5 Things to Remember in Improving Asset Management
Asset management is not only for big companies and corporations. It can be helpful even for households with minimal income. This practice is meant to help everyone identify how much they have, where their resources are, and how they can proceed with allocation and budgeting.
To do effective asset management, follow these five easy and basic steps below. Aside from teaching you asset management, they are meant to guide you to make smarter money decisions.
Make an Inventory
Your assets should be properly documented in an inventory. All equipment, supplies, materials, software, and human resources should be listed along with their details. Some details to include are whether specific equipment is in use, functioning, or in storage.
For human resources, you should include in the inventory the job titles and their different functions so that you can keep track of your workforce and their performance.
Understand the Concept of Depreciation
Assets, especially technology, depreciate or lose value and function over time. Technology innovates at a very fast rate. Your most up-to-date equipment can become obsolete after a decade or two. You need to consider the rate of depreciation of your equipment when you decide to purchase.
The same goes for your fiscal asset. If you choose to save $10,000 today, its worth will be less than five years from now. Once you understand this concept, you will have a smarter way of managing your assets.
Learn How to Update Inventory
Your inventory should be up-to-date. Because assets depreciate, get damaged, or break, you need to acquire replacements that need to be documented. Update your inventory as often and as regularly as possible so that you can keep track of all your assets.
An updated inventory can help you monitor which assets no longer work. Failure to do this can have expensive consequences. You could still be paying taxes or delegating maintenance fees for equipment that no longer exists.
Record in Digital Format
For easy inventory and access to your assets, it is best that you record them in a digital format. This might take time and effort, but doing so will save you time and money in the long run.
Recording your assets is already a good practice but doing them in a digital version is much more convenient given our continuous reliance on gadgets like smartphones and tablets. Also, using digital means having the capability to share your records with other individuals. Su9ch set up is beneficial to businesses and families.
Choose an Asset Manager
Managing your assets requires your full attention. On top of your other responsibilities, it is best to hire an asset manager who will solely look after the inventory and its updating. Instead of doing the task alone, it will be wiser to hire someone who has ample experience in managing assets.
For large companies, designating a whole department to take care of asset management would be ideal. For companies with smaller operations, a detail-oriented person would suffice to manage the inventory. Hiring outside personnel to do the task is a great option too.