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Tracking assets is an important concern of every company, regardless of size. Assets are defined as any “permanent” object that a business uses internally including but not limited to computers, tools, software, or office equipment. While employees may utilize a specific tool or tools, the asset ultimately belongs to the company and must be returned. And therefore without an accurate method of keeping track of these assets it would be very easy for a company to lose control of them.

Lost assets tend to affect small businesses more profoundly. Keeping costs to a minimum is key to the success of any business. Assuring that all assets are accounted for is one of many ways to keep control of a company’s costs by eliminating the expenditures involved in replacing them.

With the many advancements in technology, asset tracking software is now available that will help any size business track valuable assets such as equipment and supplies. According to a study issued in December, 2005 by the ARC Advisory Group, the worldwide market for Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) was then at an estimated $2.2 billion and was expected to grow at about 5.0 percent per year reaching $2.8 billion in 2010.

Software for asset tracking allows greater ease in tracking of all assets owned by a company, tracking location, possession, when it left storage and when it is due to be returned, scheduled maintenance, as well cost and depreciation of the assets.

The reporting option that is built into most asset tracking solutions provides pre-built reports, including assets by category and department, check-in/check-out, net book value of assets, assets past due, audit history, and transactions.

All of this information is captured in one program and can be used on PCs as well as mobile devices. As a result, companies reduce expenses through loss prevention and improved equipment maintenance. They reduce new and unnecessary equipment purchases, and they can more accurately calculate taxes based on depreciation schedules.

The most common assets that a company must track include office and medical equipment, training and educational materials, videos, DVDs, books, software licenses, motor vehicles, maintenance equipment, production equipment, computers, and many more

Government departments, educational agencies, the health care industry, and many others have implemented asset tracking solutions in order to better manage products, become more efficient and save money. Assset tracking software is now available from many computer and office retailers. The type of scanning environment dictates the type of asset tracking software used.

There are three levels of asset tracking systems. Heavy duty systems require heavy scanning where the number of assets being tracked is as many as 100,000. Moderate duty systems track fewer assets and are typically used in larger offices and warehouses. And standard light duty systems are normally used in smaller offices.

As business management becomes more critical for businesses of all sizes, and as businesses continue to grow and become more complex, choosing the appropriate asset tracking system has never been more important.

Filed under: Management