In the retail world, the fall is a time of year when companies conduct their annual inventory audit. It’s also the perfect time for a school district to conduct their own inventory audit! In this article, we’ll review why this is the perfect time to perform your own inventory and how it can help your school district moving forward. Whether you are just starting out or you’re looking to get back on track with your inventory management, the fall is a great time to conduct an audit.
Assets are more likely to be in their expected locations
Inventory asset tracking is a crucial component of inventory management. Conducting an inventory allows you to have confidence that assets are more likely to be in their expected locations. With the hustle and bustle that a new school year brings, having a good grasp on where assets are located in your district is crucial. Getting this baseline to start the year will put you in a great place to implement best practices for monitoring major assets as they move and transfer locations.
Chromebooks have recently been scanned in
Another reason inventory auditing in the fall is beneficial is that Chromebooks are relatively new and very ubiquitous items. They are usually just being introduced to schools in late summer or early fall. This means that most inventory computers have the most up-to-date information about what schools have already purchased. If you perform your inventory audit during another time of the year, you may have to manually input information on what schools have purchased. This can cause confusion, especially if you have a very large inventory. Although some schools might have already returned their Chromebooks at that point in time.
You are not competing with finals or standardized testing
The fall is typically not as hectic of a time as the spring. The fall does not typically have any major events that would distract students or teachers. This can be difficult if you conduct your inventory audit in the spring, when most schools are still very busy. In the spring teachers and students are focused on finishing the year strong and want to minimize distractions. It is also a good time to conduct the audit because it is before schools are purchasing again for the next year. By doing your inventory audit in the fall, you will be able to accurately reflect what is currently in your district and make adjustments as necessary before school is back in session again.
You have more time to analyze your results for next year’s budgeting
Another advantage of inventory auditing in the fall is that you will have more time to analyze your results and make adjustments for next year’s budgeting. This is important because school districts often have very strict rules regarding how they distribute funding to their schools. You may have to provide documentation and receipts from your previous purchases. It will be significantly easier to complete this documentation if you utilize the fall to conduct your inventory audit.
Now that you know why the fall may be the best time to conduct your inventory audit and how it can benefit your District moving forward, what are you waiting for? Divot Assets is ready to help answer any questions regarding your inventory needs and be as involved as you’d like while you complete this very important process.
