Question 1

What is UniAsset?

Accepted Answer

UniAsset is an Asset Operations Platform — one system of record for everything an organization owns, maintains, and is accountable for. It unifies asset inventory and lifecycle management, maintenance and work orders, financial intelligence such as depreciation and total cost of ownership, and accountability across people, departments, and locations.

Question 2

What does an asset operations platform do?

Accepted Answer

It keeps operational, financial, and accountability information about assets in one place. Instead of separate spreadsheets for inventory, a maintenance tool for work orders, and accounting extracts for book value, UniAsset connects custody, service history, documents, and costs to the same asset record so teams can answer where something is, who is responsible, when it was last serviced, and what it has cost.

Question 3

Who is UniAsset designed for?

Accepted Answer

Operations, facilities, IT, finance, and leadership teams that need a shared register of owned equipment. Small single-site teams can start on free Nova; multi-site organizations use Orbit, Odyssey, or Cosmos as maintenance, reporting, and governance needs grow — without a lengthy implementation project.

Question 4

How is UniAsset different from spreadsheets or generic project tools?

Accepted Answer

Spreadsheets and generic databases can store rows, but they do not enforce roles, generate preventive work orders, keep trustworthy history, calculate depreciation consistently, or alert on document expiry. UniAsset is built around asset-native objects — check-out, PM rules, checklists, Fixed Asset Register views, and tenant-scoped accountability — rather than a blank table.

Question 5

How does UniAsset differ from a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS)?

Accepted Answer

UniAsset includes meaningful CMMS-like capabilities — preventive schedules, work orders, checklists, incidents, and SLAs on eligible plans — but is broader than maintenance-only software. It also covers inventory and custody, financial intelligence, document expiry, and multi-site accountability. Specialized CMMS products may go deeper on technician routing or niche modules UniAsset does not try to replace.

Question 6

Can small organizations use UniAsset, or is it only for enterprises?

Accepted Answer

Both. Nova is free forever with unlimited assets and five users, so small teams can build a complete register without buying advanced workflows first. Larger organizations use the same product with additional Sites, users, and capabilities as they scale.

Question 7

Can UniAsset manage assets across multiple departments and locations?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Assets organize by department, category, and location hierarchies inside operational Sites. Nova includes one active Site; Orbit supports more; Odyssey and Cosmos unlock unlimited Sites and multi-site analytics. Transfers and assignments stay on the asset history.

Question 8

What types of assets can I manage, and is UniAsset cloud-based?

Accepted Answer

You can manage individually tracked equipment, quantity-held asset stock, consumable supplies, and document assets such as licences tracked by expiry. UniAsset is multi-tenant SaaS in the cloud — each organization gets an isolated workspace. There is no self-hosted deployment option.

Question 9

How do I add assets, and can I import from a spreadsheet?

Accepted Answer

Create assets individually in the dashboard or import in bulk from CSV. UniAsset supports CSV import for individual assets, asset stock, and consumables — files must be CSV, not Excel .xlsx, and columns are validated against the chosen importer. Document assets are created in the Documents module rather than via CSV. Owners and admins can import.

Question 10

Can I assign assets to people and track who currently has them?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Assets assign to People — canonical human records — not only login accounts, so contractors can hold equipment without signing in. Permanent assignment shows responsibility; temporary check-out (available on every plan) shows who currently holds an item and when it is due back, without changing permanent ownership.

Question 11

Can I organize assets by department, category, or location, and add custom fields?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Categories and locations are hierarchies of arbitrary depth; departments capture organizational ownership; Sites define plants or campuses. Custom fields and custom statuses are available on Orbit and above so you can match industry-specific attributes and workflow vocabulary.

Question 12

Does UniAsset maintain an asset's history?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every asset carries a timeline of changes, assignments, documents, service activity, scans, movements, and signals in order — designed to be trustworthy for audits rather than quietly rewritable after the fact.

Question 13

Can I attach documents and images, and track warranties or expiry dates?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Attach warranties, certificates, manuals, invoices, and photos. Documents and document assets can carry expiry dates with advance warnings. Uploads count against plan storage; archiving frees quota without destroying the record.

Question 14

How do I record an asset transfer, retirement, or disposal?

Accepted Answer

Location and assignment changes are recorded on the asset timeline. Archiving removes an asset from active lists while preserving history. Formal disposal accounting — method, proceeds, and gain or loss against net book value — is available on Odyssey and above; lower plans archive instead.

Question 15

Can I manage assets that are shared among employees?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Keep a permanent department or location assignment for ownership, then use check-out sessions when people temporarily borrow shared equipment. Several items can go out together in one session while remaining individually returnable.

