The following items are not exhaustive and assume that requirements to capitalise the project are met. Paragraphs 51-67 of AASB 138 and paragraphs 16-22A of AASB 116 provide further guidance on capitalisation of costs.
Item | Expense | Software – Capitalise (AASB 138) | Plant & Equipment – Capitalise (AASB 116) |
|---|---|---|---|
Research phase |
|
|
|
User testing of existing software to inform a business case | ✓ |
|
|
Consultant fees | ✓ |
|
|
Staff costs | ✓ |
|
|
Development phase |
|
|
|
Off-the-shelf systems (excluding SAAS arrangements which are service contracts in substance) |
| ✓ |
|
Consultant fees – design & construction |
| ✓ |
|
Depreciation of software licences & computers – specifically required to develop or test the asset |
| ✓ |
|
Equipment - other (printers, PCs, etc) |
|
| ✓ |
Data migration costs – test data used for system testing |
| ✓ |
|
Data migration costs – outside of system testing | ✓ |
|
|
Project manager costs – planning data migration and/or training | ✓ |
|
|
Staff costs (including project managers) – development &/or testing |
| ✓ |
|
Contractor & supplier costs – development &/or testing |
| ✓ |
|
Staff costs (including project managers) – not directly related to the project (e.g. attending training) | ✓ |
|
|
Administration costs – not directly related to development | ✓ |
|
|
Project governance committees | ✓ |
|
|
Stakeholder meetings | ✓ |
|
|
Initial pilot system to test feasibility prior to developing the final system to be capable of being used by the entity |
| ✓ |
|
Inefficiencies in development (e.g. if an entity develops a system to provide xyz functionality, but subsequently decides to abandon the work on z, the costs related to z could not be capitalised) | ✓ |
|
|
Implementation phase |
|
|
|
Replacement of computer terminals |
|
| ✓ |
Training – staff costs | ✓ |
|
|
Advertising and promotional costs | ✓ |
|
|
Manuals (including their development at any phase) | ✓ |
|
|
Post-implementation reviews | ✓ |
|
|
