The main reasons for writing off furniture (tables, chairs, etc.)

What are the reasons for writing off furniture

The reasons for writing off the furniture of work or office premises can be very different.

Furniture items that have become unusable and the need to replace them are the first and most common reason.

Another reason for a change of environment may be the desire of management to change the design of the workspace. In both cases, the need for write-off must be documented and confirmed by the relevant act.

Home furniture lasts longer than that used in office, work or public spaces. These include offices, shops, cafes, doctors' offices, hotels, concert halls, etc.

Office furniture is used more often than home furniture. The result is breakage, irreparable dirt or physical deformation of the upholstery.

Annual inventory documents are needed to collect and record information about the degree of wear or deformation of office furniture or furniture sets used in public premises. If the time of deformation can be recorded, then an additional report is drawn up about this.

The act recording the fact of deformation and annual inventory documents must contain the types of damage to furniture sets. This is necessary for processing its subsequent write-off.

Reference

Examples of such deformations include:

1. physical deformation of the furniture frame (legs, seats or backs of chairs; walls, shelves or doors of cabinets, legs or table tops);
2. physical deformation of the mechanisms that ensure the functioning of furniture products (chair casters, door hinges, drawer pull-out mechanisms, etc.);
3. excessive wetness or overheating of furniture parts, leading to their deformation;
4. fading or physical wear of furniture upholstery, as well as its rupture or other form of deformation;
5. cuts, chips or cracks on the surface of furniture or other parts of the cladding;
6. chemical or other irremovable contamination of the surface or other part of furniture products.

There is one condition that is sufficient for the unconditional write-off of furniture: the material costs of repairs and elimination of deformations are equal to or higher than the market value of similar items. Data on the cost of new furniture should be provided by furniture suppliers.

Additional information on how to draw up an act, incl. Furniture write-off act can be found.

Registration of write-off of furniture fit for use

Redesigning or updating the design of an office, retail space, or restaurant space may result in purchasing new furniture and discarding the old one. At the same time, old office furniture can be written off before it loses its performance characteristics or a physical defect is discovered.

For such cases, data on the service life of furniture is used, which are established by the supplier or specified in the technical data sheet of the products.

Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated June 16, 1997 No. 720 regulates the procedure for presenting information on the service life of furniture products and recording it in the technical passport.

According to this regulation, all furniture manufacturers must set its service life. The use of furniture products beyond the established period is prohibited by law, because it poses a danger to people and the environment.

If the technical documentation contains data on its service life, the reasons for writing off the furniture in the act can be formulated as follows:

“Write off office furniture in accordance with Appendix 1 to the act due to the expiration of the service life established by the manufacturer of the specified furniture, Office Furniture LLC, in the technical passport (Appendix 2), as posing a potential danger to the health of employees, property of the organization and the environment in accordance with the standards of the Government Decree RF dated June 16, 1997 No. 720″.

The procedure for writing off upholstered furniture is formalized in a similar way: the upholstery of furniture products has lost its performance due to abrasion, physical deformation or irremovable contamination, frame breakage or its irreversible deformation. In this case, the cost of potential repairs will significantly exceed the cost of a similar set of upholstered office furniture.

If physical defects in upholstered furniture cannot be detected, and it needs to be written off due to work being carried out by the administration to renovate the office space, then the basis for write-off becomes the expired shelf life of the furniture products.

Service life and characteristics

Furniture in an enterprise means not only classic office “new things”, but also everything that has a similar design - furnishings for retail premises, workshops, warehouses, catering establishments.
To write off furniture structures, several characteristics are taken into account. The following are the general points:

• loss of functionality (breakage, deformation);
• external defects (dirt, cracks, scratches, fading);
• desire for renewal (purchase of more status furniture, reorganization of the enterprise).

The service life of furniture depends on the manufacturer, type and variety and is determined at the factory. Furniture manufacturers have an obligation to establish this parameter in accordance with Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of June 16, 1997 No. 720.

After this period, the structures can be dangerous not only for people in the room and working with them, but also for the environment.

Write-off of furniture in accounting

If the fact of damage, impossibility of restoration or repair is established, then the furniture must be written off. The basis is the decision of the inventory commission, which is made based on the results of the measures taken to assess the physical condition of the company’s property.

The loss of material objects (that’s what it’s called in accounting) must be documented in a furniture write-off act.

