my asset on the Asset Split page?
Asset Split only works on an active asset with a Quantity greater than 1, because the original has to keep at least one unit. If you select an asset with Quantity 1, NetSuite shows "Asset split is available to assets with more than one (1) quantity." and clears the field. Disposed and inactive assets can't be split either. Check Quantity in the last column of the FAM Asset List.
How does Asset Split calculate the new asset's cost?
In proportion to the quantity you split off. Here 2 of 6 tablets gives 2,400.00 of the 7,200.00, and the original keeps 4 units and 4,800.00. Depreciation To Date, Residual Value and Last Depreciation Amount are split the same way, which is 0.00 in this example because nothing had depreciated.
Can I split an asset unevenly, with a different cost on the new asset?
Yes. You can edit the calculated amounts on the sublist line before you click Add. The new assets can't take more quantity or value than the original has, and Current Book Value, Depreciation To Date, Residual Value and Current Cost have to stay consistent with each other. This example kept the proportional split, so check the result on both assets after an uneven one.
Does an Asset Split post a journal entry?
Not in this single-book example. The original's depreciation history got an Acquisition row of -2,400.00 with no Posting Reference, and no journal was created. With Multi-Book Accounting or tax methods linked to a book, the result can differ, so check Posting Reference and look for journals in your account.
What happens to the original asset after a split?
It keeps its asset ID, history and depreciation setup, and its quantity and cost drop by the split. FAM000071 went from 6 units and 7,200.00 to 4 units and 4,800.00, and the new FAM000072 holds the other 2 units and 2,400.00.
How do I find which asset a split asset came from?
Open the new asset and go to Notes > User Notes. FAM adds a -System- note, here titled FAM000072 was split from FAM000071, with a memo naming the FAM process that created it. The copied name and description won't tell you, because they match the original. The original's depreciation history also shows the split as a negative Acquisition row.
Can I split an asset that has already depreciated?
Yes. FAM divides Depreciation To Date, Current Book Value, Residual Value and Last Depreciation Amount in the same proportion as cost, and deletes the old forecast rows. This example split a New asset, so after splitting a depreciating one, compare both assets' net book values with the original's and confirm their schedules before the next depreciation run.