{{Short description, Accounting process Fixed assets management is an

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

process that seeks to track

fixed asset Fixed assets (also known as long-lived assets or property, plant and equipment; PP&E) is a term used in accounting for assets and property that may not easily be converted into cash. They are contrasted with current assets, such as cash, bank ac ...

s for the purposes of

financial accounting Financial accounting is a branch of accounting concerned with the summary, analysis and reporting of financial transactions related to a business. This involves the preparation of Financial statement audit, financial statements available for pu ...

preventive maintenance The technical meaning of maintenance involves functional checks, servicing, repairing or replacing of necessary devices, equipment, machinery, building infrastructure and supporting utilities in industrial, business, and residential installa ...

, and

theft Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shor ...

deterrence. Organizations face a significant challenge to track the location, quantity, condition, maintenance and

depreciation In accountancy, depreciation refers to two aspects of the same concept: first, an actual reduction in the fair value of an asset, such as the decrease in value of factory equipment each year as it is used and wears, and second, the allocation i ...

status of their fixed assets. A popular approach to tracking fixed assets uses serial numbered asset tags, which are

labels A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affixed to ...

often with bar codes for easy and accurate reading. The owner of the assets can take inventory with a mobile bar code reader and then produce a report. Off-the-shelf software packages for fixed asset management are marketed to businesses small and large. Some

enterprise resource planning Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is the integrated management of main business processes, often in real time and mediated by software and technology. ERP is usually referred to as a category of business management software—typically a suit ...

systems are available with fixed assets modules. Some tracking methods automate the process, such as by using fixed scanners to read bar codes on

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

freight cars or by attaching a

radio-frequency identification Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically Automatic identification system, identify and Tracking system, track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, ...

(RFID) tag to an asset.

Fixed asset tracking software

Tracking assets is an important concern of every company, regardless of size. Fixed 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 use 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. Asset tracking software allows companies to track what assets it owns, where each is located, who has it, when it was checked out, when it is due for return, when it is scheduled for maintenance, and the cost and depreciation of each asset. 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 commonly tracked assets are: * Plant and equipment * Buildings * Fixtures and fittings * Long term investment * Machinery * Vehicles and heavy equipments

Asset tracking Asset tracking refers to the method of tracking physical assets, either by scanning barcode labels attached to the assets or by using tags using GPS, BLE, LoRa, or RFID which broadcast their location. These technologies can also be used for in ...

software is often used to track both the information about an asset for financial reporting purposes as well as the physical location of an asset. The financial reporting elements of tracking often relate to accounting procedures and valuation needs but may or may not relate to location information. Asset location tracking software often takes one of two approaches to monitoring asset locations. The first approach is to use a physical tracking device to provide data on physical location. This can take the form of a Bluetooth tracking beacon or a

GPS tracking unit A GPS tracking unit, geotracking unit, satellite tracking unit, or simply tracker is a navigation device normally on a vehicle, asset, person or animal that uses satellite navigation to determine its movement and determine its WGS84 UTM ...

. The second approach is to track a location by the "responsible party". In this approach the software uses peer to peer assign and accept procedures to allow individuals to accept responsibility for assets. The asset location is then inferred based upon the person who has accepted responsibility.

External links

Towards better management of public sector assets
Management accounting Fixed asset

Fixed asset tracking software

See also

External links