The law does not establish a single standard form for the act of writing off furniture products. Each organization can develop such a form independently. The only condition is that it must be fixed and approved by the local regulations of the organization.

The act must indicate the reasons for writing off the products.

Reference

In addition to them, the document must provide the following information:

1. the name of the furniture items and an indication of their quantity to be written off based on the results of the inventory;
2. inventory numbers of write-off items according to the inventory compiled during the inventory;
3. damage to objects that were identified during the inspection;
4. the decision and its justification made by the commission regarding the deregistration of the specified material objects;
5. information about the composition of the commission: position, full name of the commission member and his signature.

The methodology for writing off furniture items is the same, regardless of the reasons for the removal of material objects from economic accounting.

About furniture recycling

Clause 5.38 of the Interstate standard GOST 30772-2001 “Resource conservation. Waste management. Terms and Definitions” states that waste recycling is an activity in which waste is used at the stages of its technological cycle, and/or ensuring the reuse or recycling of those objects that have been written off.

During recycling, rejected products, materials, packaging, other solid waste, as well as liquid discharges, etc. are processed. or those whose service life has expired. Consequently, the concept of “recycling” means additional processing of production or consumption waste. Therefore, the specifics of concluding a contract will depend on the scope of operations carried out by the contractor.

If discarded office chairs are subject to further recycling (for example, if they were made from plastics that need to be recycled), the agency contracts with a contractor to remove and dispose of the waste. If the responsibilities of a third-party company are limited to loading, transporting and unloading waste, then in this case a waste removal contract is concluded.

If the furniture is damaged

Furniture that is used in commercial premises, be it restaurants, hotels, offices, shops, factories, becomes unusable much earlier and more often than what happens with structures at home.

During intensive use, individual units may break down, become irreversibly dirty, tear, scratch, or fade. Data that such property has become unfit for use is recorded when compiling inventory papers or discovering similar facts.

The documentation shows the types of damage, for example:

• breakdown of the frame part, including legs, tabletops, seats, walls, armrests, doors;
• breakdown of the main functioning mechanisms that facilitated the operation of structures;
• deformation of individual elements as a result of excessive heating, high humidity, and wetness;
• wear of the upholstery as a result of the influence of the temporary factor;
• defects associated with facing furniture surfaces.

All these damages imply the need to write off and note these aspects in the act. There is only one condition: the costs of restoration exceed the costs of purchasing new units. Information about how much repair work will cost can be obtained from organizations that specialize in this type of service.

Sample defect report

There is no established template according to which the write-off procedure is carried out, so the enterprise has the opportunity to independently develop and approve it. The completed act must contain the following information:

• the name of the furniture structures that are being written off;
• total quantity (in units);
• identification codes and signs;
• the results of the inspection by a commission including senior employees of the organization;
• causative factors (breakage, deformation, defects);
• general conclusion;
• signatures belonging to responsible parties.

Documents for download (free)

• Form No. OS-4b

If we look at a specific example of a document, we can note that it includes several points:

1. “Hat”, which indicates the word “I approve”, the name of the general director, and the date of compilation. Then it is signed with the word “Act” in the center, and the title of the document from a new line in the middle is “write-off of furniture, inventory, equipment.” All members of the commission are listed below, it is indicated that they examined certain pieces of furniture and found them to be written off on certain grounds.
2. The basic part, represented by a table. The first column displays the name of the structures to be decommissioned. The second indicates the inventory number, then the unit of measurement, quantity. The last column is the general technical condition and causal factors.
3. The final part begins below the table and includes the immediate conclusion, information about the group members, and results.

The document must be drawn up in a special form and include the necessary signatures and seals.

How to draw up a write-off act?

There is no special form for the act of writing off furniture. A company or individual entrepreneur has the right to develop and use its own template for such a document. In this case, it is necessary to provide the following information in the act:

• a list of furniture items (and their exact quantity) to be written off;
• numbers according to the inventory list;
• description of the items being written off indicating any defects found;
• the reasons that led to the need for write-off;
• the commission's verdict on the need for write-off;
• signatures of the commission members, the person in charge of these items, and the head of the enterprise.

Readers can view a sample of such an act on our website.

Furniture at an enterprise should be written off if it has fallen into disrepair, the cost of restoring it exceeds the price of a new one, or further use is inappropriate for aesthetic reasons. A special commission is appointed to carry out write-off activities.

