Preliminary engineering costs incurred on project alternatives not selected for completion should be expensed when incurred.
In some situations, determining whether expenditures are capital or expense is subject to some interpretation, and is often dependent on the unique factors in that particular case. Policy 502 provides a review of areas where “capital vs. expense” questions often arise and guidelines on how to properly interpret them.
Refer to Policy 501 on application of the $5K minimum capitalization (i.e. component parts, furniture and office fixtures.
Specific instances where molds can be capitalized:
>When making a major across the board change: the old molds should be written off and the new molds can be capitalized
>When transferring a production line to produce new product or variants: the old molds should be written off and the new molds can be capitalized.
In case of uncertainty, it should be resolved in favour of expense.