Why IT Asset Management Is Better Than Using Spreadsheets

Why IT Asset Management Is Better Than Using Spreadsheets

Why IT Asset Management Is Better Than Using Spreadsheets

There was once a time when using a spreadsheet could be considered the best way to track your IT assets. This is when spreadsheets used to be one of the most advanced software applications in the world. Of course, that time is long gone. 

As technology develops, businesses are incorporating modern solutions that let them perform their day-to-day tasks better. In that regard, IT asset management software has replaced spreadsheets for asset management. This is simply because asset tracking software is a quicker, easier, more technologically advanced and economical option to track your IT assets. 

Today, spreadsheets are no longer the best method for asset tracking. If you want to keep up with the rest of the business world, you must do what the best-in-the-business do: use IT asset management.

Why IT Asset Management Is Better Than Using Spreadsheets


More About Spreadsheets

Spreadsheets are used by 71% of businesses around the world. That’s a huge percentage, and rightly so because there’s no other tool as useful as the good old spreadsheet. It’s a universal application, used by employees of all levels from the office intern right up to the chief executive of a company. 

Popular spreadsheet apps like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets are examples of generalist apps that different companies use for a wide range of purposes. They can be used for accounting, project management, attendance, asset management and much more. Doing so, spreadsheets can prove to be pretty useful for small-to-medium-sized businesses which don’t have a lot of specific requirements. 

However, as a business grows and develops complex requirements, spreadsheets cease to be the universal solution for all of its problems. For large scale businesses, spreadsheets may even become a hindrance in the way to sustainable growth. At this point, an enterprise needs to have a more sophisticated and specialised solution so it can carry out its tasks better. 

When it comes to asset management, you can only manage to perform the most basic asset tracking activities with spreadsheets. And that’s if you have no more than a dozen assets. If you’ve got more than that, you’d have really messy sheets that are horrible to work with. 


IT Asset Management Vs. Spreadsheets

This section will talk about five reasons why asset tracking software is better than spreadsheets.


1. Spreadsheets are Prone to Errors

To put it out there, spreadsheets were created to store data. They are not made for asset tracking. Particularly because there’s no space for errors in asset management, but one can make plenty of them using spreadsheets. There’s an error in 90% of all spreadsheets, which is nothing less than a disaster when it comes to asset tracking. 

Spreadsheets are prone to this many errors mainly because an employee updates them according to what they know. Oftentimes, different employees have different information about an asset, and with no space for collaboration, spreadsheets lead to a lot of errors, misunderstandings and confusion.


2. Spreadsheets are Hard to Update

One of the most fundamental requirements for your businesses’ asset tracking to work is for your asset register to be up to date. An outdated asset register is no better than not having one at all. 

As it happens, spreadsheets cannot be updated as efficiently. The monotonous process of finding each cell and re-entering updated data is overwhelming. On the other hand, IT asset management software offers a much better solution to keep your asset register updated at all times.


3. Spreadsheets Don’t Let You Attach Files

When tracking a wide range of assets, you might often need to attach different file types like photos or videos to the asset register. This cannot be done with spreadsheets. 

Important files like asset purchase documents, photos and videos related to maintenance can easily be attached to individual asset profiles with an IT asset management software like itemit.


4. IT Asset Management Software is More Automated

There are various features that make asset tracking much more automated with itemit. Spreadsheets are just plain old sheets that have to be manually edited for each and every update. This can be a lot of work for the one person in charge of asset management. 

With asset tracking software, keeping an up-to-date record of all asset details is much easier. When multiple employees can access and update the asset register, the responsibility gets shared across the team rather than resting on one person’s shoulders. 

There are other ways how itemit automates asset tracking. For instance, each time an asset tag is scanned, the asset location gets automatically updated. In the same vein, when an employee marks an issue with an asset, the manager is automatically notified about the issue by the software.


5. IT Asset Management Software Tracks Assets in Real-time

With spreadsheets, all asset information that you see is from the past. More often than not, not all the information a spreadsheet gives you can be applied to the present because assets are in a constant phase of change. IT asset management software like itemit gives you real-time information about assets so you can be absolutely sure that the data you have is correct. 

Each employee using an asset can keep the asset register updated with the latest changes as soon as they take place. In the same way, the location for each asset is kept updated automatically. The equipment checkout feature lets you see which items are out of the workplace and who has them.


Final Thoughts

In terms of efficiency and functionality, it’s pretty clear why IT asset management software is better than using spreadsheets. But you might still hold that using free spreadsheet software is more economical than investing in asset tracking software. 

