# Assets

How to track equipment and vehicles in Job Book: the Assets list and its saved views, the tabs of the asset form, flagging an asset for maintenance, and the Asset Management grid.

Source: https://getjobbook.com/help/Assets
Last updated: 2026-09-17

## Key Concepts

An asset is a piece of equipment or a vehicle that the company tracks: a total station, a drone, a truck. The Assets list is the company's equipment and fleet register. Each has
a record of its own, with an owner, a storage location and a maintenance flag. Assets and Safety together are
where Job Book keeps its maintenance and inspection records. The **Assets** card's help tooltip reads "Manage your
company's assets and even assign ownership to employees."

An asset is one record, and three ideas on it drive everything else on this page:

- **Requires Attention** and **Problem Description:** on the **Maintenance** tab are how you say an asset needs
  work. See [Flagging an asset for maintenance](#flagging-an-asset-for-maintenance).
- **Decommissioned**: a checkbox in its own panel below the tabs, so it belongs to the whole record whichever tab
  is showing. It is how an asset is taken out of service for good.
- **Line Items** on the **Integration** tab tie a physical asset to the
  [Equipment and Materials](https://getjobbook.com/help/Administration_Settings#equipment-and-materials) cost items it is billed under, so
  the total station in the yard and the line that charges for it are the same thing to the system.

### One field, three labels

An asset's equipment number is labelled three different ways, and its class and serial number drift too. They are
one field each; only the label changes with the screen.

| On the form | On the Assets list card | In the Asset Management grid |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Equipment Number:** | **Equipment #:** | **Asset #** |
| **Serial Number:** | **Serial #:** | **Serial #** |
| **Equipment Class:** | **Class:** | **Asset Class** |

This page uses the form's label and gives the others where they appear.

### Who can use Assets

Every role can look an asset up. A Job Coordinator on their own cannot create one or record a problem against
one; see [Users and Employee Profiles](https://getjobbook.com/help/Users_and_Employee_Profiles#user-roles).

The **Asset Management** grid is for Managers and Administrators only.

## Performing Common Tasks

### Opening the Assets list

On the dashboard, in the **Assets** card, click **Explore**. The screen is titled **Assets** and opens on the
**All** saved view.

![The Assets list on the All view](https://getjobbook.com/_astro/asset-list.4SutfHua.png)

*Requires Attention and Decommissioned are the views to check when equipment is out of action.*

The saved views along the top decide which assets you see:

- **All**: every asset on the system.
- **Requires Attention**: only the assets whose **Requires Attention** checkbox is ticked.
- **Decommissioned**: only the assets whose **Decommissioned** checkbox is ticked.

A saved view holding nothing reads **No records to display**.

- Type into the search box, which reads "Type and press Enter to search", and press Enter, or click **Search**.
- **Create** opens a blank asset form and **Export to Excel** downloads the list.
- Each card reads **Name:**, **Class:**, **Serial #:** and **Equipment #:**. Click the card, or the chevron
  (`>`) button at its right-hand end, to open the asset.

### Viewing an asset

Opening an asset from the list gives you its display view, which is read-only. The buttons above and below the
record are **Edit**, **Export to PDF**, **Delete** and **Back**, which returns you to the list.

![The display view of an asset, open on the Equipment Info tab](https://getjobbook.com/_astro/asset-display.DwBjTSi-.png)

*Nothing changes here until you click Edit.*

- **Equipment Details:** holds the tabs **Equipment Info**, **Attachments**, **Accounting**, **Maintenance** and
  **Integration**. The display view opens on **Equipment Info**.
- Every field on every tab is shown, whether it holds a value or not, so an empty label means nothing was entered.
- **Decommissioned:** sits below the tabs, outside them, and stays visible whichever tab you are on.

### Creating an asset

There are two ways in:

- On the dashboard, in the **Assets** card, click **Create New**.
- In the Assets list, click **Create**.

The form opens titled **Create**, headed **Equipment Details:**, with the same tabs as the display view. Work
through the tabs and save once at the end: the **Decommissioned** checkbox and the **Save** and **Cancel** buttons
sit below the tabs and apply to the whole record.

