Asset Management Software Schools: Efficiently Manage New and Existing IT Equipment

On this page you will find information on the following topics:

• Asset Management Software Schools: Easier Management of IT Assets
• IT Inventory at Schools: Digital Inventory Lists
• Contemporary and Proven: QR Code Inventory of School Equipment
• New, Digital School Resources? – Simple Inventory Management via App!

Asset Management Software Schools: Easier Management of IT Assets

The asset management software schools has become more and more useful in recent years: laptops and beamers have replaced the classic overhead projectors, loan tablets for pupils are available for homeschooling phases and the digital blackboard is expanding the possibilities of teaching in many places. As happy as many teachers and head teachers are about the digitisation funding, the administration of the new school IT equipment often seems to be a lot of work.

In funding programmes under the name DigitalPakt, the federal and state governments provide funds to public and independent schools to invest in IT equipment, network infrastructure and appropriate support services. This new school inventory needs to be managed particularly carefully. On the one hand, because the funding agency and local authorities want to know exactly how the money is being used. Secondly, as the number of inventory items increases, keeping track of them can become a challenge.

Schools that manage their inventory offline or with rudimentary solutions often lose information. Static paper or Excel lists are supposed to keep things tidy, but unfortunately often cause confusion among stakeholders. Small table cells, for example, do not allow necessary, diverse data to be clearly recorded. Paper notes or variants with magnetic boards are susceptible to scribbles or other small accidents.

However, such DIY solutions (do it yourself) for school inventory do not have to be used for a long time, because there is already proven inventory software for schools at fair prices (possibly even eligible for funding). With such individualised software, the administrative effort for school IT is reliably and significantly minimised.

IT Inventory at Schools: Digital Inventory Lists

School administrations that tried to carry out reliable stocktaking in the traditional way had to assign at least two people to do it twice a year. In each case, the inventory list, for example an Excel list for the school inventory, had to be updated using the dual control principle. To do this, the inventory officers searched for each piece of equipment or object and recorded it. This workflow is very time-consuming and inflexible.

With a digital, cloud-based solution, on the other hand, the inventory becomes an ongoing task in which several school staff members can participate. In this way, incorrect entries are detected and corrected more quickly. An important feature of the digital school inventory is the allocation of equipment to students or teaching staff, which is stored in such a way that it is possible to historically track who borrowed something and when. This facilitates retrieval, but also the localisation of sources of damage.

Contemporary and Proven: QR Code Inventory of School Equipment

In Timly you create a QR code for each inventory object, which is attached by means of a label. This is the direct link to the matching database entry in the inventory software. Thus, for example, a teacher who finds a notebook in a classroom can find out directly with his smartphone who last borrowed the device that was left behind. He can then find the person or enter in the Timly app that he himself will now borrow the device or return it to storage.

In addition to IT equipment, you can also register and manage various other elements from the school inventory in Timly. These can include chairs for classrooms, vaulting boxes from the gym or laboratory objects for biology and chemistry lessons.

Even intangible objects can be managed, but in these cases without a QR code. Think, for example, of the software licences for teachers’ and secretaries’ PCs. In secondary schools, licences are also needed for computer science lessons, and their expiry must be noticed in good time. Support contracts are important with regard to funding, but also for correctly functioning school inventory in the long term. These can also be managed in Timly and assigned to the respective objects.