Source

Reasons for different types

The reasons for write-off largely depend on the type of furniture. Let's look at the most common of them.

Office chairs and armchairs

Among the reasons causing the need to write off office chairs and chairs, the following points can be highlighted:

• damage to the leg, back, armrest;
• seat deformation;
• faded upholstery;
• scratches and holes in the upholstery material;
• loss of aesthetic properties of wood.

Closet

• breakdown of fittings (mechanical parts);
• the formation of noticeable gaps due to weakening or unsticking of tenon elements;
• warping of doors, insert shelves;
• breakdown of fittings;
• darkening of varnish;
• darkening of wood;
• destruction of the structure of the material due to the appearance of stains (during exposure to chemicals), aging, fading;
• corrosion;
• damage to the facing material by mold

Carpet

Despite the fact that carpet is not technically furniture, it is subject to write-off according to the same principle as other structures discussed earlier. Reasons include discoloration, formation of bald spots, spots, and holes.

Curtains

More often than not, curtains are susceptible to fading due to exposure to sunlight. But other defects may also form, such as the appearance of spots and holes.

Cushioned furniture

In addition to standard furniture, upholstered furniture is also subject to write-off. Such procedures are carried out in hotels, sanatoriums, and boarding houses. Structures located in public areas quickly deteriorate due to active use and negligence of visitors and staff.

The reasons for write-off measures include wear of the upholstery, sagging springs, cracks and chips.

Of course, an unaesthetic interior can easily ruin the organization’s reputation and reduce the flow of clients. In this regard, write-offs must be carried out in a timely and competent manner.

Reasons for writing off furniture. Types of furniture damage

Update: June 26, 2021

The interior design of work premises can be updated for various reasons. This may be the need to replace pieces of furniture that have fallen into disrepair, but there may also be a desire of management to change the design of the offices, decorating them in a single corporate manner. How to correctly formulate in this case the reasons for writing off the furniture and what types of damage to the furniture will be the reason for drawing up a document on its write-off, we will consider further.

Furniture purchased by an organization for use in public premises (offices, hotels, cafes, shops, doctors' offices, concert halls, etc.) falls into disrepair much more often than its domestic counterparts. As a result of intensive use, individual items may be broken, dirty, the upholstery may be torn, etc.

Information that the organization’s property has fallen into disrepair is recorded in the process of drawing up annual inventory documents or at the time such facts are discovered. The documents drawn up indicate the types of damage to furniture for further write-off, for example:

• damage to the furniture frame (legs, seats, backs of chairs and armchairs, walls, shelves and doors of cabinets and cabinets, legs and table tops, etc.);
• breakdown of mechanisms that ensure the operation of furniture (door hinges, drawer mechanisms, chair casters, etc.);
• deformation of individual parts of furniture due to wetness, excessive heat, etc.;
• wear and tear of the upholstery (fading, thinning, tearing, etc.);
• defects in furniture surface cladding (cuts, cracks, chips, etc.);
• irremovable stains on furniture surfaces, etc.

All of the listed damages can become a reason for writing off the furniture in the write-off act if an essential condition is met: the costs of eliminating these defects are equal to or exceed the cost of purchasing a similar new piece of furniture.

Information on the cost of repairs can be provided by organizations specializing in this type of service.

The most common breakdowns

Before we begin to analyze specific methods for repairing a computer chair, let's look at what breakdowns occur most often.

Modern manufacturers produce a wide variety of computer chairs. They may differ in their design and upholstery materials, but the basic design elements in most cases remain unchanged.

The basis of any computer chair is a gas lift system. With this system we can comfortably raise the seat height and also simply lower it at any time with just one movement of the lever. This system is installed on legs equipped with wheels. With the help of such wheels you can not only have fun rolling on parquet or laminate flooring, which by the way can cause damage, but also conveniently move along the workplace. Next comes the seat, which is connected to the backrest by means of a special fixed spring. Some chair models may have additional armrests.

What can break first?

First of all, the moving parts that take on the maximum load fail. The gas lift often breaks down. At some point it may lose its tightness. This can be seen by the fact that the chair cannot maintain its height and always sinks to the very bottom under your weight.

In addition, wheels can often break. We may accidentally run into something, the wheel may turn up unsuccessfully, and so on. In this case, the chair will lose stability, which we will feel immediately.

