Short answer

Usually no. A part that keeps something you already own working (a new battery for a speed indicator device, a replacement swing seat, a new lamp for a floodlight) is normally a repair cost, not a new asset. The original item stays on your register as it is, and you record the spend against it as a Job with a Cost (£). Something that stands on its own as a new item, like an extra bench or a new piece of play equipment, is a new asset and goes on the register.

Always check with your internal auditor. How your council treats a purchase on its asset register is ultimately their call, and your financial regulations may set the rules.

Detail

A simple test. Ask whether you would inspect, insure or one day replace the thing as a thing in its own right.

  • Repair or replacement part: it restores something already on the register to working order and doesn't really exist apart from it. A battery, a swing seat, a lock, a replacement panel on a notice board. This is usually a repair cost, so the register doesn't change.
  • New asset: it's a separate item you'll look after in its own right. A new bench, a new piece of play equipment, a second defibrillator. Add it as a new asset with its Purchase Value and Date Acquired.

Where the repair cost goes in Civic.ly. Create a Job on the existing asset (for example "Replace battery") and enter what it cost in Cost (£) on the job. That keeps a running record of what the asset has cost you to maintain, without adding a line to your register or changing its purchase value. Open the asset's Tasks tab to see every job that has gone into it. Cost can only be entered on the web app, not the mobile app.

Why it matters for your AGAR. Your asset register's purchase values add up to your AGAR Box 9 total. Adding a repair as a new asset, or adding its cost to the original item's purchase value, would push that total up for something that isn't a new fixed asset. Keeping repairs as job costs keeps Box 9 clean.

Watch-outs

  • Check with your internal auditor before the year end, not after. Councils draw the line in different places. Some have a minimum value below which nothing goes on the register; some treat a major upgrade that significantly extends an asset's life differently from a like-for-like repair. Your auditor and your financial regulations decide, so ask once and write the answer down so it's applied the same way every year.
  • Don't change the original purchase value for a repair. Purchase value is what you paid for the asset when you acquired it. Record the repair on a job instead.
  • Replacing the whole item is different. If the part is really a full replacement (the old unit is removed and a new one installed), treat it as a disposal plus a new asset. See How do I record equipment I've replaced or disposed of?.