Use Bar Codes to Track Equipment and Work More Efficiently

May 9th 2023 11:00:00 AM

Bar codes can be used for much more than just tracking your inventory. They can also be used to track your company’s fixed assets. In a busy workplace, it’s crucial to keep track of where your assets are, or your team members can lose valuable time trying to locate them. It would be best if you also tracked these assets for security and financial reasons.

Bar Codes and Inventory Basics

A bar code inventory system helps a business track inventory faster and more conveniently. Products with bar codes are scanned with handheld mobile devices. The data from the bar code is synchronized with the inventory management software in real time.

This method is superior to managing inventory using spreadsheets. The spreadsheet method is much slower and more likely to contain human errors. Modern business moves so rapidly that it is no longer practical to attempt to keep track of inventory manually.

Need to Track Equipment Crucial

Modern businesses also need to minimize their equipment downtime. It’s frustrating to spend time looking for a piece of equipment to complete a job only to find that it’s not stored properly, needs servicing, or must be replaced. Your employee will then have to spend time searching for it or arranging to have the equipment serviced.

Either way, your business is faced with losing valuable productivity, increased labor costs, and possibly the need to replace equipment.

Bar Codes Reduce Time Spent Looking for Equipment

Bar codes can help your business keep track of your equipment quickly. This method is very efficient. A simple scan with a bar code reader or a smartphone can help your team track where your equipment is inside your facility. 

They can also advise the name of the last person who checked out anything portable. This could include various types of tools, as well as a laptop computer, handheld payment portals, and any other types of office equipment. 

With bar codes attached to your equipment and tools, your team members and managers will be able to track precisely where any item is in real-time. It will take all the guesswork out of finding a particular thing when another employee needs to use it and solve the mystery of a piece of equipment being out for service. 

Bar Codes are Important for Company Security

No one ever wants to think that their employees would ever be dishonest. However, some specific individuals can (and will) steal tools, equipment, and office machines from their employers if given the opportunity. 

Employee theft is a concern for many small business owners. 

• An anonymous survey of 700 small business owners revealed that 22 percent said their employees had stolen from them. 
• Three-quarters of employees said they had stolen at least once from their employer. (Time, money, and electronics are stolen most often.)
• One employee theft incident costs a retailer three times as much as a shoplifting incident.

The average loss for an employee incident for a retailer amounts to over $1,500.00. The average shoplifting incident costs $460.00. (National Retail Security Survey 2021) 

Suppose your business provides office equipment or tools to employees so they can perform their duties. In that case, it’s crucial to ensure these items are returned if the employee’s relationship with the company ends. Some former employees may forget to return these items, while others may choose not to return company property. 

Tools and equipment can also get lost in day-to-day operations, especially if your business involves sending company representatives out on service calls. It’s easy for an employee to leave a tool at a customer’s residence or at a job site. The customer may or may not contact customer service to advise you of the situation. 

Bar Codes Help Companies Track Equipment for Tax Purposes

Bar codes are an easy and efficient way to track equipment the company has purchased over the years that needs to be depreciated for tax purposes. Your accounting department or accountant will need to be aware of whether you have purchased or sold any equipment or computers during the year. These transactions will need to be accounted for on the next business income tax return. 

With bar codes to track handheld tools, laptop computers, and other office equipment, it would be much easier to account for small items the company owns. Their value adds up quickly when completing an income tax return and attempting to calculate depreciation. In this situation, your company doesn’t want to leave any item unaccounted for if it will benefit the business. 

Scanco DashPrint Makes Printing Labels Quick and Easy

Are you looking for a way to make printing bar code labels for your equipment and computers less time-consuming? Scanco DashPrint allows your team to access the information they need to print all types of labels easily. 

The DashPrint dashboard and label software links to your Sage ERP database, where you will have stored all your data about your equipment, computers, and all other assets you wish to track with a bar code. Then your team members can choose from one of 33 label matrix design file templates which can be formatted for any printer model. 

DashPrint can be used for your shipping labels, inventory labels, or any other type of labels your company requires. 

Would you like to discover more about how Scanco DashPrint and bar code labels can benefit your company? It’s easy! Contact us online or call (330) 645-9959 to make an appointment with a Scanco Solutions Expert today.