Fixed assets can be cumbersome and time-consuming to track and manage. Chairs, desks, tables, copiers, computers, forklifts, utility carts … who has time to inventory every single item? Yet tracking fixed assets is important for your business. You’ve purchased them and they have value on the balance sheet. Keeping track of them is just part of doing business, no matter how time-consuming it can be.
There’s a smarter, better way to track all of those items, whether they are currently in use, at your warehouse, or in storage for the day when they are needed. Barcode labels printed and affixed to items, then scanned into your system, can help you efficiently track and manage all of your manufacturing equipment.
Using Barcodes on Fixed Assets
Why should merchandise alone get barcodes? Barcodes are simply a way to automate tracking of materials. You can set up barcodes to track various asset categories in your company. You can then print labels and affix them to the assets as you would to raw materials or finished goods, scan, and track them in your computer system.
The many benefits to your company of using barcodes to track fixed assets include:
- Productivity improvements: Companies that move equipment and supplies frequently understand the headache of having to manually track items. With barcode scanning, you can locate assets immediately. Swipe them with a scanner to log them in and out of buildings or locations. Handheld scanners or scanning software that runs on your smartphone make it easy to implement this concept, no matter what equipment you have.
- Accuracy: Tracking assets with a pen and paper is easy, but it’s prone to error. Anytime you have people logging items into and out of storage or locations, mistakes can creep into the records. People get busy, they get distracted, and they double-count items or forget to track them in the inventory. Swiping barcodes is so simple and quick that it’s easy to do. By automating the method of tracking fixed assets, you improve the accuracy by which things are tracked.
- Higher compliance rates: Financial and accounting compliance and record-keeping are both made easier with automated fixed asset tracking. Finance can run reports quickly from the system when the system is updated in real-time with automatic data uploads.
Ideas for Tracking
Nearly any tangible object, from a small package of screws to a huge forklift, can be tracked. Items in the supply chain, office equipment, warehouse equipment, and manufacturing equipment can all be tracked. Here are some ideas:
- Tools include saws, hammers, screwdrivers, air compressors, paint sprayers, and other items.
- Office equipment such as computers, printers, and copiers.
- Furniture, including file cabinets, chairs, tables, and desks.
- Depreciation and maintenance on company equipment. This can be tracked by scanning items into inventory whenever they are maintained such as scanning barcodes to update records indicating when fleet vehicles received oil changes.
Companies who utilize barcodes for fixed asset tracking each use it differently. Some businesses move equipment frequently and find it helpful to use barcodes to monitor use. Others have office equipment in storage from shutting down a location but want to keep track of their assets for future use. There are many ways in which to use barcodes for asset tracking. The point is that with barcode scanning technology, you can see at a glance what you have by asset category and understand the impact of this information.
Barcode scanners offer businesses of all types a faster, better way to track assets. It’s just another example of how barcodes are improving many aspects of business beyond the warehouse.
Improve Operations with Advice from ASI
Accounting Systems Incorporated (ASI) provides accounting software and systems to help your company grow. We focus on helping small to mid-sized companies improve operational efficiencies through the power of software and technology. Software such as Sage 100 and Acumatica ERP offers excellent ERP services in a reliable and stable system. For more information, visit our website, or call us at 803-252-6154.