Among the moving parts that often become loose and even break is the backrest fastening. Here, the spring and retainer are primarily susceptible to breakage.

Let's look at each of these breakdowns and turn to the recommendations of professionals for eliminating them.

Learning how to repair an office chair gas lift

The gas lift device is simple and at the same time quite effective. The principle of its operation is the flow of specially pumped gas into the cylinder of the device. Its chamber is divided into two parts by a valve. The lever opens this valve, and we can either lower the valve down under our own weight, or release the seat, and it will begin to rise up under the influence of the same gas.

The main cause of failure is depressurization of the device, due to which the valve moves freely in the cylinder and cannot maintain the desired level. It is almost impossible to fix this problem at home, and in most cases you just have to replace the gas lift with a new one. And such a replacement, with simple tools, can be made even by a non-professional.

For this we need:

• curly screwdriver;
• hammer;
• punch.

First of all, remove the seat and backrest. A screwdriver will help us with this. After this, we separate the seat from the swing mechanism. We remove the protective casing and separate the gas cartridge from the swing mechanism. After this, we knock the cartridge out of the cross. Now you can start assembling the chair with a new gas lift.

How to fix the back

Various breakdowns can occur with the backrest. For example, at some point we may lean back too much and the spring may not hold up. Also, with our careless attitude, we can ruin the upholstery, which will only have to be changed. Let's look at each of these two cases.

The mechanism connecting the seat and backrest is called permanent contact. Using this mechanism, we can fix the position of the backrest at a variety of angles. Often this mechanism breaks down when we are a little overzealous with the clamping screw. By squeezing such a screw, we can break the thread and then only replacing it will help us out. Before you start repairing, buy a new screw. As a rule, the permanent contact is covered with a plastic casing, which can simply be removed by snapping it. If you can’t turn the nut, then use a grinder to dismantle it. After you get rid of the old bolt, you can reassemble the mechanism with the new bolt.

Replacing the upholstery is a very simple matter. Let's look at the whole process step by step:

1. Unscrew the adjusting screw from below and remove the backrest.
2. Unclip the rear decorative trim.
3. We tear off the old upholstery from the paper clips.
4. At this moment, you can wash the foam rubber, taking advantage of the moment.
5. Now you can take new upholstery and repeat the whole process in reverse order.

Repairing chair wheels

The wheels of an office chair are part of the base of the chair - the crosspiece. It happens that a broken wheel in the process also breaks one of the spokes on which it was attached. In this case, we recommend that you completely replace the entire crosspiece, since the plastic gluing may not be as reliable for this structural element. It is also worth doing in the case when an entire spoke of the cross breaks off.

To replace a whole crosspiece, you must first get a new one. We recommend ordering a more powerful crosspiece model, since most models are completely unified. The tools you will need are a hammer and pliers.

First of all, make sure that the new cross has its own wheels. Otherwise, you need to turn the chair over with the seat down and first remove the wheels from the broken crosspiece. Next, we take a hammer in our hands and, using a drift, carefully knock out the gas lift from the cross. After we got rid of the old cross, we can start assembling. The order is reversed - place the gas lift on the new crosspiece and, if necessary, secure the wheels.

Replacing wheels will not require much effort from you at all. Specialists have special grips for this, but everything can be done without them. We turn the chair over, confidently take the wheel and forcefully pull it out of the socket. If necessary, you can help yourself a little with a straight screwdriver.

Repairing office chair armrests

Of all the possible types of repair, the simplest, perhaps, is the repair or replacement of armrests. In some models of chairs, the armrests may not be very comfortable, and they can also break in the same way as, say, a crosspiece. We can break the armrest by leaning on it poorly, or simply by touching it.

As a rule, armrests are attached with several screws. Using a screwdriver, you can unscrew the armrest fastenings in a minute and just as quickly screw on new ones.

As a rule, armrest mounts are designed for several types of armrests. You can take advantage of this moment and order armrests that will be more comfortable for you.

Repair yourself and save money

As we have seen, repairs are not such a difficult matter. We can spend about half an hour on everything, and we won’t have to buy new furniture. Moreover, to carry out simple repairs you do not need to have special equipment - the simplest tools that can be found in every home will do.

Is it possible to write off boring but still usable furniture?

