A school owns hundreds or thousands of items: desks, projectors, computers, lab equipment, sports goods, stationery and cleaning supplies. Without proper tracking, items go missing, purchases are duplicated and nobody knows what is available.
Separate assets and consumables
Fixed assets
Items used for years, such as furniture, computers, projectors, lab instruments and vehicles. Track each item individually.
Consumables
Items used up, such as stationery, chalk, printer ink, cleaning supplies and lab chemicals. Track quantities.
Create an asset register
For each asset, record:
- Asset ID or tag number
- Description
- Category
- Location (room or department)
- Date of purchase and cost
- Supplier
- Warranty or service details
- Condition
Label each asset with its tag.
Manage consumable stock
For each consumable item, track:
- Current stock
- Items received with date and supplier
- Items issued with date and department
- Minimum stock level for reordering
When stock falls below the minimum, reorder before it runs out.
Issue items properly
Issue items to departments or staff against a record. Ask for returns of reusable items, such as sports equipment, at the end of the term.
Do regular physical checks
Once or twice a year, check assets and stock physically against records. Investigate missing items and update conditions.
Plan purchases with data
Inventory records show what is used most, what is lying unused and what needs replacing. This helps plan budgets and avoid duplicate purchases.
Assign responsibility
Assign an owner for each area: the lab in-charge for labs, the sports teacher for sports equipment and the office for stationery. Clear ownership reduces loss.
Summary
Separate assets and consumables, keep a tagged asset register, track stock with reorder levels, issue items against records, check physically and use data to plan purchases.
If you would like to run this from one simple dashboard, book a live demo of Class Command. Most schools are set up within 48 hours.