Scenario:
The user wants to write off a fixed asset named "Obsolete Machinery" with no expected sale value. When attempting the disposal transaction at Fixed Assets > Transactions > Asset Disposal, the user receives the error message:
USER_ERROR: The amounts in a journal entry must balance.
Solution:
This error occurs when the system attempts to create the associated journal entry for the disposal transaction, but the amounts being debited and credited do not match. In NetSuite, every journal entry must be balanced—meaning total debits must equal total credits. If the values used in the disposal transaction are incomplete or incorrect, this balance is not achieved, and the system throws an error.
This situation commonly arises when the Asset Current Cost on the asset record has not been defined or is set to zero, and the user attempts to process a Write Off without specifying a Sales Amount that matches the asset value.
To resolve this issue, the user must ensure that the fixed asset record includes a defined Asset Current Cost. Additionally, even when writing off the asset— where there is no actual sale involved—the user can input a matching value in the Sales Amount field on the Asset Disposal page to ensure the disposal transaction is balanced.
- Navigate to Fixed Assets > Lists > Assets, find "Obsolete Machinery," and clicks Edit.
- Set the Asset Current Cost to $1,000.00 and save the record.
- Return to the Asset Disposal page and select "Write Off" as the disposal type.
- In the Sales Amount field, enter $1,000.00 to ensure the transaction is balanced.
Hope this helped!
