Short answers to the questions that come up first about grouping. For the full picture, start with Grouping assets, and what the Group column does.
Where this is in the app
Dashboard → Import assets → the Groups step, which appears after the file is read whenever the file has section headings or subtotal rows. See Where the grouping question appears.
Does choosing a route change my depreciation?
No. Grouping assigns organizational dimensions, activity and GL account. Cost, method, life, convention, and every calculated figure are untouched.
Does the question use AI?
No. Nothing is chosen for you: the three cards (GL accounts, Activities, Source categories only) wait for your pick, and matching group names to your existing activities is plain name matching.
Finding the groups in a spreadsheet report is a separate step earlier in the import, while the file is read, and that step does use AI. So does reading a PDF.
Can one file use both routes?
One destination per file. Route it to one, then assign the other in bulk afterwards. See Change a routing decision, or assign groups in bulk.
What if I pick the wrong one?
Before you commit, use Undo on the confirmation line; it takes you back to the three cards. After you commit, change assets individually or in bulk from the grid.
What if two bands mean the same thing?
Nothing is merged automatically. You will see both in the list and can point them at the same account, or tidy them up after import.
Do I have to route the groups?
No. Pick Source categories only and the import proceeds. The labels are still stored and you will be offered a bulk assign later.
Where does the original label live?
In each asset's Source Category field, visible as a column on the Tax and Book (GAAP) grids. See The Source Category column and filter.
Why do my assets say "not set up for journal entries yet"?
They have a GL cost account, but that account still needs to be classified as Asset (cost) and linked to its depreciation-expense and accumulated-depreciation accounts on the GL Accounts page. The message is about the missing account pairing, not a failed assignment.
Will old assets get labels?
Not retroactively. Re-importing the schedule is the way to populate them.
Does this work for spreadsheets too?
Yes. Upload the grouped spreadsheet report. When the file looks grouped, DepreciationPro detects the groups while it reads the file: it sets the heading and total rows aside, checks each section's total against the assets under it, and keeps the section name on every asset. The Groups step then opens on the result: a row of counts, then three tabs, Totals check, Groups found, and Set aside. Press Continue and the step asks what the groups are used as, once per file. If the groups cannot be detected, the read step says so in one line and every row imports as an asset.
Subtotal, net, and grand-total lines are set aside rather than imported as assets. The Set aside tab lists them by file row number, so you can check them before you decide anything.
The totals check has to tie before you import. Detected assets are summed against each group's printed subtotal and the grand total; a group that does not tie is named on the Totals check tab, and the import waits until you have reviewed it.
If the report is already a flat list with a band column, map that column to Source Category as before.
In one sentence
A vendor's Group column is a hint whose meaning changes from file to file. DepreciationPro asks you once, per file, routes the answer onto activities or GL accounts, keeps the original label either way, and never lets the question stand between you and a finished import.