If the desire to purchase new furnishings for an organization is not due to the fact that the furniture has lost its performance qualities, but to another reason, for example, updating the overall design concept of a restaurant or the transition of a business to the “luxury” segment, which requires a more solid office environment, then there are no physical defects in the furniture for write-off .

In this case, you can be guided by the service life of the furniture established by the manufacturer in the technical data sheet.

Furniture manufacturers are required to set a service life for it in accordance with Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated June 16, 1997 No. 720. After this period, furniture can become dangerous to people and the environment. Therefore you cannot use it.

If the service life of the furniture is established in the technical passport and by the time of write-off it has expired, then the reason for writing off the furniture in the write-off act can be formulated as follows:

“Write off office furniture in accordance with Appendix 1 to the act in connection with the expiration of the service life established by the manufacturer of the specified furniture LLC Furniture for Everyone in the technical passport (Appendix 2), as posing a potential danger to the health of employees, property of the organization and the environment in accordance with the standards of the Government Decree RF dated June 16, 1997 No. 720″.

The reasons for writing off upholstered furniture are determined similarly. If the furniture has lost its performance qualities - the upholstery is torn, worn out or dirty, the frame is broken or deformed, etc., then it can be written off if the cost of repair costs is comparable to the cost of a new similar item.

If upholstered furniture has no physical damage, then the basis for write-off may be the expired service life established for it.

Features of depreciation of office equipment and office furniture

In some situations, office furniture and office equipment may also be subject to depreciation. If the object is part of the OS, the procedure is required. Determining the group to which the property belongs can help determine the depreciation period. To obtain the information of interest, you need to contact the classifier. Office furniture belongs to group 4. Its period of use ranges from 5 years 1 month to 7 years inclusive.

If an accountant turns to a classifier in order to find out the group that includes office equipment, he will not be able to solve his problem. The type of property is not included in the document. According to the established rules, if an object is not on the list, its useful life is established based on the manufacturer’s recommendations (Article 258 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). To do this, you need to read the documentation accompanying the purchased item.

Based on the statement, office equipment can be included in group 2. The useful life of the item will be from 2 to 3 years.

Furniture defects for write-off in accounting

Furniture in a company can be used not only in office premises, but also in canteens, production workshops, warehouses and other departments of the company.

The resulting damage can be divided into defects in appearance and loss of mechanical properties and functions.

External damage includes the following:

• pollution that cannot be eliminated;
• damage to upholstery, paint and other top coverings;
• discoloration (fading, abrasions).

As for mechanical functions, this type of defect in some cases makes further operation of objects impossible. These include:

• breakdown of functioning mechanisms, such as adjustment of height, tilt, opening/closing;
• damage to legs, frames, walls, making objects unsuitable for use;
• deformation of surfaces, seats.

How can defects in upholstered furniture be identified for write-off? In order for the company to be able to legally write off, it will be necessary to conduct an inventory, during which it will be determined that the valuable properties of this property have been lost.

In the future, it will be necessary to determine whether it would be rational to transfer the furniture for repairs. To do this, it is necessary to compare the costs required to repair the damage and the purchase of new similar pieces of furniture.

In the event that the damaged furniture cannot be restored, the inventory commission, based on the results of the measures taken, makes a decision to write off this object.

The furniture write-off act (reasons are determined by the company independently) is a universal document for documenting the loss of material objects. There is no special form among the unified accounting documents, which gives companies the opportunity to independently determine the format of this document and secure the sample in internal documentation.

In addition to the reason for writing off the furniture, it is advisable to indicate the following information in the write-off act:

• names of pieces of furniture indicating the quantity that, according to the results of the inventory, are subject to disposal;
• their numbers in accordance with the data of the compiled inventory list;
• damage identified during the inspection;
• a justified decision of the commission to write off these material objects in accounting;
• information about the composition of the commission: position held, full name and signature.

Often management expresses a desire to write off some furniture, despite the fact that its useful properties have not yet been lost, but its appearance does not correspond to the prestige of the company. For some organizations, appearance is a significant factor and allows them to attract more partners to cooperate. What should you do in this case? When furniture that does not have defects is written off, the organization can be guided by the technical passport of the item. In most cases, this document specifies the service life specified by the manufacturer. If the service life of an object has expired and information about this is reflected in the passport, even an object in a usable condition can be deregistered.

The method of disposal of furniture items is used by companies, regardless of the reasons for which these objects are written off in economic accounting.