Asset tags: what to do on transfer and write-off

Equipment may never leave the company, yet it moves around inside: from one department to another, from one employee to the next, to repair and to storage. If the tag and the records disagree after every move, the year-end count drowns in "not found" and "found" lists. The rule is simple: a number is issued once, and every move is reflected in the register.

The number lives with the equipment

An inventory number is like the equipment's passport. A tag can peel off or be replaced, but the number does not change. Department, room and responsible person are fields in the register, and they change as equipment moves. Some people print the department and the responsible person on the tag as well. If you do, set the replacement procedure for every move in advance, otherwise the old wording misleads. The dependable route is a tag with only the number and the code, with the rest in the database.

The register should have these columns: inventory number, name, serial number, location, responsible person, status, date of last change and a note. The "date of last change" column shows the records untouched for longest, and these should be checked first in a count.

Transfer and handover

When equipment passes to another department or employee:

1. Scan the tag on the equipment.
2. Choose the new location and the new responsible person.
3. Draw up a handover act according to your company's procedure: who, to whom, when.
4. Update the location and responsible-person fields in the register.
5. If the department is shown on the tag, print a new tag with the same number, remove the old one and never stick the new one over it.

If a whole department moves, there is no need to process each item separately: choose the new room's code once and scan the tags one after another.

Reflect the move in the register the same day. Delay it for weeks and the register shows the item in one place while it is physically in another, so a count will deem it lost.

When a tag peels off or is damaged

The biggest mistake is to give the equipment a new number in place of the lost tag. Then one item appears twice in the register: the old number "missing", the new one "surplus". The right order:

1. Read the factory serial number of the equipment.
2. Look it up in the register and find the original inventory number.
3. Print a new tag with that very number and stick it on.
4. If neither the serial nor the inventory number can be established, put the item in a separate "unidentified" list and settle it with your accountant.

That is why recording the serial number on the card from the start matters. If tags keep coming off, look for the cause: a dusty surface, unsuitable adhesive or a spot exposed to rubbing. Sticking the identical tag on again will not solve it.

Write-off

Outdated, broken or sold equipment is written off. The process:

1. Arrange the write-off according to your company's official procedure, agreed with your accountant.
2. Do not delete the number from the register. Set the status to "written off" and record the date and the reason.
3. If the equipment is sold or scrapped, remove the tag or void the number so it cannot be read. Otherwise equipment bearing your number may cause confusion elsewhere.
4. At the next count that number should not be scanned. If it is scanned, the equipment has not really gone.

The number stays in the register for good and is never issued to other equipment. If you dismantle equipment and reuse the parts (a disk from a computer, say), agree with your accountant whether a part needs a number of its own.

Repair and temporary removal

For equipment that has gone for repair, hire or temporary storage, keep a "status" field: in use, in repair, on hire, in storage. For hired-out items also record the return date, so overdue hires show up. When it comes back, scan the tag and update the status. Check the serial number of equipment returned from repair: if it was replaced, the record needs updating.

Conclusion

Four rules for working with asset tags: a number is issued once, every move is reflected in the register, a lost tag is never answered with a new number, and a written-off number is never reused. The Shtrix team restores lost tags by serial number, helps reflect moves and write-offs in the register and checks each item by scanning during a count.