You’d be surprised to learn that the amount of time and resources you spend when tracking assets with spreadsheets is much more than the money and time you’d invest in asset tracking software. To learn more about how it saves you time and money, reach out to our team at team@itemit.com.

You can also take itemit on a test drive and use all of its features for yourself by filling in the form below and starting your 14-day free trial.

IT Asset Management

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How Do Businesses Maintain An Asset Register?

How Do Businesses Maintain An Asset Register?

How Do Businesses Maintain An Asset Register?

If you’re new to the idea of asset tracking, you might also not be familiar with the term ‘asset register.’ An asset register, or a fixed asset register, is a complete and detailed list of all assets a company owns. Its purpose is to enlist all items or assets with all their relevant details in one place. 

An asset register records important information like asset ID, location, owner, and condition. It also records financial data like the cost of purchase, date of purchase, current valuation, depreciation details and more. 

Maintaining an asset register holds countless benefits for a business. But the way a business maintains its asset register determines how much time and effort goes into keeping it accurate and up to date. Asset management, ideally, should take minimum input, i.e, time and resources, while delivering maximum output, i.e, productivity. 

In this blog post, we will discuss how different businesses maintain their asset registers. You’ll get to review different asset management methods in detail so you can decide which one is the best for you and your business.

How To Create An Asset Register


Conventional Ways to Maintain an Asset Register


Pen and Paper

The pen and paper method is the most rudimentary option for asset tracking. It’s just one step better than trying to remember all your business assets in your mind. It involves keeping a physical ledger where you can record asset details.

As compared to other asset tracking methods, it might seem like the simplest one but there are various drawbacks to using pen and paper to maintain an asset register. For one, you have extremely limited space. You cannot keep comprehensive asset profiles that cover all essential details about an asset. 

Secondly, this method is prone to a lot of human errors, and there’s no way to correct an error except to form a new entry altogether. Handwritten text and numbers are more likely to be miswritten or misread, and it’s hard to spot a mistake. If you do spot a mistake, you cannot just remove the entry and re-enter it correctly. You’d have to strike it through and write in what limited space you have left. 

In terms of time and resources, the pen and paper method takes outrageous amounts of time and can sometimes eat whole workdays up. This asset tracking method is strictly not recommended if your business owns more than 10 assets.  


Spreadsheets

Just like asset tracking with pen and paper is better than trying to remember asset details in your head, using spreadsheets is one step better than using the former. It’s a paperless option and takes away some of the drawbacks of using pen and paper. 

For example, it gives you more space. Each asset is usually allocated a row, and you can have as many rows as you like to record as many asset details. But still, things can get really messy. Working with giant spreadsheets can often become overwhelming and boring. 

Spreadsheets also do not have any advanced asset tracking features that are needed for robust asset management in the modern business world. There is also a very limited opportunity for multiple employees to collaborate on spreadsheets.

While this method is a lot better than using pen and paper, it’s not nearly enough to keep up with a fast-paced work environment. This brings us to asset management software.


Using Asset Management Software

Asset management software is a specialised software application that businesses can use to maintain their asset register. It takes away all drawbacks of conventional methods and gives you the perfect platform to track your assets efficiently and effortlessly. 

This software solution can be used as a mobile app or web portal. It lets you add all your assets, with a unique asset profile assigned to each item. The asset profile functions as a separate page that carries every piece of information for an asset ranging from its location, assignee, images to usage history, valuation and depreciation. 

Furthermore, businesses can utilise the various powerful features offered by asset management software. For example, it lets you give a unique identity to each asset with asset tags. These asset labels also help you track asset locations easily. Other features like equipment checkout, bookings and accurate auditing help it take a clear win over all other asset tracking methods.


How Should You Maintain Your Asset Register?

If you want an up-to-date and accurate asset register that’s easy to use, time-saving and economical, then itemit should be your go-to. Maintaining an asset register is as easy as it gets with this asset tracking software.

 itemit is an off-the-shelf solution which means you can set it up and start using it right away. The app and web portal are extremely to use and you’ll start seeing the results from the first day. 

To learn more about how itemit can help you maintain your asset register, feel free to reach out at team@itemit.com. You can also try out itemit’s unique features for yourself and get a hands-on user experience with a 14-day free trial. Fill in the form below to start!

Asset Register

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How Does Asset Tracking Software Help Your Business?

How Does Asset Tracking Software Help Your Business?

How Does Asset Tracking Software Help Your Business?

Within any workplace management, asset tracking plays a vital role. If you don’t know what assets you own, you won’t know the cost implications to the business, where those assets are, who is using them, and whether or not they are fully functioning. 

