Assets
Assets are the things the school keeps rather than consumes: furniture, computers, laboratory equipment, vehicles, buildings. They are tracked individually, not as stock levels.
Go to Inventory → Assets.
The asset register can be filtered by category and status.
Registering an asset
Section titled “Registering an asset”Record:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Asset name and tag | The tag is the number physically stuck on the item. |
| Category | Furniture, IT, laboratory, vehicles. |
| Location | Which room, department or vehicle it is in. |
| Date acquired and cost | For depreciation and insurance. |
| Supplier | Links back to procurement. |
| Condition | New, good, fair, needs repair, written off. |
| Serial number | For anything with one. |
The asset tag is what makes the register usable. Without a physical tag, verifying the register means identifying two hundred identical chairs by description. Tag items as they are received, not later.
Movements and condition
Section titled “Movements and condition”Update the location when an asset moves between rooms or departments — this is how the register stays true between audits, and it settles the recurring argument about which department has the projector.
Update the condition when it changes. An asset needing repair should show as such so it appears on the maintenance list rather than being rediscovered when someone needs it.
Verification
Section titled “Verification”Verify the register at least annually:
- Print it by location.
- Walk each room and tick what is there.
- Note anything present but unregistered, and anything registered but missing.
- Investigate the missing items before writing them off. Most are in another room.
- Record disposals and write-offs with an approval and a reason.
Disposals
Section titled “Disposals”When an asset is sold, scrapped or written off, record the disposal with the date, method, any proceeds and the approval. Do not delete it — the register must show what the school held and what happened to it.
Proceeds from a sale are recorded as other income.
Assets and the accounts
Section titled “Assets and the accounts”The asset register supports the accounts but is not the same as them. Capital purchases post to asset accounts in the ledger, and depreciation is posted by manual journal. Reconcile the register to the ledger asset accounts at year end — they should tell the same story.