Asset Panda Review: Is the Popular Software Right for You?

Asset Panda is a solid asset management software solution that’s best for tracking smaller fixed assets. It offers barcode and QR code functionality that can be scanned directly from a smartphone, making it a more affordable and easier to use solution than those that require expensive hardware.

On top of that, Asset Panda offers a 14-day free trial, in which you can actually use the software yourself for a couple of weeks, making it one of the best free asset tracking platforms, even if it’s only gratis for short period of time. Many providers only offer a free demo, in which a sales rep will walk you through the software, rather than putting it in your hands.

This Asset Panda review takes a look at the main features, benefits, support options, and pricing for Asset Panda. Our goal is to help you decide if Asset Panda is right for you, so we’ve also built a free comparison tool that gives you tailored asset tracking quotes and lets you see how the different options stack up.

In this review:

• What Is Asset Panda?
• Asset Panda Pros & Cons
• Asset Panda Core Features
• Asset Panda Set Up and Customer Support
• Asset Panda Pricing
• Verdict: Should You Get Asset Panda?

What Is Asset Panda?

Asset Panda is an asset tracking and management system that, simply put, comes with a lot of features. The interface is flexible, thanks to great customization options and support for third-party integrations. Barcode scanning is the main tracking system, with no real-time GPS tracking or per-asset hardware supported. However, the mobile app includes a GPS location with each barcode scan, and auto-generates reports for detailed auditing. It’s a robust program at a reasonable price.

Asset Panda offers features beyond simply tracking assets too. Facilities and employees can be tracked through the software, and work orders can be generated and managed through it as well. While the software is feature-rich, little hardware is needed – all barcode scanning can be done though the mobile devices, with no need for the expenses of handheld remote scanners.

It’s worth noting that Asset Panda is one of the best fixed asset tracking software solutions, it’s not capable of tracking movable or powered assets in real time. If you have large, high-value, or outdoor assets, such as construction vehicles worth tens of thousands of dollars, you’ll want a service that includes a GPS tracking unit with each asset, such as Samsara or Verizon Connect’s asset tracking services.

It’s also good for asset tracking in education settings – although assets like laptops are movable, tracking them via GPS could be seen as intrusive, as they become students’ possessions for temporary periods.

That said, Asset Panda is effective at tracking the most recent location of smaller movable assets, such as defibrillators, pallet trucks, or power tools.

How does Asset Panda work?

Asset Panda can track numerous types of assets, from tools and equipment to phones, inventory, and office items or leases. As for the specifics of how Asset Panda works, a desktop web application collects the data in a central location, while an integrated mobile app offers many of the same capabilities.

Barcode scanning is the main way to track assets, but assets scanned with the app can be updated with the GPS coordinates of your mobile device.

Who Is Asset Panda Right For?

Specific industries that Asset Panda specializes in include fire departments, churches, hotels, non-profits, and healthcare, although any small business or operation with a warehouse can benefit from its platforms.

Within these and other sectors, it’s a particularly strong choice for facilities and operations managers. This is thanks to features like role-based security, which gives you granular control over who has access to what, as well as a ticketing system to help streamline maintenance processes and keep everyone in the loop.

There’s also customized reporting and exporting options, including automated emails, for when it’s time to update senior stakeholders. In fact, nearly all aspects of Asset Panda can be customized to meet your organization’s needs, so even if you’re not in one of the above fields, know that it’s a strong all-around solution.

While some users note a learning curve adopting and configuring the software, it ultimately benefits from a friendly and modern UI that’s easy to use once everything is set up to your specifications.

Easily edit asset details in Asset Panda.
Source: Asset Panda

Asset Panda Pros & Cons

As with all the best asset tracking software, there is a lot to like about Asset Panda and there is plenty to dislike, depending on your particular needs. Here are some of the pros and cons of Asset Panda:

Pros

For starters, Asset Panda offers a lot of great features, most notably, the ability to tag assets with your smartphone. Just take a picture with the built-in photo tagging feature in the Asset Panda mobile app, and you’ll create an asset listing with pertinent information (that you’ll have to fill out manually), all accompanying the photo you have.

Additionally, Asset Panda offers a robust interface for analytics, so you can create custom reports that can track everything from status to location. Even better, there are no limits on the number of custom reports you can make, so you can track everything you need from Asset Panda.

Cons

Perhaps the most notable con for Asset Panda is that it lacks any GPS functionality, which is why it is designed exclusively for fixed assets rather than movable assets. As a result, Asset Panda does not offer any alert system features, so you’ll have to check the app or the platform to get information about your assets.