Subsequently, if a business does not efficiently keep track of all its assets, this can lead to loss, damages, theft, and insufficient asset maintenance. None of these are beneficial but only impact the daily operations of a business. So what’s the solution?

How Does Asset Tracking Software Help Your Business?


What is Asset Tracking Software?

Traditionally businesses attempt to manage and maintain their assets with the use of spreadsheets, but just how reliable are they? They offer too much risk for human error, and a lack of share-ability and portability making them not easily accessible from any time or location.

Asset tracking software enables the ability to keep a centralised account of all of your business’s assets, and include asset profiles, maintenance history, cost/depreciation, location, check-in and out history and so much more. The software provides great effort to automate what would formerly be manual processes, whilst also minimising room for human error. It’s a smarter, more proactive way to manage assets. 

itemit can offer a powerful yet simple asset tracking software with exceptional features to help eliminate asset-related problems from your workplace. So this returns us back to our first question, just how does asset tracking software help your business? Let’s take a look at 5 of the most beneficial ways it can help.


Saves Your Business Money

When you have an accurate record of your assets, it can save you money instantly. The cost implications from not knowing what assets you have, to where they are and whether they are fully functional can be extensive. 

Knowing what assets you have will enable greater purchasing decisions, and avoid duplications at an unnecessary expense. Asset tracking will also open up greater visibility to your assets. Visibility allows you to identify which assets you no longer use and therefore aren’t bringing money into the business as they are depreciating in value. Therefore, giving you the chance to recoup some value of the asset back. Additionally, it can also draw attention to assets that are not being utilised to their fullest extent that are therefore not cost-effective.

The visibility asset tracking can give, can go even further by helping to avoid the ability for assets to become lost or stolen. By tracking your assets, you can see which colleague last had it and where it was last located. This means the asset is easier to track down and will also mean money is saved due to the unlikely chance of having to replace it. This will also cut down on the time you are paying employees just to locate your assets.


Helps To Manage Maintenance

It’s a given that assets will require maintenance throughout their lifespan, which can very easily be missed or forgotten. Asset maintenance is incredibly important in ensuring assets can reach their maximum lifespan for both practical and financial purposes. Many businesses are not equipped with asset tracking software which often means maintenance does not take place on time. If you were to get ahead of maintenance, it could improve the reliability and uptime of an asset, which would also take us back to saving money, by reducing maintenance costs. 

But how does asset tracking software help to manage maintenance? It allows you to input details for asset profiles including warranties, serial numbers, lifespan, and more. Which can be used whilst recording when routine maintenance needs to take place. It also offers the option to check out assets in advance for when maintenance is due, which is a great tool for highlighting to employees when an asset will be unavailable and for how long.


Easier Audits

Auditing plays an important part in the running of any business. But ensuring an audit is accurate and doesn’t take longer than necessary can be a hard task for anyone. Often businesses rely on files, spreadsheets, and reports to aid in auditing which once more can be impacted by human error, insufficient data and out of date information.

Asset tracking makes the process of auditing easier and ensures greater accuracy which assists in minimising discrepancies from taxes and reducing maintenance charges, to ensuring your assets are in the right place. itemit allows you to utilise all of your asset information to produce reports or exports ready for audit. It’s as simple as that! 


Improves Efficiency

Ensuring efficiency is often a key objective for businesses. Any asset purchased will need to be a worthwhile investment. Asset tracking can help to make sure you’re getting the most out of your assets. It enables you to understand when assets are used and just how often. With this information, you can enhance your scheduling for the asset’s usage and organise who uses them and when to eliminate the need for employees to wait for an asset to become available. This will also improve employee productivity. The booking feature of itemit is particularly useful in this instance. 

 Improper functioning of assets can also lead to productivity loss and a rise in downtime, overall contributing to lack of efficiency. This can easily be avoided with asset tracking software, giving the ability to efficiently manage an asset’s lifecycle and maintenance requirements. 


Saves You Time

Time is money as the saying goes. So tracking down assets and trying to locate them can take up too much of an employee’s time. This can impact the operations of the business and delay the timings of daily tasks. By utilising asset tracking software, assets can be tracked to a location, and even to a real-time location using itemit GPS trackers! Not only this, but itemit is accessible from a simple tap on the app providing portability and shareability. Now, wherever your employees are they can track down an asset in seconds.


itemit: The Answer To All Your Business’ Asset Issues!

itemit’s asset tracking software can do all of the above for your business and so much more. Once you implement asset tracking software into your business you’ll never look back. 

itemit is a user friendly, cloud-based asset tracking solution. Get your business set up today with our friendly team ready to help turn your business’ asset problems around. Dive into using all of itemit’s features from bookings, GPS tracking, check-in and out, to image recognition and tonnes more! 

