Asset Management Software

Purchasing additional business assets can be a financial headache for rapidly growing organisations. In difficult economic conditions, the priority for many growing companies has been to extend the life of existing capital assets, while keeping investment in new capital items to a minimum. So as pressure of margins intensifies, so the need to track and manage existing assets, has become increasingly urgent. Frustratingly, some companies have no choice but to risk investing to survive and prosper. Ironically, as the number of assets a business owns rises, the harder it becomes for a company to track, upgrade and dispose of those assets.

Asset management is a term used to describe the management system for maintaining, tracking and operating the business assets of a company. These are commonly known as fixed assets or tangible assets (such as computer hardware and cars). However, it may also include intangible assets such as business software and licences. The asset management process involves logging and recording details each individual assets throughout its economic life-cycle. It also helps establish a net book asset value, so long term budgeting decisions can be made. Practically, this means knowing what the business actually owns and where each widget is. It also means knowing how much each unit is worth in today's money, which employees are responsible for it, and which supplier it was purchased from.

In smaller companies with very few assets, the process of asset management itself, is rarely formalised or perceived as necessary. However, for medium-sized organisations with multiple locations, keeping track of everything is an essential aspect of business finance. These firms tend to have devolved purchasing powers. This inevitably creates duplicate effort by purchasing managers. So the company fails to benefit from economies of scale. Whereas a centralised purchasing procedure, benefits from bulk discounts from suppliers, as well as a simplified credit control process.

The main business benefits of implementing an asset management software package in your organisation are as follows:-

• Financial Planning - by tracking and monitoring assets, managers can redeploy under-utilised assets, rather than upgrading or purchasing new ones. Asset management software can be used to help prioritise which business assets may need preventative maintenance sooner, and which ones are reaching the end of their economic life. When old equipment is disposed off, the software needs to be updated. New equipment may need to be purchased to replace broken or old equipment. Likewise as a firm grows and acquires new assets, the software help it maximise its investments, by building up a complete end-to-end overview of the company's total assets. The reporting tools allow the comparison of data, across a range of variables and time frames.

• Reminders For Managers - most asset management software can also schedule alerts. Scheduling means contractual renewal dates are not missed, and penalties accidentally incurred.

• Valuation Assessment - the software can be incredibly useful, if the company is planning to offer shares in itself, or put itself at a sale. This is because, as part of business valuation process, the database can be used to justify the valuation methodology. Keeping the asset database current, can only be achieved with the cooperation of staff responsible for using, maintaining or using an asset.

• Keeping Track of Invisible Intangible Assets - details of intangible assets can also be stored within the software program. These may include licensing terms of business software, details of copyrights, patents documents and evidence of customer goodwill. For many firms, these types of assets outweigh the net book value of fixed tangible assets. For instance, one of the most common problems faced by organisations that supply PC's to their employees, is how to stop staff self installing unlicensed software. So if a business tracks and monitors how PCs are used by their staff, they can minimise the risk of staff financial penalties, due to a breach of the terms of a vendors licensing agreement.

• Disaster Recovery - an asset management software tool is also extremely helpful, in the event of a major event (such as a building fire or an office relocation). Details of all furniture, cabinets, desks, computers, equipment, tools and other assets can be easily tracked through a straightforward software interface.

• Keeping Up With Compliance - most small firms have to ensure business processes are compliant with regulations. Using asset management software, managers can check that assets are compliant. For instance, health and safety regulations dictate, the physical parameters of an office buildings workspace (including equipment that may impact heating and lighting). This data can be used to purchase furniture, IT equipment and office that meet with the latest guidelines and regulations.

Good luck choosing your asset management software for your business!