A capital expenditure, or , is money invested by a company to acquire or upgrade fixed, physical or nonconsumable assets. is primarily a one-time investment in nonconsumable assets used to maintain existing levels of operation within a company and to foster its future growth.

An example would be a bond issue to finance a large construction project. These funds will be segregated from general operating funds and brought into the capital budget as funds are expended on the project. Due to timing of project expenditures, funding will be broken out to equal current year expenditures.

A Capital Expenditure is the amount used during a particular period to acquire or improve long-term assets such as property, plant or equipment. A Capital Asset is a long-term asset that is not purchased or sold in the normal course of business.

Generally speaking, office furniture is classed as a capital expense. Capital expenses are the costs you incur buying assets that have a useful life over a number of years.

The Capital Authorisation Justification is an output from the Detailed Evaluation stage and is the document upon which the investment decision for the remainder of the project is made. It is also the document against which the success of the project will be measured at Post-Implementation Review.

The Written Justification should (1) describe the harm or need to be addressed; (2) explain why a capital expenditure is appropriate to address the harm or need; and (3) compare the proposed capital expenditure against alternative capital expenditures that could be made.

The Capital Expenditure Authorization (CEA) Process begins when a department or school identifies the need for a specific project or capital equipment purchase. Capital Authorization Requests are requested, authorized and managed in an electronic web-based system.