Book a demo now to learn just how itemit can help your business track its assets. For any queries you may have please contact us at team@itemit.com. Alternatively, you can trial itemit’s sophisticated features yourself, start your 14-day free trial by filling out the form below.

Best Asset Tracking Software 2022

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The Complete Guide To Tools Tracking

The Complete Guide To Tools Tracking

The Complete Guide To Tools Tracking

If you work in a tool-intensive sector like construction, landscaping, electrical or plumbing work, you need tools tracking software to unleash your team’s full potential. The aforementioned industries or any other line of work that involves working with a lot of tools and equipment requires top-of-the-line asset management to maximise productivity and minimise financial leakages.

In this blog post, you’ll learn everything about tools tracking from purchasing and setting up an asset tracking software to using it to locate misplaced tools and conducting accurate asset audits with it. So without further ado, let’s dive right in.

The Complete Guide To Tools Tracking


What is Tools Tracking Software?

Tools tracking software is a mobile app and/or web portal that you can use to keep a record of all your tools and equipment. With it, information like where a tool is, who has it and other essential details are always at your fingertips. 

This software solution lets you make individual asset profiles for each tool. Asset profiles let you store all information in a neat and organised manner so everything is easy to find right away. You can also tag each tool with QR code asset tags that give each item a unique identity and make it even easier to identify them with the tools tracking software. 

Here’s a step-by-step guide to tools tracking.


Step 1: Finding the Right Tools Tracking Software

With the range of options available on the market, the first step, which is to choose and purchase an asset tracking system, can be overwhelming. As difficult as the choice may seem, it’s imperative that you invest in the right software to start off on the right foot. 

There’s a range of factors to consider when finding tools tracking software for your business or personal use. Once you’ve gone over these factors, the decision-making process will become much more straightforward. 

  • Ease-of-use: Choose an option that’s easy to set up and use. The user interface should be simple and efficient so everyone can learn to use it straight away. 
  • Should be cloud-based: An asset register that cannot be accessed via the internet is no better than using spreadsheets or pen and paper for tracking your tools. The asset database should be stored online so authorised personnel can access it anytime, anywhere. 
  • Allows collaboration: Today’s fast-paced work environment calls for seamless collaboration on asset tracking. Teamwork is the best approach to keep all your tools and equipment tracked, and you should go with an option that allows multiple team members to collaborate on asset management.


Step 2: Setting Up Asset Register

To start tracking your tools, you have to first add them to the asset register. This is as simple as it gets. On the tools tracking software, select the option to Add an Asset and you’ll be taken to a screen that lets you populate separate text boxes with the relevant information. 

When adding a tool, you may also label it with an asset tag. This will make location tracking and other aspects of asset management much easier for you. When adding a new tool, scroll down the asset profile to the Tags section. Select the Add button to add its tag. Scan the new asset tag by pointing the camera towards it, and that’s it.


Step 3: Populating Asset Profiles with Details

You need to record all essential details to make the most out of the features of tools tracking. To start off, you’re recommended to add the most basic information for each tool so that the tools register is operational. 

Once all tools are added, you can start tracking other aspects. This includes adding some or all of the things in the following list:

  • Item name
  • Serial number
  • Description 
  • Model
  • Manufacturer
  • Location
  • Assignee
  • Availability status
  • PAT test due date
  • Inspection due date
  • Replacement date
  • Purchase price
  • Proof of purchase 
  • Warranty expiry
  • Profile photo
  • User manual

Note that this is not an exhaustive list. Neither will the entire list apply to all tools. 


Step 4: Start Tools Tracking and Reap Benefits

Once the asset register is fully set up, you can start tracking each tool and use the many powerful features offered by tools tracking software. For instance, if you can’t seem to find a particular tool, you can check each one’s last seen location in the tools tracking app. This will surely help you locate your tools quickly and easily.


Where to Start?

Start now, start here. The earlier you have your tools tracking software set up and running, the better. While there are quite a few options for tool tracking apps, itemit is one that meets all criteria we’ve mentioned in step one. 

Moreover, itemit is a versatile asset tracking solution that can work as a fixed asset register, equipment checkout software, and tools tracking app all at the same time! To learn more about how itemit can help you, reach out to the team at team@itemit.com.

You can also fill in the form below to start your very own 14-day trial.

