It is best practice to have in place a complete and fully maintained inventory of all current moveable assets. Assets will continually change due to purchases, movements, and disposal, so it is important to keep track of these variations. Inventories usually monitor:
Remember, an inventory is different to a fixed asset register. Fixed Asset registers are required for an academy’s accounts and will usually log everything the academy owns over the value of £1,000 but this will be detailed in your finance policy. Items on a fixed asset register are usually capital items that will depreciate over time.
Ideally your inventory should include descriptive details, noting down such things as: serial numbers, warranty, the cost of purchasing the item, and the current location. However, it is usually best practice to initiate the asset tracking with an asset survey where you walk around the premises, identifying, tagging and logging all assets that are worth more than a minimum value agreed by your school or academy. We recommend that you log anything with a value of £50 or more.
There are no specific requirements for how these lists should be created, meaning they can be recorded into a simple spreadsheet, or specific purpose built software can be used.
Did you know SAAF Education now provide an Asset Management service? Click here to learn more.
The importance of keeping an up to date inventory
Inventories can be used to give an accurate estimate for insurance purposes. This helps schools comply with SFVS requirements and improve security.
Keeping an up-to-date inventory is a necessity for schools and academies because it can save time and money. With all the company’s asset data stored in one place, it can improve efficiency during procedures such as: budget setting, purchasing, creating a fixed asset register and equipment maintenance.
Asset surveys can also be extended to fixtures and fittings such as: CCTV cameras, boilers, emergency lighting, exit doors, fire extinguishers and alarm panels. This is extremely useful for Premises Managers who can use the inventory to streamline walk around inspections, and safety checks, such as Portable Appliance Testing (PAT), because the date of the inspection can be recorded against each electrical asset on your database.
5 benefits of an inventory
If you don’t an up to date asset register, then SAAF can carry out all the hard work of tagging and logging your school’s or academy’s property using our low cost, paper-free software.