Tracking on a Budget: A Comprehensive Guide to Free Asset Tracking Software

Management
General
Published on:
October 1, 2024
Read Time:
9
min

Your company's capabilities are defined by your assets and the way you handle them. Assets, which include tools, equipment, and vehicles, are essential for the day-to-day running of any organization. 

Whatever a company's size or industry, keeping tabs on its assets is a top priority. The assets were traditionally managed by businesses using ledgers or Excel sheets. 

However, these strategies have been ineffective in producing reliable reports, leading to poor financial performance and bad decision making.

These problems can be solved by using free asset tracking software that has all the features. In the long run, it can assist businesses save time and money by providing them with real-time updates regarding their assets' amount, location, use, maintenance, etc.

Seeing to the overall worth and value of the asset, a company can employ different resources and methods to make money off it.

The current condition of the company's assets, whether they be equipment, stock, or office supplies, must be known. In the long term, the company can face serious financial difficulties due to asset loss, theft, or wastage.

Here is when keeping tabs on assets becomes useful with the best digital inspection software. A way to lessen the likelihood of these issues, guarantee uninterrupted operations, and increase company development all at once. 

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What is Asset Tracking Software?

There are many different types of businesses, and each one may benefit greatly from asset monitoring solutions, which are systems that keep tabs on and record the whereabouts of physical assets.

With this technology, construction company management can track the whereabouts of all their tools, equipment, and vehicles in real-time, providing a quantitative record of their asset movement. 

Just this one feature has so many benefits. 

Managers may see the name, location, and current state of each asset, as well as their current status, with a fast look at their dashboard. With this data available in real-time, businesses can streamline their processes.

According to Statista, “The global market for best free asset tracking software is forecast to grow from 3 billion U.S. dollars in 2019 to 5.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2024.

One further major benefit of asset monitoring systems is that they cut down on maintenance expenses generally. Managers may save money on repairs and downtime by keeping tabs on asset use and condition in real-time.

In addition to that, managers are able to make timely maintenance choices and preventative actions when the system alerts them to asset faults or failures.

Detailed information on an asset's complete lifespan, including maintenance records and work orders, may be provided by this free asset tracking software system. This includes the whole process, from purchase to disposal.

These ever-changing systems record all pertinent information, letting companies examine data that is unique to each asset and make better decisions about asset management as a result. 

Optimizing asset use and eliminating needless expenditures may be greatly improved with this level of information.

This preventative measure helps assets last longer and saves money. A key component of asset monitoring systems is the ability to retrieve data remotely and store it centrally. It becomes much simpler for managers to manage their assets efficiently when they can access important asset information from any location and at any time. 

All pertinent data is safely saved and readily available to authorized people using centralized data storage. It is a daily duty of construction management and operations to oversee the fleet's cars, equipment, and heavy gear.

Construction businesses may optimize their assets, save money, and increase production by finding and using the right asset monitoring system.

Now the question is, how does this solution function in actuality?

Types of Free Asset Tracking Software

There are many different methods to classify asset monitoring systems, often according to the technology used or the assets themselves.

To meet the demands of various businesses and industries, many forms of asset monitoring have emerged, each with its own set of benefits and special applications. Let’s explore some of the common types:

  1. Physical Asset Tracking: This involves keeping tabs on physical assets like as tools, cars, equipment, and stock.
  2. Digital Asset Tracking: Software licenses, data, and digital content are all examples of digital assets that need to be tracked.
  3. RFID Tracking: Assets can be tracked using this technology by use of radio-frequency identification tags. Keeping tabs on valuable possessions in real time is much easier with this.
  4. Barcode Tracking: To track down and identify assets, this innovation makes use of scannable barcode labels.
  5. GPS Tracking: Especially helpful for keeping tabs on fleet cars and other mobile assets.

Why is Asset Tracking Important?

Lower Administrative Costs

When assets are tracked, workers no longer have to manually look for them. The likelihood of asset loss due to human mistake will be lower as a result. It also gives these people more time to concentrate on tasks that bring in money.

A Smarter Approach to Asset Maintenance

Having knowledge of the equipment's history makes maintaining it much simpler. Take a scenario where you have 100 printers. Without proper documentation, you would never know when each one is about to run out of ink or needs repairs. To reduce unexpected breakdowns and maximize uptime, use an automatic maintenance reminder system with free asset tracking software

Better Accountability and Cost Savings

If you don't keep tabs on your assets, you can be losing money without knowing it. Keeping tabs on your assets may help you prevent these kinds of losses and ensure that your staff are managing them correctly. 

Improved Customer Service

Customers can tell the moment you make a functional improvement to your business. Undoubtedly, these internal changes will help consumers.

Whether it's a better-informed staff, a well-stocked inventory, or an overall more efficient business. Some clients may be interested in knowing if you have free asset tracking software, since it reflects your dependability as a partner, depending on your primary business.

Planning for Future Growth

Maintaining an accurate parts inventory list on a spreadsheet makes it hard to expand the business for expansion. You can more effectively plan for expansion by seeing patterns in asset use with the support of an asset monitoring tool. 

Improved Efficiency

Using asset monitoring, you can obtain significant, high-level information into how your office, warehouse, and storage facilities are performing. The ability to pinpoint critical connections in the asset utilization of various sectors for the purpose of streamlining company operations is a major benefit of this. In addition, data monitoring allows you to foresee asset requirements, such as equipment repair, before they become urgent.

Improved Accuracy

A staggering 80% of employees waste their time because they don’t have the right asset support behind them.