Tools Tracking

Choose a better way to track your assets

Start your free 14-day trial now

Instant access. No credit card details required.

or, download the itemit app to get started

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The Best Medical Equipment Tracking Features

The Best Medical Equipment Tracking Features

The Best Medical Equipment Tracking Features

Healthcare facilities today are facing ever-increasing patient volumes, challenging health crises and rising quality of service expectations from visitors. It was only last year that the world saw the most advanced healthcare systems crumble in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. 

While the challenges mount, it’s imperative that hospitals and other medical facilities make their operations as smooth as possible by streamlining workflow and eliminating impediments. In this case, medical equipment tracking is a brilliant solution.

itemit’s medical equipment tracking software allows staff to track important medical devices so that they don’t have to spend a lot of time trying to locate assets. This is especially important for tough times when under pressure staff don’t have enough time to spare looking around for equipment they need such as COVID-19 PPE, patient monitoring devices and IV pumps.  

This article talks about some of the most useful features that itemit’s medical equipment tracking software has to offer and how they can benefit your healthcare facility. Continue reading to learn all about it!

The Best Medical Equipment Tracking Features


What Does Medical Equipment Tracking Software Do?

With medical equipment tracking, you can track each mobile or stationary asset for information such as asset identity, location, description, assignee, images and more. The asset tracking software lets you have a clear overview of all equipment so that all tools can be easily identified and located when required. 

You can tag each asset with a QR code sticker or RFID tracker that gives them a unique identity and lets you track its location in real-time. Each time a tag is scanned, the software updates the asset’s location. 

Allowing members of staff to quickly find the tools and equipment they need is just one of the many things medical equipment tracking does for you. Let’s talk about some of the other useful features it offers.


Book Assets and Equipment in Advance

Oftentimes, a hospital or healthcare facility has a limited number of medical devices. Surgeons, physicians or other members of staff may need a specific piece of equipment in the future for a planned medical procedure. Now they must ensure the equipment’s availability on the day.

With itemit’s booking feature, users can book assets for particular dates. This lets them make the most out of their time and resources and minimises the chances of a clash, i.e, two or more people needing one medical device at the same time. 


Check In Check Out Equipment

If your staff has to move medical equipment out of the facility frequently, then the check-in check-out feature can help you get the much-needed transparency when tracking equipment. Whenever someone takes a device out of the hospital, they can mark it checked out via the itemit app. This lets everyone know which asset is checked out, when and by whom.


Lets You Loan Out Equipment

If you’re a medical equipment leasing company or you simply want to loan out equipment that you’re not using, itemit medical equipment tracking offers a brilliant solution. Rather than tracking loaned equipment on spreadsheets or physical ledgers, you’re better off keeping an eye on them with itemit. 

You can use useful features like the booking and checkout tools to make equipment simple, effortless and risk-free. Check out how Sanguine Medical uses itemit for its equipment loaning process.


Issue Reporting and Management

In healthcare, robust asset maintenance is critical! Unlike other industries, there is no space for negligence. This is because asset malfunctions in the healthcare industry might be the difference between life and death. With itemit medical equipment tracking software, you can report issues right away and this will take you less than 30 seconds. 

Simply scan the asset tag, and click on Report Issue on the asset profile. This should alert the responsible team member to arrange asset maintenance and get the issue resolved in a timely manner.


Intuitive Interface

If you work in healthcare, you’d know how little time healthcare professionals have to spare. This means you need an asset tracking solution that is easy to set up and use. itemit offers an intuitive user interface that a complete newbie can use and get proficient in just a few sessions. 

Users can use itemit through the mobile apps for Android and iOS or the web portal. Scanning asset tags is as straightforward as tapping a button and pointing the camera towards the tag. Similarly, you can easily search for assets by typing in their names in the asset register.


Conclusion

When it comes to medical equipment tracking, there are quite a few options available on the market. You’re free to do your research but let us assure you, you won’t find a better asset tracking solution than itemit. That’s not just because of all the features we’ve discussed above but a whole different range of factors. 

For example, itemit is the most scalable option. With a single subscription, you can use it for all asset tracking functions such as keeping a fixed asset register, IT asset management, equipment checkout and more. 

To learn more about what itemit can do for your medical equipment tracking purposes, please reach out to our team at team@itemit.com. We are always ready and happy to help you. You can also fill in the form below to start your 14-day free trial and test out all the features for yourself.

Medical Asset Tracking Software

Choose a better way to track your assets

Start your free 14-day trial now

Instant access. No credit card details required.

or, download the itemit app to get started

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