Question 16

Can I track equipment stock quantities and consumable supplies?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Asset Stock tracks quantities of identical capital items with a movement ledger and minimum thresholds. Consumables track supply levels with restock/withdraw and low-stock alerts. Neither replaces a full warehouse management system for bin-level picking, packing, or shipping.

Question 17

Can I manage assets throughout their entire lifecycle?

Accepted Answer

Yes. UniAsset covers acquisition records, assignment and custody, maintenance and inspections, document and warranty monitoring, financial context, and end-of-life archiving or disposal accounting on eligible plans — all on the same asset record.

Question 18

Can I manage physical assets and their financial information in one system?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The same record holds operational details and financial context such as purchase cost, depreciation (Orbit+), net book value, total cost of ownership from recorded maintenance, and disposal gain or loss on Odyssey+. UniAsset complements accounting systems; it is not a general ledger or full ERP.

Question 19

Can UniAsset schedule preventive and recurring maintenance?

Accepted Answer

Yes on Orbit and above. PM rules define intervals in days, months, or years with a warning window, attach to an asset or category, and can reference a checklist template. When a rule falls overdue, UniAsset raises a preventive work order automatically.

Question 20

Can I create work orders, assign work, and track progress?

Accepted Answer

Yes on Orbit and above. Work orders support preventive, corrective, and inspection types with priorities, assignees, and a full status lifecycle. You can capture labour and material costs, notes, photos, and checklists. Closing a work order writes a service record so costs flow into financial views.

Question 21

Can I use inspection checklists, and can failures create corrective work?

Accepted Answer

Yes on Orbit and above. Versioned checklist templates support pass/fail, numeric, text, and photo items. When a checklist item fails, UniAsset can automatically raise a linked corrective work order. Telemetry-triggered work-order creation is not available.

Question 22

Can I track maintenance history and labour or material costs?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Service records and work-order activity remain on each asset, including labour minutes, material lines, vendors, and costs that roll into total cost of ownership on eligible plans.

Question 23

Does UniAsset support SLAs and overdue maintenance alerts?

Accepted Answer

Preventive rules warn inside a configurable window and escalate to overdue on Orbit+. SLA response windows by priority with criticality multipliers are available on Odyssey+. Email notification volume depends on plan limits.

Question 24

Does UniAsset support incidents and escalation?

Accepted Answer

Yes on Orbit and above. Incidents capture severity, status, notes, and an immutable snapshot of asset state at report time. Escalation rules notify configured roles after delays when work is not progressing.

Question 25

Can UniAsset automatically dispatch technicians or optimize service routes?

Accepted Answer

No. UniAsset supports assigning work orders and tracking progress, but it is not a workforce dispatch optimization or technician-routing system.

Question 26

Which plan includes maintenance and work orders?

Accepted Answer

Orbit and above include preventive maintenance, work orders, checklists, incidents, and escalation. SLA response windows require Odyssey or higher. See pricing for the full capability matrix.

Question 27

Can UniAsset calculate depreciation and net book value?

Accepted Answer

Yes on Orbit and above. Methods include straight line, declining balance, double declining, written-down value (WDV), MACRS, and sum-of-years-digits, configured per category. Net book value is computed per asset and can roll up across the portfolio.

Question 28

What is a Fixed Asset Register, and can I export a snapshot?

Accepted Answer

The Fixed Asset Register is a point-in-time statement of gross cost, accumulated depreciation, and net book value per asset. On Orbit and above it supports filters and snapshot export for audit and year-end reporting, including disposed assets when needed.

Question 29

Can I track total cost of ownership and analyze cost risk?

Accepted Answer

Yes on Orbit and above. TCO is purchase price plus cumulative recorded maintenance spend — derived from recorded data, not estimates. Cost-risk analysis highlights assets whose maintenance spend has become disproportionate to purchase price.

Question 30

Can UniAsset track disposal gains and losses?

Accepted Answer

Yes on Odyssey and above. Formal disposal records capture date, method, proceeds, notes, and gain or loss against net book value, then archive the asset while preserving history for the Fixed Asset Register.

Question 31

Can I generate reports and use an executive dashboard?

Accepted Answer

Reports cover assets, costs, maintenance, depreciation, the Fixed Asset Register, compliance, checkout, and trends, exportable to CSV, Excel, or PDF. The executive dashboard for portfolio-level intelligence is available on Odyssey+ for owners and admins. Multi-site comparison analytics also require Odyssey+.

Question 32

Can UniAsset replace accounting or ERP software?

Accepted Answer

No. UniAsset provides operational asset financial intelligence but is not a general ledger, accounts payable, procurement, or complete ERP system. Use it alongside your accounting stack.

