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Before a veterinary clinic puts software in place to monitor and manage its assets and equipment, it needs to understand the basic financial side of the clinic and know the details of every asset it owns.
What Is Asset Management?
Asset management is important for veterinary clinics. It manages and monitors assets and equipment in a systematic way. It is the process of operating, maintaining and disposing of assets in the most cost-effective way.
Asset management is a systematic approach to governing and realizing value from the things an organization is responsible for over their whole lifecycles, as ISO 55000 describes it.
How Is Asset Management Done?
Asset management covers the whole lifecycle of an asset, from procurement and operation to final disposal and renewal.
The main objective of asset management is to achieve the lowest overall lifecycle cost for assets, while weighing other factors such as business continuity and risk when decisions are made.
It also involves weighing opportunities, balancing costs and managing threats against the performance of assets. The aim is the best return on investment and meeting the organization’s objectives.
Why Is Asset Management Software Important for Veterinary Clinics?
Veterinary clinics need proper asset management software to monitor their assets and equipment in a structured way.
It is also needed to get the full benefit of the software’s features, including better productivity and efficiency, which lead to a better return on investment.
Working without any software is risky, because every item of equipment matters to the business.
Some of the common assets and equipment in a veterinary clinic are:
- Examination and procedure tables
- Lighting
- Veterinary stethoscopes
- Veterinary ultrasounds
- Digital X-ray imaging machines
- Anesthesia machines
- IV pumps
- Autoclaves and sterilizers
All the assets and equipment in a veterinary clinic need maintenance at some point. The software licenses the clinic uses will also expire someday, and you need advance notice to renew them.
All assets have to be tracked so you know exactly what you have and what you need at any given time.
Here are a few things organizations can do to manage their assets better:
- Extend the lifecycle
- Minimize asset and equipment loss
- Keep precise asset information
- Save time and money
- Schedule maintenance
- Get the most out of each asset
- Establish compliance
Important Asset Management Features of Software for Veterinary Clinics
Asset Tracking
Asset management software for veterinary clinics keeps current information on every asset. It helps schedule maintenance and plays an important role in extending the life of an asset. It can also let you manage multi-quantity items under one asset number or ID.
Asset Tagging
Asset tagging helps veterinary clinics keep all their assets and equipment tracked and maintained regularly. It supports the condition and service life of each asset and makes assets easier to find during an audit.
Check-In and Check-Out Process
Check-in and check-out is an important feature to look for in asset tracking software, because it improves accuracy and cuts the time spent handing assets over and receiving them back.
Controlled Inventory
Software for a veterinary clinic gives an easy view of the clinic’s hardware and software. Visibility across all assets gives the organization better administrative control and accountability.
Asset Lifecycle Management
Hardware and software assets have limits, such as a disposal or renewal date. Software for a veterinary clinic keeps track of hardware purchases, their useful life and similar details.
This information supports decisions such as replacing old or faulty assets, removing unsafe equipment, updating a system, or knowing when to extend or renew a contract with a vendor or service provider.
Strategic Inventory Planning
When a clinic’s assets and equipment are tracked, it becomes easier to plan future investments. A single, central software system for veterinary clinics lets you scan all assets and equipment and view inventory data for storage planning and budgeting.
Increased Accountability
When system administrators can quickly isolate unsafe or outdated equipment, it is easier for the organization to spot risks and prevent them before a major problem arises.
Maintenance Management
Regular maintenance of assets is necessary to keep the clinic running and growing. Maintenance does not only mean repair. It means following regular, planned processes to keep equipment up to date and in good working condition, instead of fixing a piece of equipment only when it breaks down.
Equipment should be lined and labeled, its wearing surfaces should be examined and replaced, and oiling should be done on a regular schedule.
Equipment in good working condition needs regular inspection and adjustment to keep performing well for a long time.
Asset Audits and Physical Verification
You need to verify that you own your assets and where they are located. Asset management software lets you schedule audits, track their status and correct records for missing and unrecorded assets.
Physical asset verification is done by auditors to check the number of assets that actually exist in an organization. The process verifies each asset’s presence, location and condition.
At the end of the financial year, a business needs to know how many assets it has, where they are, when they were bought, whether they are in use and so on.
Benefits of Audit and Physical Verification
- Confirm that all assets exist
- Manage internal compliance
- Automated verification of asset tags and serial numbers
- Verification of details like description and location
- Notifications and alerts
Good software for veterinary clinics should communicate with its users. It should send automated emails or app notifications to the right people when specific events occur.
It helps a great deal when the right people are notified about matters such as past actions, misuse of assets, budget limits and audit checklists.
Why Every Clinic Benefits From Tracking Its Assets
An asset management system has become an important part of every business, whatever its industry.
Understanding the lifecycle of an asset is very important, from purchase until the end of its life and final disposal. Good maintenance and timely repair can extend the life of assets and keep them working efficiently.
An asset management system helps you track and monitor your business assets. Asset Infinity is an asset management and tracking system that you can try with a 14-day free trial.