Asset tracking is crucial for businesses of all sizes to know what they own and where to find it. But not every business needs a premium solution. Starting with an asset tracking Excel template or a free asset tracking software can significantly reduce the cost of asset tracking, giving you time to scale your systems.
Here, we provide two templates you can use for tracking assets in Excel and explain how they work. Plus, we highlight the best free asset tracking software for businesses that want to further eliminate manual work.
If you’re a growing business with valuable assets or are simply looking for a more substantial solution than an asset tracking spreadsheet, you can explore more options with a free price quote through our asset tracking matching tool.
Asset Tracking With Excel: Key Takeaways
- Basic data includes asset ID, location, status, and purchase info
- Advanced templates might be specific to IT assets, office assets, or vehicles
- Top benefits include better efficiency, theft deterance, insurance claim support, and data-driven insights
Basic Asset Tracking Excel Template
Let’s start with a basic asset tracking spreadsheet that any business can start using in minutes.
Click the image above to open a larger version, or visit the link above for the spreadsheet itself.
In this template, each asset is assigned a unique ID and clearly recognizable name. Providing details about the model or serial number can help you re-purchase the same item if needed. Grouping assets into broad categories and sub-categories makes it easier to find what you need.
The Status column is useful for keeping track of whether an item is ready for use, currently in use, or in need of repairs. Color coding isn’t required, but it makes it easier to see what assets you currently have available, particularly for equipment like phones and computers that can be assigned out to employees.
The “Purchase Date,” “Purchased From,” and “Purchase Price” columns help you keep track of the total value and age of your assets. The Notes column gives you a space to add any additional information you want to include about each asset.
Here’s a version of this template that you can copy into Excel:
| Asset ID | Name | Serial/Model Number | Category | Sub-category | Status | Location | Purchase Date | Purchased From | Purchase Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-10001 | iPhone 8 | MQ083H57 | IT Equipment | Phone | In use | Room 250 | 7/2/21 | Apple | $650 | |
| A-10002 | Samsung Galaxy S7 | S728291A1 | IT Equipment | Phone | Available | Room 354 | 9/3/22 | Verizon | $550 |
Learn how to build an asset tracking system here
Advanced Asset Tracking Excel Template
If you have a large number of assets, it may be helpful to keep track of different types of assets on different sheets within an Excel file. For example, you can have one sheet for IT equipment, another sheet for office equipment, and a third sheet for fleet vehicles.
The advantage of this approach is that you can track different information for different types of assets. In the examples below, which show three sheets from a single Excel file, there are distinct columns for each type of asset.
Click the image above to open a larger version, or visit the link below for the spreadsheet itself.
Sheet 1: IT Equipment
The IT Equipment sheet contains information such as model numbers, serial numbers and warranty details. This information can help if you need to re-purchase an item or make a warranty claim on an item.
| Asset ID | Name | Model Number | Serial Number | Category | Status | Location | Purchase Date | Purchased From | Purchase Price | Warranty Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IT-10001 | iPhone 8 | MQ083H57 | 828K376F36362 | Phone | In use | Room 250 | 7/2/21 | Apple | $650 | 1 year | |
| IT-10002 | Samsung Galaxy S7 | S728291A1 | 48S472A3636A | Phone | Available | Room 354 | 9/3/22 | Verizon | $550 | 1 year |
Sheet 2: Office Equipment
The Office Equipment sheet focuses on whether or not a piece of equipment is available to be assigned to a different employee or office.
| Asset ID | Name | Model Number | Category | Status | Location | Reassignable? | Purchase Date | Purchased From | Purchase Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OS-10001 | Herman Miller Aeron Chair | HM87278 | Chairs | In use | Room 202 | Yes | 3/10/18 | Officesupplies.com | $250 | |
| OS-10002 | Monarch Modern 60″ Desk | MMD7726 | Desks | In use | Room 202 | Yes | 3/10/18 | Officesupplies.com | $599 |
Sheet 3: Fleet Vehicles
The Fleet Vehicles sheet includes vehicle-specific information such VINs, license plate numbers, and registration details. It also helps you to keep track of each vehicle’s maintenance history, although you should consider using dedicated fleet management software to keep more detailed maintenance logs as well as track fuel consumption, GPS breadcrumbs, and more.
| Asset ID | Name | VIN | License Plate | Model Year | Purchase Date | Purchase Price | Current Estimated Value | Start of Year Mileage | Registration Expiration Date | Date of Last Oil Change | Date of Last Tire Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V-001 | Ford Transit Van | 726265627727 | CA J28AJS | 2018 | 9/2/19 | $52,000 | $34,000 | 42,635 | 3/7/23 | 11/14/23 | 4/3/23 |
| V-002 | Ford F-150 Pickup Truck | 937837822829 | CA HG872AS | 2020 | 6/3/20 | $41,000 | $25,000 | 24,292 | 5/6/23 | 10/9/23 | 8/23/22 |
Benefits of Asset Tracking Templates
Why bother creating and updating these spreadsheets? In short, because collecting that information into a central location will come in very handy in three or four important ways.
Here are the biggest reasons why you should be tracking the location and condition of your assets:
- Efficiency – The biggest reason is the increased operational efficiency. You’ll have better visibility on where your assets are at all times, and if they’ll need to be serviced, replaced, or repaired soon.
- Theft deterance – One report says 33% of salespeople have reported asset theft in the past few years. Tracking your assets makes theft easier to spot, which can function as an internal deterance just by itself.
- Insurance claim support – A document proving the condition and location of your assets for the past few years can come in handy when you need documents to support an insurance claim on those assets.
- Data insights – Once you’ve tracked your assets for years, you’ll have plenty of data that can surface trends you would otherwise miss. Perhaps your PCs need to be replaced faster than your Macs on average. Maybe the chairs you kept in direct sunlight need to be reupholstered more often. Whatever the case, these insights can save you money.
Free Asset Tracking Alternatives
While Excel can help with asset monitoring, it has some shortcomings. It isn’t very interactive, and it can be hard for employees to access the data on the go.
You’ll find a lot more features using tools from the best asset tracking companies, including completely free platforms such as AssetTiger or Snipe-IT. For example, these tools make it easy to create barcodes for your assets and set up alerts for maintenance tasks.
They also enable employees to check equipment in and out, which can be really helpful for tracking things like shared laptops, power tools, or construction equipment.
Another reason to consider using free asset tracking platforms is that they offer options to grow with your business. Excel might work well if you only have a few dozen assets to track, but your sheets can become unmanageable once you have hundreds or even thousands of assets to monitor.
Most free software tools have paid tiers available with more features, support for managing tens of thousands of assets, and customizable permissions for employees. If you start asset tracking with one of these platforms now, you won’t have to switch asset tracking systems down the road as your business acquires more equipment.
With help from Tech.co’s expert research team, we’ve put together this form to help you connect with the top asset tracking companies on the market as well as a complete guide to asset tracking costs.
Next Steps: Finding the Free Templates and Software for You
You can begin tracking your assets in Excel for free with our easy-to-use templates. This is a great way to get started with asset tracking if you only have a small number of assets to manage.
However, it’s worth checking out free asset tracking software as an alternative to Excel. These tools offer more features to help streamline asset management and can grow with your business as you acquire more assets.
You can explore more free and paid asset tracking solutions with the Tech.co asset tracking tool here.