Question 33

Which plan includes depreciation and financial reporting?

Accepted Answer

Orbit and above unlock depreciation, net book value, Fixed Asset Register, TCO, and cost-risk analysis. Disposal accounting and the executive dashboard require Odyssey or higher.

Question 34

Does UniAsset support QR codes for asset identification?

Accepted Answer

Yes on every plan. Every asset gets a tag ID and scannable QR label at creation. Scanning resolves to the asset record from a phone or tablet, and printable labels support physical tagging.

Question 35

Does UniAsset support NFC and RFID tags?

Accepted Answer

Not for day-to-day tagging and scanning today. UniAsset's shipped identification and scan workflow is QR-based. NFC and RFID appear in Odyssey plan entitlements and roadmap work, but they are not yet operational tag-and-scan features in the product.

Question 36

Can I track the geographical position of assets?

Accepted Answer

Yes via the integration API on eligible plans. External tracking systems can push latitude/longitude readings into per-asset geo-position history. UniAsset does not provide continuous in-app phone GPS tracking of assets by itself.

Question 37

Can I store equipment documents, images, and compliance evidence?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Attach files and images to assets, or use document assets for certificates tracked by expiry. Organization-wide Files and Images views show attachments across the tenant. Warranty certificates, inspection records, and service documentation can all live on the related asset.

Question 38

Can I track IoT signals, and do they automatically create incidents?

Accepted Answer

On Odyssey and above, authenticated IoT ingestion stores tenant-isolated telemetry on the asset timeline. Signals do not currently trigger a rules engine that automatically creates incidents or work orders — that automation is planned, not shipped. Do not expect real-time predictive maintenance from sensors alone today.

Question 39

Is UniAsset suitable for manufacturing companies?

Accepted Answer

Yes for production equipment records, preventive schedules, work orders, inspection evidence, downtime-related operational context, and asset costs. UniAsset is not a manufacturing execution system and does not provide production planning or machine control.

Question 40

Can hospitals manage medical equipment with UniAsset?

Accepted Answer

Yes for medical equipment records, maintenance history, document expiry, inspection evidence, custody, and accountability. UniAsset does not claim certified electronic medical records, automatic regulatory compliance, or native hospital information system integrations unless built via the API.

Question 41

Can schools, universities, and laboratories use UniAsset?

Accepted Answer

Yes for campus IT and lab equipment registers, department accountability, assignment, maintenance, warranty tracking, calibration-related documents, and financial reporting. UniAsset is not a complete laboratory information management system (LIMS).

Question 42

Is UniAsset suitable for facilities management?

Accepted Answer

Yes for building equipment registers, PM schedules, work orders, inspections, staff or contractor accountability through People records, and lifecycle costs. It is not a full building automation system or complete CAFM suite.

Question 43

Can construction and field service teams track distributed equipment?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Use Sites for job sites, assignment and check-out for custody, QR identification in the field, maintenance history, and operating costs. UniAsset does not provide construction project scheduling or technician route optimization.

Question 44

Can warehouses and logistics companies manage operational equipment?

Accepted Answer

Yes for handling equipment, distributed assets, maintenance, custody, and service records. UniAsset is not warehouse management software — it does not replace bin-level inventory, picking, packing, or shipping workflows.

Question 45

Can fleet operators track vehicle maintenance and related costs?

Accepted Answer

Yes for vehicle records, service history, maintenance schedules, insurance and registration documents, and cumulative operating costs where maintenance spend is recorded. UniAsset does not provide telematics-based fleet optimization, driver behaviour analysis, or live vehicle tracking unless an external system pushes geo positions via the API.

Question 46

Can hotels and hospitality groups manage assets across properties?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Model properties as Sites, track FF&E and facilities equipment, run maintenance and inspections, and roll up lifecycle costs across locations on eligible plans.

Question 47

Can nonprofits, NGOs, and religious organizations use UniAsset affordably?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Asset accountability and maintenance visibility help organizations manage limited resources. Qualifying nonprofits, NGOs, religious, and educational organization types can apply in-product for the Nonprofit Program; eligibility is reviewed individually and is not auto-granted or guaranteed.

Question 48

Can IT teams manage laptops, hardware, warranties, and device assignments?

Accepted Answer

Yes for physical hardware inventory, assignment and check-out, warranty and licence expiry information, and lifecycle history. UniAsset is IT asset management for hardware accountability — not a full ITSM service desk, ticketing, change-management, or service-catalog platform.