Asset Panda does offer a free trial, which is somewhat rare for asset tracking platforms, but at only 14 days, it’s shorter than some options that do. Asset Cloud, for example, offers a 30-day free trial, while AssetTiger offers a free forever plan for up to 250 assets.

Asset Panda Core Features

There are no two ways about it: Asset Panda offers a whole lot of features. Take a look at some of them below to get a better idea of how feature-rich the Asset Panda platform really is.

Asset Tracking

Each asset entry includes a name, asset ID, brand, description, cost, model and activity status. Entries will track purchase or lease information, as well as service contracts and expiration dates, and can include additional data such as photos, documents, videos, or voice memos.

Barcode scanners can not only update asset entries but look up asset details through Amazon or eBay as well. Maintenance schedules, repair histories and depreciation can be automatically tracked.

The asset list interface in Asset Panda.
Source: Asset Panda

Facilities Management

The Facilities Management module helps managers quickly and easily design all the work orders they’ll need. It also tracks employees’ check in/check out times. In other words, Asset Panda covers basic management of the facility, as well as employee activities that fall outside of basic asset tracking features, and which some other asset tracking services ignore entirely.

Security and Ease of Use

The software uses role-based security. Managers can customize security templates by location, area and category, ensuring each employee can access the information and functions they need while staying safely restricted from anything above their pay grade.

The interface is configurable, with a searchable and customizable dashboard. It’s worth noting that Internet Explorer isn’t supported on Asset Panda’s web application – your team will need to be running on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, or Opera instead.

Flexible Settings

Asset Panda’s flexible interface extends to customizable insurance records and work orders. Custom fields can be added to each asset entry, each asset category, or all assets. Notifications can be set for date-based tasks, like maintenance reminders, or can be triggered when a specific action occurs.

Reports can be generated in PDF, screen, or CSV formats, and data on assets or locations can be easily exported.

Create unlimited reports in Asset Panda.
Source: Asset Panda

Tax and Insurance Savings

With Asset Panda’s system, missing or unusable assets – called “ghost assets” – can be quickly identified and removed from active status. By Asset Panda’s estimates, 10-30% of the average business’s assets are ghost assets – this means those businesses are overpaying on insurance for assets they can’t use, while at the same time missing out on Federal and State tax write-offs.

Integrations

Integrations can make or break a software, particularly if you want an interface that can act as an all-in-one hub for many of your business operations. Luckily, Asset Panda offers a solid selection of integrations that can help you out.

Commonly used third-party services that can be directly integrated with Asset Panda include Google Workspace, Jira, Zendesk, Cisco, and DocuSign, among others.

Granted, a few of the more popular integrations used by many business software aren’t usable, and show no signs of being added, including MailChimp, QuickBooks, Salesforce, and Zapier.

Highlight: The Asset Panda Mobile App

Asset Panda’s app is available on iOS and Android. With it, users can carry out onsite audits complete with barcode scanning, generating audit exception reports directly from their devices. Maintenance histories and repair logs are also accessible through the app, while assets like power tools can be requested or reserved as well, making managers as effective on the go as they are at their desks.

Asset Panda recommends using the app on an Android device running Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) or higher, or on an Apple device running iOS 12.0 or higher.

The Asset Panda mobile app in action
Source: Asset Panda

Asset Panda Set Up and Customer Support

Asset Panda offers 24/7 support to its customers through both email and live chat. Phone support remains on this schedule — it is available on workdays from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., central time. You will have to pay for at least 500 assets to get access to this world-class support, though, so keep that in mind if you’re a smaller business.

Video tutorials are available through Asset Panda’s website and are hosted on YouTube. Case studies, white papers and a FAQ page are also available online.

Support

Training

Asset Panda Pricing

For starters, Asset Panda does not provide publicly available pricing, so if you want to know specifics, you’ll have to get a custom quote from Asset Panda directly.

Asset Panda pricing is based on the number of assets you need to track. It offers incremental cost options, ranging from 250 assets to 5,000 assets, with different options for every 500 assets. You can also get discounted pricing if you sign up for multiple years, or if you are an educational or non-profit client.

Asset Panda does offer a 14-day free trial that will allow you to access the software without a credit card for two weeks. After that, though, you’ll have to get a quote.

To compare Asset Panda against quotes from leading industry competitors, you can use Tech.co’s free comparison tool to get quotes from a range of the best asset tracking companies in minutes.