**Equipment Name:** is the only field with a red asterisk beside it, so it is the only one the form requires. Save with it empty and the form highlights it in red, on this tab.
Everything else can be left blank and filled in later.

### The Equipment Info tab

The first tab describes the asset itself.

![The Equipment Info tab of the blank asset form](https://getjobbook.com/_astro/asset-create-equipment-info.CXIF-wEg.png)

*What the asset is and where it is kept.*

| Field | What you enter |
| --- | --- |
| **Equipment Name:** | Required. The name the asset is known by, such as Trimble S7 Total Station. |
| **Equipment Class:** | A drop-down. The class the asset belongs to, such as Survey Instrument. |
| **Manufacturer:** | A drop-down. |
| **Year:** | A number box, with the placeholder "year...". |
| **Size:** | Free text. |
| **Description:** | Free text; you can type multiple lines here. |
| **Serial Number:** | The manufacturer's serial number. |
| **Equipment Number:** | Your own number for the asset. |
| **Plate Number:** | For a vehicle, its licence plate. |
| **Vendor:** | A drop-down. |
| **Mileage/Usage:** | **Value:** and **Unit of Measure:**, side by side. The grid's **Usage** column shows them together, as in "10000 kms". |
| **Misc 1:**, **Misc 2:**, **Misc 3:** | Free-text boxes for anything your company tracks that the other fields do not cover. |
| **Storage Location:** | A searchable picker reading "Find a location...", for where the asset is kept. Locations of your own are set up on the [Asset Locations](https://getjobbook.com/help/Administration_Settings#asset-locations) list. |

### The Attachments tab

The second tab holds files. Each upload area starts empty with its own **Add** button:

- **Manuals:** for the asset's manuals.
- **Misc Attachments:** for any other files you want kept with the record.

![The Attachments tab of the blank asset form](https://getjobbook.com/_astro/asset-create-attachments.5Et1iJsD.png)

*Keep the manual with the asset, so nobody has to hunt for it later.*

### The Accounting tab

The third tab is the accounting record for the asset.

![The Accounting tab of the blank asset form](https://getjobbook.com/_astro/asset-create-accounting.jO0u0L1A.png)

*What the asset cost and how it is being written down. Nothing here is required, so fill it in when accounting wants it.*

| Field | What you enter |
| --- | --- |
| **Acquisition Date:** | A date picker. When you bought the asset. |
| **Acquisition Cost:** | A currency box, marked `$`. |
| **Depreciation:** | A currency box. |
| **Useful Life:** | A number box, with the placeholder "years...". |
| **Salvage Value:** | A currency box. |
| **Previous Depreciation:** | A currency box. |
| **Depreciation Period:** | A number box, with the placeholder "years...". |
| **Maintenance Expiration:** | A date picker. The Asset Management grid has a column for it. |
| **Warranty Expiration:** | A date picker. |

Below those, **Lease Information:** groups the boxes for an asset you lease rather than own: the lease
**Start** and end dates, then **Buyout:** and **Monthly Cost:**, both currency boxes.

### The Maintenance tab

The fourth tab, headed **Maintenance:**, is where an asset is flagged as needing work:

- **Requires Attention**: a checkbox.
- **Problem Description:** a text box for what is wrong.

![The Maintenance tab of the blank asset form](https://getjobbook.com/_astro/asset-create-maintenance.BZhgB7nQ.png)

*Requires Attention, ticked here, puts the asset in the Requires Attention view and turns its stripe red in the grid.*

You would not usually set these on a brand-new asset. See
[Flagging an asset for maintenance](#flagging-an-asset-for-maintenance) for how they are used day to day.

### The Integration tab

The fifth tab connects the asset to the rest of Job Book:

- **Owner:** a picker reading "Find an employee...". This is the "assign ownership to employees" the **Assets**
  card's tooltip promises.
- **Line Items:** an **Add** button. **Add** does not open a separate window: it inserts a row with a picker
  reading "Find a cost item...", and a remove icon to its left in case you add a row by mistake. Click **Add**
  again for each further line item.