Question 49

Can multiple employees use UniAsset, and what roles are available?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Nova includes up to 5 users, Orbit up to 15, and Odyssey/Cosmos support unlimited users. Five system roles exist: Owner, Admin, Manager, Employee, and Viewer — each with a fixed permission set. Owners control billing and user management; Viewers are read-focused.

Question 50

Can I control which users can view or modify asset information?

Accepted Answer

Yes through system roles. Permissions and plan capabilities are separate axes — both must pass. Cosmos includes custom-role configuration UI, but runtime enforcement still uses system roles today; custom-role enforcement is not yet implemented.

Question 51

Can contractors be recorded without giving them login access?

Accepted Answer

Yes. People records exist independently of user accounts. Assign or check out assets to contractors without inviting them to sign in. Invitations can later link an existing Person to a new user account.

Question 52

Does UniAsset support single sign-on with Google or Microsoft?

Accepted Answer

Users can sign in with Google or Microsoft (Entra ID) OAuth on every plan, plus email and password. Broader enterprise SSO such as SAML or Okta is not a separate shipped connector today.

Question 53

Can I synchronize users from Microsoft Entra ID?

Accepted Answer

Yes on Cosmos. Entra directory sync can provision users from directory groups, map them to roles, and deactivate accounts when people leave. This is separate from Microsoft sign-in, which is available on all plans.

Question 54

How does UniAsset keep different organizations' data separate?

Accepted Answer

Every organization is a tenant. Server-side code scopes queries by tenant identity derived from the authenticated session or API key — never from client-supplied tenant IDs. Blob storage is prefixed by tenant, and ownership checks run before linking records across entities.

Question 55

Who can access our records, and how is authentication secured?

Accepted Answer

Only authenticated users in your organization (by role) and API keys you create. Authentication supports email/password with bcrypt hashing, Google OAuth, and Microsoft Entra ID OAuth. Role and plan authority are re-read from the database on requests so deactivation and role changes take effect promptly.

Question 56

Can I delete my organization's data?

Accepted Answer

Yes. An Owner can request organization deletion with a recoverable 30-day grace period, or choose immediate anonymization that scrubs identifying fields before final purge. A scheduled job then permanently deletes tenant data including blobs.

Question 57

How does UniAsset handle user deactivation and historical records?

Accepted Answer

Deactivating a user ends access on the next request. Historical assignments and asset history remain for accountability. Directory sync on Cosmos can deactivate users automatically when they leave the directory.

Question 58

Is UniAsset GDPR-compliant, and does it hold SOC 2 or HIPAA certification?

Accepted Answer

UniAsset implements privacy-oriented controls such as consent management, deletion workflows, and contractual documents where enabled — practices aligned with GDPR/UK GDPR expectations, not a blanket certification badge. UniAsset does not publish completed SOC 2, ISO 27001, or HIPAA product attestations in current documentation.

Question 59

Does UniAsset support audit and accountability requirements?

Accepted Answer

Yes in operational form: asset timelines, scan events, incident snapshots that lock asset state at report time, escalation logs, and API audit logging. Not every field change is an immutable ledger — immutability applies where specifically implemented, notably incident evidence.

Question 60

Does UniAsset provide a REST API and webhooks?

Accepted Answer

Yes on Odyssey and above. API keys (shown once at creation) can create assets, update assignments, record maintenance, push geo positions, and ingest IoT signals, with granular scopes and audit logging. Webhooks push signed HTTPS events for asset, maintenance, document/warranty expiry, geo, and incident changes.

Question 61

Can UniAsset integrate with ERP, accounting, CMMS, or ITSM software?

Accepted Answer

Not through shipped native vendor connectors. Use the REST API and webhooks on Odyssey and above to exchange data with those systems. Marketing catalog entries for specific vendors describe direction, not necessarily plug-and-play connectors available today.

Question 62

Can I integrate IoT platforms with UniAsset?

Accepted Answer

Yes on Odyssey and above via authenticated signal ingestion. External platforms or bridge functions can POST telemetry for storage and display. Automatic reaction rules that create work from signals are not included yet.

Question 63

Can users sign in with Google or Microsoft, and does Entra ID integrate?

Accepted Answer

Google and Microsoft Entra ID OAuth sign-in are available across plans. Entra directory synchronization for automatic provisioning and deprovisioning is a separate Cosmos capability.

Question 64

Does UniAsset offer AI-powered functionality?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The in-product AI Command Bar lets signed-in users ask natural-language questions that UniAsset plans and executes against your tenant data within supported intents — listing, counting, ranking, and summarizing assets, maintenance, costs, and related records. It is not general autonomous operations or predictive maintenance AI. The public Ask My AI page opens external AI chat tools with a UniAsset prompt; it is not the in-app command bar.

Frequently Asked Questions

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