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Asset tracking systems help businesses track the physical location, condition, and depreciation of their physical assets. While there is budget-friendly and comprehensive dedicated asset tracking software available, businesses can also build a system from the ground up.
However, creating a custom asset tracking system – for example, in a spreadsheet – isn’t always a straightforward process. If you’re committed to building one from scratch, we’ll be outlining how this can be done in four easy-to-follow steps. We also highlight the best practices to follow when implementing a system, helping you avoid common pitfalls and to give your asset management system the best chance of succeeding.
Read on to learn how to make a custom asset tracking system for your business, and to find out how the monitoring system can enhance your business in 2024.
What is an Asset Tracking System?
Asset tracking refers to the tracking and management of physical business assets.
Whether you’re tracking laptops, office furniture, or company vehicles, asset monitoring gives businesses data-driven insights about the location, status, and maintenance schedule of the assets, offering greater visibility while helping to reduce the costs associated with lost and stolen goods.
Businesses can track assets in a number of ways, but the three main types of asset tags are: RFID, barcode and GPS asset tracking. Businesses can then monitor any changes through its asset tracking software. Depending on which asset tracking provider you choose, the data will be displayed in a variety of formats, including Excel-style logs, interactive maps, or customizable reports.
Example of asset tracking software on desktop and mobile. Souce: Reftab
Do I Need an Asset Tracking System?
If your business manages remote assets, you’ll benefit from a dedicated asset tracking system.
By streamlining manual processes and providing businesses with real-time data, asset trackers help drive operational efficiency while lowering the risks associated with misplaced or lost assets.
An asset tracking system is especially useful to businesses that rely on assets on a daily basis and invest a significant amount of capital into those assets, like those operating in the manufacturing, healthcare, or IT fields.
If you don’t manage a large amount of assets, or haven’t invested in them extensively, a premium system may not be necessary. Instead, it may be a better to utilize a free asset tracking solution or build a custom asset management system yourself.
If you don’t know where to start, we’ll show you how to create a custom solution in four easy-to-follow steps.
How to Build an Asset Tracking System in 2024 and Beyond
Whether your business has specific needs or is in need of a budget-friendly asset tracking solution, there are numerous reasons to create a custom asset tracking system.
Here’s how to do it in four simple steps.
1. Determine your budget
Consider how much of your budget you’re able to dedicate to the service each month. You should also consider how much this service could end up saving your business by reducing cases of theft, loss, and depreciation.
Be realistic when drawing up your budget. If your business manages a high volume of assets and needs to protect your goods with advanced safeguarding features, you need to be prepared to pay extra. If you’ve got limited needs, your budget can be smaller – you may even be able to use free software.
Not sure where to start? Learn more about the average costs of asset tracking.
2. Assess your needs
Next, look at the type of asset you need to track, the volume, and how you would like to manage them. Consider why you need to track your assets and, if you’re already using the software, consider what gaps you’re looking to address with your new system.
Also, consider if you’re only tracking physical assets, or if you need a software asset management solution as well. The latter will be true for certain types of businesses and IT asset tracking scenarios in particular.
Beyond this, identify your must-have features. For example, if you want to keep track of your assets from acquisition to retirement, you’ll probably benefit from a solution that foregrounds asset lifecycle management; or if your assets require licenses, you may need a system that helps manage said licenses.
3. Pick your method
Once you’ve decided on your budget and needs, it’s time to choose how to build your system. There are three main ways you can build your asset tracker for life, each with its own advantages and drawbacks.
You can build a simple manual asset management system. Otherwise known as a pen-and-paper system, this method involves manually logging the asset, its location, and its condition data. This can be done on a piece of paper or online document like Windows Notepad or Google Docs. This system is straightforward, virtually free, and leveraged by a surprising amount of businesses. However, it is extremely time-consuming, largely unreliable, and doesn’t allow for real-time updates.
Businesses can also use spreadsheets like Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel to manage assets. Spreadsheets are low-cost, customizable, and incorporate into existing business processes easily. However, like manual asset management systems, spreadsheet-based asset trackers aren’t compatible with asset tags and don’t deliver automatic updates. This makes the method less suitable for businesses managing high-value assets like vehicles, machinery, or IT devices. Fortunately though, there are many of useful asset tracking spreadsheet examples so that you won’t need to create one from scratch.
If you don’t want to leave any room for error, you can also use a dedicated asset tracking system. Asset tracking software offers numerous benefits to businesses, letting them track the location, condition, and value of their assets. Asset tracking systems also offer enhanced features like auto alerts, maintenance tracking, and asset lifecycle mapping.
Asset tracking software does come at a premium though – especially if you’re after the premium features offered by Samsara and Tenna. Check out how the best solutions compare in our comprehensive guide to the best asset tracking companies.
4. Prepare your asset register
Once you’ve decided on a method, you need to upload your asset data to your system of choice. This can be done using a traditional pen and paper setup or an integrated piece of software.
It is a relatively straightforward process because many asset tracking systems like Verizon and Samsara let you import CSV files in bulk. If you’re using tags, you’ll also need to attach barcodes or GPS tags to products before scanning the code and syncing the asset to your digital register. Once this is complete, you’ll need to enter the information of each asset.
If you’re using a manual or spreadsheet-based system, the data you enter is up to your discretion. If you’re using a dedicated tracker, you should expect to have more extensive asset information at hand, including the product name, date of purchase, serial number, insurance information, and current value.
Some asset trackers require you to add photographs of your assets as well.
6 Tips For Implementing An Asset Tracking System
Your assets are an intrinsic part of your business. So, before you start rolling out your system, take note of these tips to give yourself the best chances of succeeding.
- Insure your assets – Asset tracking is a reliable way to monitor and safeguard company assets, but it’s not foolproof. By insuring your assets, you’ll get peace of mind by covering them in case of unexpected events.
- Practice legal compliance – When tracking assets, businesses must comply with relevant industry standards. For instance, IT companies must comply with regulations like ISO 27002 for information security, while healthcare organizations must comply with the HIPAA act to keep patient information safe.
- Identify your assets depreciation – To track how long your assets remain profitable and in service, you’ll have to work out their annual depreciation. You can do so by using this formula: (Initial Cost – Salvage Value) ÷ Useful Life = Annual Depreciation
- Roll out evaluation criteria – To make sure your asset tracking system continues delivering value, you need to set up evaluation criteria. This framework will focus on your business’s unique objectives, but considerations may include the system’s accuracy, connectivity, scalability, and ongoing costs.
- Regularly review your process – You should check in with these metrics at regular intervals to ensure your asset tracking system is still working for you. If your system isn’t meeting your requirements, you should take action.
- Train staff to follow processes – Your whole team needs to be involved in the asset-tracking process. To meet this end, managers should provide regular training and feedback to staff, as well as updating them if any changes or updates take place.
Get Started With Asset Tracking Today
You are now equipped to build your own asset tracking system. While asset tracking systems do offer invaluable ways to keep tabs on crucial business assets, the system involves a lot of moving parts. This means it needs to be reviewed regularly to make ensure it can still be depended upon.
There’s lots of paperwork involved with managing varied assets. To stay on top of all aspects of your asset tracking process, we recommend carrying out asset inventory audits monthly or quarterly. This is essentially a hands-on assessment of your business’s physical and non-physical assets.
For more on this, check out of full guide to effectively managing asset inventory audit procedures.