Trying to get started with an asset register left you scratching your head?
This might come as a surprise to you, but creating an asset register is as simple as ABC. Compared to your conventional spreadsheets and record books, asset registers can make your routine asset management functions seem like a cinch.
To get to the roots of how to effectively deploy and use an asset register, let’s first skim over what an asset register actually does.
Assets and Their Details
Asset registers should only contain data that is considered to be pertinent to your assets. This includes information such as – but not limited to – the purchase date, current valuation, and the current assignee.
Whether it’s a piece of equipment or some property, an asset register encompasses all assets your business owns. Asset information is stored in unique asset profiles, which can then be accessed for multiple operations.
Adding Your Assets
To start off with asset registers, you’ll first have to add your assets to the asset register itself. Individual assets have their unique profile, allowing you to access all of their data at a moment’s notice.
As always, it is always better to physically cross-check before adding numerical data to your assets profile: this reduces the likelihood of the occasional human error. The result? You have at your hands, a highly accurate asset register, capable of aiding you in critical decision making.
Using Asset Tags
We’d recommend tagging your physical assets with asset tags while adding them to your asset management system. Asset tags are physical tags that are used to link physical entities to their digital counterparts.
Not only will you save time while uploading and tagging assets simultaneously, but asset tags reduce the time taken to access asset data. This is accomplished by scanning a unique code present on the physical tags: scanning these tags will direct you to the assets unique profile on the asset management software.
An added benefit of using asset tags is that every time you scan an asset’s tag, the last seen location, and the person who scanned the asset, both are updated automatically, giving you an audit trail of where your assets have been.
Collecting and Adding Data
Firstly, you’ll have to add your assets data to the itemit’s asset management software. Only after adding and tagging all your assets can you proceed to track and manage all your assets data.
itemit’s asset register comes bundled with a horde of powerful features. From adding check-in/check-out information to setting asset maintenance reminders, itemit’s asset register is sure to be invaluable to your business’s operations.
If that wasn’t enough to convince you, itemit’s asset management software allows you to recall data in the form of configurable exports and reports. Need a graph, or perhaps a chart? itemit’s asset register has it all.
Now that we’ve gone over how to set up an asset register, let us go over the best practices to observe while using itemit’s asset management software.
Best Tips for Building an Effective Asset Register
Grouping Assets
To put it simply, the better you organise your assets, the more time you save.
Therefore, as opposed to storing all your assets in one big list, we’d advise you to create categories and subcategories for your assets. This will aid users’ readability and accessibility. Furthermore, by creating categories, you’ll save yourself time while searching for a specific asset stored within the software.
Wondering how to group assets? There are infinite ways to get on with grouping assets, but we’ve listed some of the more common ones below:
Grouping assets according to the asset type:
- Fixed assets
- IT assets
- Vehicles
- Equipment
- High-value assets
Grouping assets according to locations:
- Different branch locations
- Building floors
Use Easy-to-Read Asset Names
Rather than recording assets with vague and random names like Office Room Printer’ or ‘Employee 3 Laptop,’ you should use established naming conventions to identify all your assets.
Storing all your assets with the same naming convention makes looking up assets within the asset management software a breeze. It’ll also improve consistency, reducing the chances of errors and/or storing the same asset multiple times.
Record Essential Details for Each Asset
You may be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when starting off with asset management software, keen to record every detail of your assets. However, with time, you may find yourself getting less enthusiastic and not recording even essential asset details.
The key to note here, however, is to maintain a consistent approach towards storing the details of your assets.
By diligently recording only the information required, your asset register will prove to be quite handy for many business operations. Naturally, this brings us to the question: What to add to your asset register?
itemit: Simplifying Asset Management
Whether you want to boost your business’s productivity or reduce losses, itemit is the way to go. Armed with GPS tracking, image detection and QR code scanning, itemit’s asset management software can help you in all your problems from soup to nuts.
To find out more about how itemit can help your business, book a demo here. Feel free to contact our team at team@itemit.com.
In our opinion, nothing beats hands-on experience. If you wish to experience itemit for yourself, fill out the form below and start your 14-day free trial today!
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