Short answer

You don't have to fill in every value field, and none of them block you from going operational (see Do I need to finish my asset values (and other record details) before I can set up inspections?). The one that matters for your AGAR is purchase value — the total of all your assets' purchase values is what reconciles to your AGAR Box 9 (Total Fixed Assets). Replacement value is the useful second one, for budgeting and for giving to your insurer. Current value behaves like depreciation, and insurance value most councils can leave blank. Civic.ly is your asset register; it doesn't sync with your accounting package, so you keep a single annual total in the accounts and manage the itemised register here.

Detail

What each field is for:

  • Purchase value — what you paid for the asset. This is the one that feeds AGAR Box 9: the sum of the purchase values of everything flagged for AGAR should equal the Box 9 figure you enter in your accounts.
  • Replacement value — what it would cost to replace today. Worth filling in for two reasons: it's what your insurer wants, and (with the asset's estimated life) it's the basis for planning replacements and reserves.
  • Current value — roughly a depreciated value; optional, and most councils don't maintain it closely.
  • Insurance value — usually leave blank. Most councils don't hold a separate per-item insurance figure, and the insurer works from replacement value. The exception is genuinely high-value or unique items (e.g. civic regalia) where you do have a specific figure.

You can fill in as few or as many as you like — a common, sensible minimum is purchase value + replacement value + estimated life and skip the rest.

How this relates to your AGAR / accounts. Civic.ly is now your asset register — the itemised list of what the council owns, with values against each item. Your accounting package (e.g. your accounts/AGAR software) only needs the single total (Box 9). There is no live sync between the two: you manage the detailed, per-item register in Civic.ly and carry one annual total figure across to the accounts. That's the point of having the register here — the detail lives in one place and the accounts just need the headline number.

Reconciling an old, grouped register. Councils often arrive with a register where many items are lumped into one line (e.g. "all bins — £8,000", or a whole playground under one value). To use Civic.ly as your register and still reconcile to the same Box 9 total, split that grouped value across the individual assets so the per-item purchase values add back up to the original figure. Your itemised register then sums to the same Box 9 number your accounts already show. (Involve your RFO / clerk on how the original figure was arrived at.)

Grouped vs itemised — a genuine choice. Councils reach different conclusions here, and both are valid:

  • Group to match your insurer / existing figure. Some councils deliberately keep a whole playground (or all street furniture) as one AGAR line, because that's how the insurer holds the figure — a single "play equipment" value. Simpler; matches existing paperwork.
  • Itemise for granular history and budgeting. Others split every item out, so each asset carries its own value, replacement cost and estimated life — which unlocks per-asset replacement planning and a cleaner audit trail.

Choose based on how your insurer and auditor already hold the figures and how much per-item financial detail you want. You can start grouped and itemise later.

Watch-outs

  • Values don't gate the operational side. Inspections, jobs and defects work regardless of whether values are entered — don't wait on finance to go live. See Do I need to finish my asset values (and other record details) before I can set up inspections?.
  • No live integration with your accounts package. Civic.ly holds the itemised register; the accounts hold the single Box 9 total. Update the total once a year (or when it materially changes); don't expect the two to talk to each other.
  • Flag assets for AGAR so the total is meaningful. Only assets flagged for AGAR should feed the Box 9 reconciliation — keep that flag accurate so the AGAR-flagged total is the number you actually report.
  • Replacement value is worth writing a method for. If you calculate replacement value (e.g. "look up the current catalogue price"), note the method in your council's financial regulations so whoever does it next uses the same basis — it keeps year-on-year figures consistent.
  • Forecasting replacements today is a manual step. There's no built-in reserve/replacement forecast yet. In the meantime you can export the asset list with purchase/replacement value, date acquired and estimated life, and work out predicted replacement dates and reserve needs in a spreadsheet. (Automatic depreciation and reserve forecasting is something we're looking at — log/upvote at ideas.civic.ly.)