How to run a location-based asset audit
An audit compares what is physically in a place against what UniAsset says should be there.
Requirements
- Available on: All plans
- Roles: Owner, Admin, Manager to update records; anyone can do the walking
Steps
1. Prepare the list
Filter the asset list at Dashboard → Assets (Individual) by the location, and export it.
Filtering by a location includes everything beneath it, so auditing a building covers all of its rooms in one list.
2. Walk the location
Check each asset off. Scanning is faster than reading serial numbers — every asset has a QR tag generated at creation, and scanning resolves straight to the asset.
Each scan is recorded with the method, the scanning user, and device information, so the audit itself leaves a trail.
3. Note the discrepancies
Three kinds:
| Finding | What it means |
|---|---|
| Present, expected | Nothing to do |
| Expected, not found | It has moved, been lent out, or is lost |
| Found, not expected | It has moved here and nobody recorded it |
4. Update the records
- Moved → update its location
- Checked out → confirm against the checkout record; it should already show as out
- Genuinely lost → on Odyssey and above, dispose of it with the method "lost". Below that, archive it.
- Never recorded → create the asset
Every update writes to the asset timeline, so the audit's corrections are themselves auditable.
Before you start
Check outstanding checkouts for the location. Items legitimately out with someone are not missing, and finding that out during the walk wastes time.
Do the count first, then compare. Walking with the expected list in view makes people find what they expect to find.
Making audits sustainable
Cycle count rather than annual count. Auditing one location a month is more likely to happen than auditing everything once a year, and it catches drift sooner.
Prioritise by value and mobility. High-value portable equipment drifts fastest.
Fix causes, not just records. If the same location has discrepancies every audit, the process around it needs changing.
Common mistakes
Auditing without checking checkouts first. You will chase items that are legitimately out.
Correcting the system to match the count without asking why they differed. The discrepancy is the information.
Marking things lost too quickly. Check checkouts, recent moves, and the asset timeline first.
Doing it once and never again. A single audit is a snapshot; the value is in the trend.
Troubleshooting
An asset is missing but shows as present in UniAsset. Check its timeline and whether it is checked out. If it is genuinely gone, dispose of it as lost or archive it.
An asset I found isn't in UniAsset at all. Create it. Note where it was found in the description.
Scanning doesn't resolve to the asset. The tag may be from a different organization's asset, or damaged. Look it up by serial number instead.
I can't update the location. Changing assignment needs Manager or above.
I can't dispose of lost assets. Disposal accounting needs Odyssey or above. Archive instead — the history is preserved either way.
Archived assets keep appearing in my export. They should not; archiving removes them from active lists. Check whether your filter includes archived assets.
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