AssetBase User Guide
DocsAB-018
Custody & the Checkout Desk
Checking assets in and out, custody transfers, and who holds what
Some assets stay where they are put. Others move constantly — laptops, radios, test instruments, hand tools — and the question people actually ask about them is not where is it but who has it.
Custody answers that. Checking an asset out records who took it and when it is due back; checking it in records that it returned, and what condition it came back in.
Checking an asset out
From the asset, choose Check out and record:
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Custodian | The person taking responsibility for the asset |
| Due back | Optional. Leave empty for an open-ended assignment |
| Condition | The state it left in — so a dispute later has a starting point |
| Notes | Anything worth remembering: the job, the site, the reason |
The asset is now marked as checked out and shows its custodian everywhere it appears — the register, search results and the asset's own page.
Checking it back in
Check in closes the assignment. You can record the condition it came back in and any notes.
Recording condition on the way out and on the way in is what makes damage attributable. Without the outbound condition there is no evidence about when the damage happened.
The Checkout Desk
Checkout Desk lists everything currently out: which asset, who has it, when they took it, and when it is due back. It is the page to open when you want to know what is outstanding — at the end of a shift, before a stock-take, or when chasing returns.
An asset that is out and past its due date stands out here. Assets with no due date stay listed until they are checked in.
Before an audit, clear the desk if you can. An asset legitimately in someone's van is not on the floor to be scanned. Knowing that in advance turns a confusing "missing" result into an expected one.
The custody trail
Every check-out and check-in is kept, permanently, against the asset. The asset's history shows each movement in order: who, when, condition, notes.
Nothing in that trail is editable. That is the point — custody is only useful as evidence if it cannot be tidied up afterwards.
Custody and audits
A checked-out asset is still a registered asset. It is still expected during a stock-take and it will be reported missing if nobody scans it, because from the register's point of view it exists and should be somewhere.
That is usually the right answer: an asset nobody can produce is a finding, whether it is lost or simply in a van. The custody record tells you which, immediately, and the audit's notes are the place to record the explanation.
Working offline
Check-out and check-in work on the handheld without a connection. The action is held on the device and sent when signal returns, and it will not be duplicated if the app retries.