One reliable resource is an free asset tracking software platform. With this degree of detail, it's easy to see where assets are, how they're being used, and what needs doing to ensure that they are always usable. Everything is now crystal clear. Decisions are based on concrete evidence when using asset tracking reports.

Optimize Equipment Purchasing

Better choices about equipment maintenance or replacement may be made when assets can be tracked throughout their entire cycle. Based on the warranty details, you can determine it's still cheaper to fix something, or you might look at the repair history of another asset and decide it's not worth keeping.

How Does Asset Tracking Software Technology Work?

How The Benefits of Asset Management Software Can Save You Time, Money, and  Stress

When keeping tabs on assets, the first thing to do is decide what kinds of assets need monitoring and then add them to the appropriate asset register.

Determining your needs in terms of asset monitoring is a smart first step. 

Are you just interested in IT hardware tracking? Assets that are not subject to change? On the other hand, are you in need of a comprehensive asset registry for a variety of assets? A few examples of asset tracking systems are these.

  • Fixed Asset Registers
  • IT Asset Management
  • Tools and Equipment Tracking
  • Check-in and Checkout Software

The next step, after making a decision, is to record an asset. To begin recording, launch the program and provide the necessary information when creating a new asset. 

Adding this item to your digital asset registry makes it accessible via an app or online portal on any device. 

Tracking is the subsequent step. Whenever an asset is transferred to a different employee, placed out of order, or sent for repairs, the best free asset tracking software can be used to keep track of all the relevant details. 

An example use case would be for an employee to notice that a printer is running low on ink and then open the itemit app to add the printer to the maintenance list along with the message that it needs more ink. 

To ensure that the appropriate individuals are notified of the maintenance, the free asset tracking software sends out alerts automatically. So that everyone is aware the printer is operational again, another employee can track its status after it is filled. 

Asset tags are a great way to take barcode asset tracking software to the next level, which already has the potential to greatly enhance your company's operations. With tagging, asset monitoring becomes more efficient, and new avenues for increasing company productivity open up. 

It will be a breeze for you to conduct audits now that everything is being monitored in real-time. All you have to do to create customizable reports for each item is utilize the free asset tracking software correctly. 

That's all!

Key Functions of an Asset Tracking Software

Assets management has become one of the key challenges of businesses today.

Employees require to spend a lot of time searching for company assets, which results in delayed production or delivering services. This delay can cause dissatisfaction of the customers, which can be a big obstacle in the growth of the business.

The following functions are generally found in any asset tracking software.

Barcodes and Scanning

It is critical to provide every object you need to keep tabs on in your company a distinct identification number. After everything has been scanned and labeled in the asset tracking system, you will have full visibility into the whereabouts and identity of all assets.

Checking Availability

With the use of free asset tracking software, you can see how each item is being used. Whether it's equipment allocated to an employee, things sold, leased vehicles, etc., effective asset tracking software allows you to examine and know the availability of all of this information.

Tracking Lifecycle

With the help of barcode asset tracking software, you can stay updated on the status of an item throughout its lifetime. Decisions can be made based on the information provided by the system, regardless of whether it is recently collected or in the repair stage.

Assigning Authority

When there are a lot of assets to keep track of, it becomes quite difficult for a single individual to do so. By using asset tracker software free, you can choose a certain individual as the one responsible for overseeing an asset's management at every stage of its lifespan. 

You should think about the following things before purchasing free asset tracking software, in addition to the characteristics listed above.

Factors to Consider While Choosing an Assets Tracking Software

Simple Configuration & Customization

Choosing an asset monitoring software that's simple to set up and modify to fit your company's needs is essential. You would be wasting a lot of time managing assets with software that is hard to set up. In addition, you won't get any benefit from free asset tracking software if it doesn't align with your business logic.  

Supports Multiple Users

A multi-user system outperforms a single-user system when it comes to throughput. Multiple users should be able to access the asset records and information via the system, which will enable them to examine crucial facts like the maintenance schedule, stock threshold, etc.

Maintenance Scheduling

You should be able to plan maintenance for your machinery and equipment in advance of when they break down and cease functioning. As a result, your team members would be better able to service or repair the equipment should they break down.

Generating Reports

It is crucial to have complete transparency about the state of your assets. You may find the answers to questions like "how much did it cost to maintain this machine?" and "who was operating it?" in the reports that your free asset tracking software generates.

Integration

If your asset tracker software free doesn't link with other apps, you won't be able to use it to its full potential and put an end to any problems that may arise during regular operations.

Security

Data related to assets is often very sensitive and necessitates the use of advanced methods of protection. It could be dangerous to provide all users access to the whole asset database. The asset tracker software free you choose should have an option to assign different levels of access to different users.

Data Export

If you are moving from one asset management software to another, it is imperative that your new free asset tracking software should allow you to export the data from your old software easily. Entering all the data all over again would be a time-consuming and tedious job.

User-Friendly Interface

Transferring data from one asset management system to another is a breeze with the right export features in your new program. It would be a difficult and time-consuming task to enter all the data again.

Scalability

Your company's asset tracker software free has to be flexible enough to adapt to its evolving needs. Businesses may more assuredly plan for the future with the support of a scalable asset management system.

Bottomline

Finally, asset-tracking software solutions are now critical to the success of every modern business.

They allow businesses to lessen the financial burden of maintenance while simultaneously increasing asset efficiency and decreasing the likelihood of lost or underutilized equipment.

These solutions help organizations make better data-driven choices by giving them access to real-time data and an in-depth understanding of an asset's life cycle.

The capacity to effectively manage and use assets is becoming more important in today's highly competitive corporate climate.

Remember that a 90% reduction in losses is possible with an efficient asset monitoring system.

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