Spreadsheets are SO Last Year: Specialist Software for Managing Corporate Assets

Spreadsheets – they’re quite rightly the first port of call when trying to record any data in a simple, tabular form. Even though they don’t come will all the feature we would want plus they can be annoying to use, we still force ourselfs to use them. No doubt that is because they are bundled into our operating systems and we would rather use something that’s not quite perfect instead of buying a decent one.

Although there are several downsides to spreadsheets, they are useful for some tasks. The main ones are that they can handle simple calculations, they can create graphics, create business forecasts to see how much money you will lose. They all prove to be useful at some point in time. However, due to the number of problems they are, they simply aren’t good enough for tracking your tangible assets.

Even though spreadsheets intially sound useful for managing asset data, they can’t compete against an fixed asset tracking software package.

To a certain extent, a spreadsheet is useful for asset management, however, as you increase the amount of assets your company has and the amount of data you want to store, they become useless.

Here is a list of a few features that every asset management software package should contain.

• It should be able to hold enough data and in enough detail as you need it to. Although a standard spreadsheet has the ability to store vasts amount of data, in some cases it may not be sufficient. The data that has been stored may also not be in enough depth for it’s use.
• They must be able to match the complex structure of the company. If the asset can be placed in a number of categories within the company, a simple spreadsheet cannot handle this complex structure.
• It should be flexible enough to be restructed quickly a easily. Once a spreadsheet becomes very complex, it’s difficult to try and modify the data and especially the structure.
• They should be able to calculate different depreciation rates on individual items. If different assets had been bought at different stages, but they were connected, like a computer and a keyboard. The software must be able to calculate different price depreciation levels.
• They should be able to manage re-lifeing of company assets. If an asset is re-assed and is found to be of use, the depreciation level on the item must be altered.
• The software should be able to create structured data reports. Spreadsheets make it difficult to create useful, structured data reports.

Those were just a few of the points that a specifically designed asset management software package must include. Plus, it’s the main reason why a basic spreadsheet software suite would not be suiteable for storing asset data in a depreciation inventory.