Your company’s fixed assets are your most valuable resources, vital for the smooth running and success of your business operations.
This means you need to stay informed about their location, utilization history, and condition at any given time.
After all, poor asset management leads to needless expenses and underutilized or idle assets, costing your company more than just lost revenues.
To effectively monitor your assets, optimize their usage, increase revenue, and prevent theft, it’s crucial to leverage the benefits offered by modern asset management software.
So, let’s explore the essential features of fixed asset management software that you should consider when choosing a new tool for your tech stack.
In this article...
Asset Tracking
First and foremost, you have to know where your assets are and if they’re being utilized to their full potential.
Thus, the primary feature a fixed asset management system should include is asset tracking.
This feature provides real-time insights into the location, availability, and usage of assets, helping you optimize asset allocation and reduce costs related to redundant assets or those left idle.
Asset tracking is enabled through several different technologies.
Deciding which one will best serve your business needs depends on the type, quantity, and value of your assets.
For example, GPS technology is well-suited for tracking high-value heavy machinery typically deployed across various worksites, such as bulldozers, forklifts, or trucks.
With its ability to communicate over long distances, the GPS-backed system can pinpoint your asset’s exact location.
However, due to their larger size, GPS trackers are not the optimal choice for smaller assets such as hammers, cutters, or hand drills.
In such cases, QR code tags or Bluetooth beacons are more suitable for the task.
Nonetheless, one of the primary benefits of asset tracking is its role in preventing equipment theft.
Given the fact that approximately 85% of construction businesses have fallen victim to some form of loss or theft, tracking and protecting your assets stands out as a number one priority.
Implementing an asset monitoring solution unquestionably safeguards your equipment, serving as a deterrent to opportunistic thieves who become aware that the items they are targeting are being monitored.
Even if theft occurs, the tracking system will reveal the equipment’s last known location, offering a valuable advantage in locating and recovering it.
In essence, asset management software enables businesses to track their equipment’s movements in real-time, optimize planning and allocation, and protect them against theft.
Asset Check-In and Check-Out
This feature enables you to monitor to whom a piece of equipment is assigned, how long it’s been in use, and when it will be returned.
It works on the principle of attaching barcode or QR code tags and labels on your equipment or tools.
These tags, paired with cloud-based monitoring software, contain information relevant to the asset, including the date of purchase, manufacturer’s manuals, maintenance history, a complete list of user logs, and more.
The usage of the check-in and check-out feature is rather simple.
It only requires your crew members to scan the QR code tag with their smartphones or tablets to check out the equipment they need to use for projects in the field.
The app will immediately record this change in your central database, including the name of the worker that took the item, as well as the date and time.
This allows other users to know that this piece of equipment is currently in use, and see when it is expected to be available again.
When the worker that checked it out is done using it, they will scan the code once again to check the equipment back in.
In addition, the software provides an option to send reminders if a piece of equipment is not returned as scheduled.
The check-in and check-out feature of the asset management solution allows for total visibility of your company’s assets, giving you a clear picture of their utilization frequency.
This will help you identify assets that are overused and may be at risk of damage or malfunction, as well as assets that are underused and might be more cost-effective to rent than own.
Additionally, this feature inherently enhances workers’ accountability, reducing the risks of equipment being misplaced, forgotten, or stolen.
It also saves valuable time, as your crew won’t have to spend hours trying to locate an item they need to complete their jobs.
On top of it all, the check-in and check-out feature allows for better planning and scheduling of tasks, thus preventing project delays or missed opportunities.
All of this will help you make the most of your fixed assets and ensure the highest level of productivity on the construction site.
Maintenance Scheduling
The efficient management of your fixed assets has a direct impact on your company’s bottom line and overall success.
In this context, proactive maintenance of equipment and machinery minimizes malfunctions, thus reducing incidents that could lead to costly project downtime.
Furthermore, implementing long-term preventive maintenance programs can significantly extend the overall lifespan of your equipment and enhance its resale value.
In fact, studies show that companies can amount as much as 12% to 18% on average in savings just by adhering to a regular preventive maintenance plan.
So, one feature of a fixed asset management solution that can help you achieve this is the maintenance scheduling feature.
This feature will allow you to develop a preventive maintenance plan and assign future service tasks to your team of maintenance technicians.
The assigned technicians will be notified in time about the upcoming task through the asset management app on their phones.
Moreover, the system keeps detailed maintenance records, allowing them to quickly check the complete maintenance history of the equipment, including details about the last service.
