AssetTiger: Where an Asset Is Between Scans

What is AssetTiger?

AssetTiger is cloud software for keeping a list of your assets, who has them and when each is due for maintenance. MyAssetTag.com makes it, and its FAQ says more than 100,000 organizations use it.

Each asset carries a barcode or QR label, printed on an office printer or bought as a durable label. People scan them with the phone they already have, so no special hardware is needed (AssetTiger FAQ). The mobile app is listed as Asset Tiger on the App Store and Google Play.

Check-out and check-in run on scans. A check-out scan assigns an asset to a person, department or location, and a second scan checks it back in. An audit means walking the site and scanning each label, and AssetTiger builds the reconciliation report (AssetTiger FAQ).

Is AssetTiger free?

AssetTiger is free for a 30-day trial covering up to 250 assets and two users, with no credit card (AssetTiger pricing). After the trial, its FAQ says you can choose a paid plan or continue with limited features. It also says "there is no permanently free tier for active organizations" on the current pricing model.

Paid plans are priced by the number of assets, not by user. The pricing page puts it as "Pay for assets, not seats." Plans run from 500 assets on Basic to 250,000 on Enterprise (AssetTiger pricing).

When does AssetTiger update an asset's location?

AssetTiger updates an asset's location when someone records a move, most often by scanning it in the app. Its FAQ says that when a user scans and updates an asset in the mobile app, "the location updates immediately".

The app can also capture GPS coordinates at check-in or transfer, and the dashboard shows those points on a Google Map. Scans made offline wait on the phone and sync later (AssetTiger FAQ).

Each update is kept in the asset's location history (AssetTiger FAQ). So the history shows where an asset was each time someone scanned or updated it. A tag adds where it has been in between, with nobody scanning it.

What happens between two scans?

Between two scans, the record keeps the last one. Take a generator signed out at the yard at 07:10 on Monday and scanned back in at 16:30 on Friday. It works at Site A on Monday and Tuesday, then moves to Site B on Wednesday. Pick a day to compare the record with the tag.

Ask on Wednesday afternoon where the generator is. The record shows it checked out since Monday morning, and the tag shows Site B.

How does a tag report location without a scan?

A crowdsourced tag reports through any phone that passes it, so nobody has to scan it. The tag broadcasts a Bluetooth signal, and a passing phone reports where it heard the tag. These networks are large (Apple counts over a billion iPhone, iPad and Mac devices, and Google over a billion Android devices).

A tag needs no wiring and no data plan. Its battery lasts up to six years, depending on its size. Each report adds a dated point to the asset's history, so the trail builds itself between scans.

Can you get an alert when an asset leaves a site?

Yes, with a tag and a geofence. Draw a geofence around a yard or site, and the tag sends an exit alert when the asset is next reported outside it. AssetTiger's email alerts cover dates and stock, such as overdue check-outs and upcoming maintenance (AssetTiger FAQ).

The alert matters most on assets that leave the building and come back, because their last scan goes out of date fastest. If a generator moves to a second site midweek, its tag sends an exit alert from the first. The record still shows the check-out.

Lent-out kit works the same way. The register's overdue check-out alert says when a projector or survey instrument is late back, and the tag shows where it is.

The equipment tracking system guide covers tagging a whole fleet, starting with the yard.

What to expect from tags on your assets

Tags report through the phones that pass them, whoever those phones belong to. That shapes how they update.

• Updates come from passing phones. A staffed site or a busy yard updates all through the working day. A locked yard at night updates less often, and picks up again when people return.
• Building-level position. The position comes from the phone that heard the tag. It gets you to the right site, yard or building, and the asset number does the rest.
• Where, not who. A tag shows where an asset is. AssetTiger's check-out, or a sign-out sheet, stays the record of who has it. The register also has a REST API with read and write access to its records (AssetTiger FAQ). So it can take location updates from other software.
• A sealed tag for outdoor assets. The two larger tags are sealed to IP68 for assets that live outside. The asset tracking tags guide covers mounting by surface.