Knowing what tangible or intangible resources your business owns and controls is critical. Your business assets have a fundamental role in the production of economic value.
A list of business assets can look different for each company and can include buildings (warehouses, manufacturing facilities, offices), equipment (computers, tools, machines, cash registers), inventory, and intangibles (patents, trademarks, software, copyrights). The bigger the company, the more challenging it can be to organize and keep track of all business assets.
There are many reasons why organizing business assets diligently is vital.
1. It Can Increase Productivity
As a business owner or manager, you must know which assets are in use and which are unavailable due to maintenance issues. Without a reliable asset management system, you may not know where to find the thing you need.
Organizing your business assets can substantially enhance productivity at all levels. This aspect is especially relevant when it comes to hardware assets. Proper hardware asset management (HAM) can increase productivity by making hardware distribution intuitive and efficient. It also ensures that employees don’t have to rely on old, malfunctioning equipment, unaware of their alternatives. The system can monitor and direct the entire life-cycle of a hardware asset, which eliminates many time-consuming processes from the employee workflow.
I2. It Can Save You Money
Organizing your assets using efficient management tools allows you to keep your business costs under control.
Physical assets require regular maintenance. Moreover, their integrity and functions can be affected by a wide variety of factors. A good asset organization system can help you keep track of maintenance schedules, warranties, and repairs. Does an asset need immediate attention? Can an older asset still produce value for your business? A simple look at your spreadsheet or catalog should immediately answer your question.
Neglecting maintenance tasks can cause breakdowns, shorten the lifespan of your assets, and force you to make additional purchases that would have been unnecessary otherwise.
Good organization eliminates the risk of losing money due to lost or neglected assets.
3. It Can Help You Optimize Usage
Every business has a limited list of assets, from office space to vehicles or office equipment. Efficient asset organization allows businesses to use each resource to the maximum and make sure they don’t make unnecessary purchases if they have underutilized assets.
Who is using each asset? When? How often? For how long? These questions are critical, and they can help you design a usage plan for each particular asset. Thus, you will get the maximum return on investment and make sure your workflows run without a hitch.
Conclusion
As a business grows, so does its list of assets. Proper asset organization is essential because it makes many processes simpler and more efficient. No matter what tools or organization systems you use, be consistent. Whether you use dedicated solutions or basic spreadsheets, ensure your data is accurate. Only accurate, up-to-date data is valuable.
Use our tips to make sure you’re getting the most out of your business assets. Knowing what you have in your portfolio will help you make the best financial decisions for your business.
