The specific financial requirement for managing your assets within a school is covered by the Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS) and it is a mandatory requirement which be came effective in April 2012 and is applicable to every school under Local Authority control with a delegated budget. One of the popular misconceptions about the requirements is that it only applies to IT equipment whereas in reality it applies to all assets that meet the threshold value for equipment which is normally set at £50 - this includes a lot more than just IT equipment and can include sports, science, catering etc., etc.
Whilst having your register in place is OK in itself and your items labelled up with all manner of labels, the cost of peripheral equipment to scan and enter the data can be prohibitive, as it the time taken to add the data. However, on at least an annual basis, a physical audit must be carried out with a formal audit recorded for inspection as required - again this can be time consuming and often ends up being done during holiday periods at considerable cost and is often not very accurate.
There are now some companies who offer Smart Audit technology for both the recording of assset, transfer of ownership / location / faculty, full depreciation model, warranty details, Compliance Data (PAT, GAs Safe etc.), fault reporting from smart devices direct to your ticket system or administrator and require no additional hardware. I know of at least one company who provide FREE labels, regardless of the quantity - you just need to know where to look. HAppy to provide additional details if required.
