Managing assets is only ever easy if you have a few and they always work as intended. However, if like most businesses, you have more than a few assets, managing them isn’t easy at all. Throw in a few asset-related issues such as downtime and everything can be harder. 

Some people use an asset register to help them manage their assets, others rely on an inventory. However, they are not the same and knowing the difference is really important. Briefly, your asset register contains the assets that you use most days. Your inventory is where your stock and consumables are listed.

As we have already seen, an asset inventory contains details about your consumables and stock. Your asset inventory is not something that’s permanent. In other words, it is ever-changing. 

Let’s imagine that you run an online store. Your inventory will be full to the brim of the assets that you have for sale. Assets such as these can change in moments. For example, at 10am you may have 500 plumbing sets, but at 10:01am, you may only have 450. Your inventory list will be ever-changing. Your customers will buy some of your products which means you’ll have to order more. Your depleted number of plumbing sets can be brimming over once more. 

Did you know that your asset inventory can somewhat overlap with those items you have listed on your asset register app? This is simply because if you work in more than one location you can track your inventory. When your inventory is lowered through sales, it can be monitored through the asset register app. You could also receive reminders to order more assets.

Asset registers exist to help you to control your assets. Every asset that you use day-to-day can be added to your chosen asset register app. You could potentially track the location of your assets, see who is using them, and even if there is an issue with an asset. 

Your assets are your computers, your vehicles, your laptops, your desks, your tablets, your furniture, and everything in between. You do not add the products or services that you sell to your asset register. As we have already seen, your asset inventory can somewhat overlap with those items you have listed on your asset register app. However, this is as far as it goes. 

Regardless of what kind of business you run or even how big it is, you need an asset register. These days, many businesses make use of an asset register app as it allows for even better asset management. 

When you have full control over your computers, your vehicles, your laptops, your desks, your tablets, your furniture, and everything in between, your working day becomes easier. Being able to use an asset register to its full advantage is essential for all businesses. It’s just not something that all businesses are aware of. 

Every business that trades with consumers or other businesses will have an inventory. Ideally, they will also have some type of register that lists everything they use day-to-day. The register could be a list in a book, it could be a spreadsheet, or it could be a reliable asset register app.

When you use an asset register to its full advantage you know where your assets are. 

• You can eliminate ghost assets.
• Each asset will have a maintenance schedule
• You can monitor how everything depreciates
• Asset loss can no longer be an issue 
• You can export reports that contain a lot of useful data
• Laptops, tablets, and other assets can be checked out and in again
• You can track the location of everything via the use of a QR code or an RFID tag

And you can do so much more when you have a register that works well for you.

The largest difference between an asset register and an inventory is the amount of data each of them contains. The latter does not need to contain very much data. Rather, all you need to know is what you have in stock, and how many you have. When it comes to an asset register app, the amount of data can be quite impressive. 

Your inventory will show you what assets you have, where they have arrived from and even how many you have. An inventory can be quite a simple thing to have and read, whereas a register can be quite complex. Knowing the differences between the two can help you to make the most of your assets. For example, now you know that using a register app can make your life easier, it makes sense to use one.

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