Asset assignment tracking: knowing who has each item and what condition it is in

An employee resigns. Are their laptop, phone and office key with them, with IT, or with another team? If the answer is being looked up in a spreadsheet last updated last month, asset assignment is running on individuals. Asset assignment tracking software is software that records which employee or location holds each company asset, its current condition and its handover, return and transfer history.

In this article we explain how asset assignment tracking can be put in order, how to import existing lists and how stocktaking gets easier, using the Asset & Assignment Management module inside YazSis KurumsalPortal.

One card for every asset

The module gives every asset a unique asset assignment number and opens a barcoded inventory card for each fixed asset. On the card, the asset’s owner, location, status and movement history are visible together. So the answer to “who has this device now and where did it last go?” is read from the card, with no need to search through correspondence or a spreadsheet. Mixing up two laptops of the same model is a common problem where spreadsheets are used; the unique number aims to prevent this confusion from the start. If your existing lists are in Excel, cards do not have to be opened one by one either; below we explain how that is done.

Six statuses, one lifecycle

Over its lifecycle, a fixed asset is in one of six statuses, and every change is entered on the card:

• Idle: not assigned to anyone, ready for use.
• Assigned: assigned to an employee or a location.
• In repair: in the repair process.
• Faulty: not working, awaiting a solution. Tracking this status separately prevents a faulty device from being mistaken for “idle” and handed to someone else.
• Scrapped: taken out of use.
• Lost: cannot be found.

Assignment, return, transfer, fault, repair, scrap and loss movements all build up on the asset’s card. Which employees have used a device, when it became faulty and when it was sent for repair can be traced back.

How is a departing employee’s assignment closed?

1. Review the assets held by the departing employee, person by person.
2. Record the return for each asset; it is entered on the movement card.
3. If an asset is to go to another employee or location, make the transfer in the same record.
4. If a faulty or damaged device comes back, reflect its status on the card.
5. When all assets have been returned, the employee’s assignment is closed.

A departing employee’s asset return is closed through the same flow; no separate form or extra spreadsheet is needed. Who an asset passed from and to, and who has it now, is visible in a single record. By the time the departing employee’s file is closed, no “who still has that device?” question is left.

What happens to the existing Excel list?

Many companies already keep their inventory in a spreadsheet. KurumsalPortal has bulk import with Excel; the existing asset list can be brought into the Asset & Assignment Management module without entering records one by one. Records can later be exported as an XLSX report, so you have a current list at hand for stocktaking and audits. In other words, you do not have to rewrite your existing inventory from scratch: after the import, instead of keeping the same information in two places, you use the portal as the single source and keep the old spreadsheet as an archive.

Why does stocktaking get faster?

Because the card holds the owner, location and status together, the question “is this device on the list, and who is it listed under?” is answered quickly during stocktaking. The difference between what is physically found and what is on record shows up during the count. When cards are kept current, it also becomes possible to do short checks by location or unit instead of treating stocktaking as one big annual event. The gains the module aims for are a lower risk of loss, faster stocktaking and a complete assignment history. There are four main points to check during a count:

• Is the location on the card the same as where the device is physically found?
• Is the owner shown on the card the same as the person who actually uses the device?
• Does the card’s status reflect reality; for example, is a device shown as “assigned” actually faulty?
• Is there a device in the field that is not on record?

Who uses it?

• Administrative affairs: opens asset cards and carries out assignments and returns; at stocktaking compares the cards with the physical situation.
• IT: tracks the status of devices such as computers and phones, and fault and repair records; sees from the card whether a device returned from repair is ready for use again.
• Warehouse and human resources: track idle assets and take part in the assignment process at hiring and departure.

The module’s details are on the Asset & Assignment Management page, and how it fits with the other modules is explained on the KurumsalPortal page.