![The Integration tab of the blank asset form](https://getjobbook.com/_astro/asset-create-integration.DZ6YB8DG.png)

*Owner records who has the asset; Line Items ties it to the cost item it is billed under.*

The cost items the **Line Items:** picker offers are the
[Equipment and Materials](https://getjobbook.com/help/Administration_Settings#equipment-and-materials) items set up under
Administration.

### Editing an asset

Open the asset from the Assets list and click **Edit** on its display view. The screen is headed **Edit** and shows
the same tabs, the same **Decommissioned** checkbox below them, and **Save** and **Cancel** above and below
the record.

![An asset open for editing, on the Equipment Info tab](https://getjobbook.com/_astro/asset-edit.Hx0QLh45.png)

*Maintenance flags and Decommissioned are set from Edit.*

You can change any field. Click **Save** when you are done; **Cancel** leaves without saving.

### Flagging an asset for maintenance

When a piece of equipment breaks or is due for service, record it against the asset:

- Open the asset from the Assets list and click **Edit**.
- Go to the **Maintenance** tab.
- Tick **Requires Attention**.
- Type what is wrong into **Problem Description:**, something short and specific such as "Flat Tire".
- Click **Save**.

The flag then shows up in three places:

- the Assets list's **Requires Attention** saved view now includes the asset;
- the Asset Management grid shows your text in its **Maintenance Problem** column;
- that asset's status stripe in the grid turns red.

When the work is done, edit the asset again and clear **Requires Attention**. To take an asset out of service for
good, tick **Decommissioned** below the tabs instead; it then shows in the list's **Decommissioned** saved view.

### Managing assets in the grid

On the dashboard, in the **Assets** card, click **Manage Assets**. The screen that opens is titled
**Asset Management**.

This is a grid rather than a list of cards: the report grid described on [Report Grids](https://getjobbook.com/help/Report_Grids), so
the column menu, the grouping bar, the template toolbar and **Export to Excel** work as they do there.

![The Asset Management grid](https://getjobbook.com/_astro/asset-management.CnhdyxX2.png)

*The whole fleet in one report grid, for Managers and Administrators.*

Above the grid sit a search box reading "Type here to search equipment...", then the report grid's own toolbar:
**Export to Excel**, the template toolbar, a count on the right such as **Showing 1 of 1 assets**, and the
grouping bar under them.

The grid opens with the columns in the table below. Each carries a box in the filter row beneath its header and a column
menu behind the ⋮ icon in the header, for hiding the column or filtering on it. Type in a filter row box and the
grid narrows to the rows containing what you typed:

| Column | Notes |
| --- | --- |
| **Name** | Sorted ascending when the screen opens. Each value is a link that opens the asset. |
| **Manufacturer** | |
| **Asset Class** | The asset's **Equipment Class**. |
| **Serial #** | The asset's **Serial Number**. |
| **Asset #** | The asset's **Equipment Number**. |
| **Usage** | The **Mileage/Usage** value and unit. Its filter is a number box with an **Is equal to** operator and a filter button. |
| **Maintenance Expiration** | The column is too narrow for the whole word, so the header reads "Maintenance Expirat..." on screen. Its filter is a date picker, again with an **Is equal to** operator and a filter button. |
| **Storage Location** | |
| **Maintenance Problem** | Whatever was typed into **Problem Description:** on the Maintenance tab. |
| **Actions** | A pencil button, which opens the same form as **Edit**. |

More columns are hidden to start with. Turn them on from the column menu's **Columns** checklist:
**Misc 1**, **Misc 2**, **Misc 3**, **Acq. Date**, **Acq. Cost**, **Depreciation**, **Life**, **Salvage Value**,
**Previous Depreciation**, **Depreciation Period**, **Warranty Expiration** and **Vendor**.

Each row carries a coloured stripe down its left edge: green for a healthy asset, red for one flagged
**Requires Attention**. Nothing on the screen itself explains the colours.

## Related Guides

- Assets
- [Report Grids](https://getjobbook.com/help/Report_Grids)
- [Administration Settings](https://getjobbook.com/help/Administration_Settings)
- [Safety](https://getjobbook.com/help/Safety)
- [Task Dashboard](https://getjobbook.com/help/task-dashboard)
- [Users and Employee Profiles](https://getjobbook.com/help/Users_and_Employee_Profiles)