This will enable them to identify potential issues early on, thus avoiding costly replacements or repairs, and lowering the number of reactive or emergency maintenance work orders.
Most importantly, the maintenance scheduling feature ensures that no preventive service is ever overlooked, contributing significantly to extending your assets’ useful life.
Automated Depreciation Calculation
Depreciation calculation is another critical feature of fixed asset management software.
It aids companies in monitoring the gradual decline in the value of their assets over time, ensuring accurate accounting for depreciation.
Calculating depreciation involves various methods, including straight-line or accelerated.
However, with evolving tax laws, differing useful lifespans, varying costs, and other factors, this task becomes quite complex.
A fixed asset management system can assist in calculating depreciation without errors, helping you avoid unwanted penalties.
When searching for a solution that will help you streamline your fixed asset management, prioritize software that provides automated depreciation calculations.
This functionality can render depreciation schedules for each asset by utilizing essential asset data, such as original cost, purchase date, and lifespan.
It can also generate detailed reports containing data such as annual depreciation, current or prior year depreciation, total depreciation to date, and the remaining balance to be depreciated.
These ready-to-use reports come in handy in the filing of financial statements and tax returns.
And given the fact that accurate depreciation calculations are crucial for businesses aiming to track the changing value of their assets, opting for fixed asset management software that automates this task is crucial.
Reporting Module
The reporting and analytics feature in fixed asset management software provides companies with a complete overview and valuable insights related to their assets.
With this feature, you can easily generate reports detailing your asset utilization, performance, maintenance and repairs history, depreciation, and other key metrics that can help you make informed decisions.
The reporting feature is instrumental in identifying trends and patterns that can result in cost savings and process enhancements.
For example, the GoCodes fixed asset management software incorporates an enterprise reporting module, allowing you to tailor your report design, sort, filter, combine, and present information in a manner that aligns with your company’s specific requirements.
In addition to the basic tabular reports displaying only essential data, you have the flexibility to create other forms of visual reporting such as charts or dashboards.
This user-friendly and customizable module grants you full access to your asset data, enabling a simple drag-and-drop process to select the elements you wish to include in your report.
The system also provides an option to export reports to a variety of formats such as PDF, Excel, or CSV for further analysis or sharing with relevant departments, stakeholders, or investors.
Turning asset data into comprehensive reports enables you to track your assets’ performance and profitability, as well as your company’s financial position.
This feature can assist you in detecting issues, implementing improvements, and ensuring compliance with regulations.
Notifications
When choosing fixed asset management software, make sure it includes a feature that allows you to set up alerts and notifications about critical events.
One of the most important types of notifications is a scheduled maintenance notification.
For example, when the next scheduled service is approaching, the software automatically sends a maintenance alert to the responsible equipment manager.
The manager then assigns the task to a maintenance technician, and once the service is completed, they reset the notification alert for the next maintenance date.
It’s also convenient if the software can provide an option for automatic overdue asset alerts if a piece of equipment is not returned as scheduled.
This helps prevent equipment misplacement, thereby enhancing your control over asset usage and ensuring uninterrupted workflows.
Last but not least, the fixed asset management software should enable the setting up of low inventory quantity alerts.
Activated by the inventory tracking feature, alerts are triggered when the quantity of items in a specific container or storage box falls below a predetermined threshold.
The low quantity alert serves as a reminder to restock your inventory promptly, preventing potential shortages and averting project delays.
As you can see, the notifications feature carries various benefits for your company, so don’t forget to look for it when researching fixed asset management software solutions.
Integration with Other Tools
Companies, in general, work with various software solutions to manage different aspects of their business operations, such as monitoring maintenance orders or matching accounting records.
To facilitate a smooth transition to new software, selecting one that seamlessly integrates with your existing systems is crucial.
This capability of fixed asset management software can allow you to integrate your asset data with your current systems, such as accounting or enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.
The integration feature ensures there are no duplicate data entries, synchronizing asset data across various systems to minimize errors and enhance overall data accuracy.
This, in turn, will allow you to make informed strategic decisions that will further the success of your construction company.
Conclusion
Fixed asset management software is an essential tool for businesses aiming to optimize efficiency in handling their fixed assets.
Key features you should be looking for include tracking, equipment check-in and out, maintenance scheduling, depreciation calculation, reporting, automated notifications, and seamless integration with other systems.
A software solution that incorporates these functionalities can significantly improve workflow, enhance your company’s efficiency and productivity, and bolster your financial control.
Choosing the right fixed asset management software for your business will empower you to maximize returns and extend the useful life of fixed assets.
