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Download the equipment sign out sheet template (CSV)
Download the free equipment sign out sheet template (CSV). It has a header row and two filled example rows, one closed loan and one open.
- DRL-014, a hammer drill: closed. J. Rivera took it to Job 4412 Maple St, due back 2026-09-12. It came back that day at 16:40 in good condition, with one spare bit noted as missing.
- AV-207, a three-head LED lighting kit: open. M. Chen took it to Convention Hall B, due back 2026-09-11. That date has passed, and the returned cell is still blank.
Open the file in Excel with Data, then From Text/CSV, then Transform Data. Select the serial column, set Data Type to Text, pick Replace current, and choose Close & Load. Opened with a double-click, the file loads serials as numbers (Microsoft: keeping leading zeros and large numbers). Excel then drops leading zeros, so 00123456 becomes 123456, and every digit after the 15th turns into a zero.
In Google Sheets, use File, then Import. Then set the serial column to plain text with Format, then Number, then Plain text. Serials you type after that keep their leading zeros.
To print it for a clipboard, delete the example rows. Add borders to the header and a page of empty rows below it, then print in landscape.
What should an equipment sign out sheet include?
An equipment sign out sheet should record the item, who took it, where to, when it is due, and its condition out and back. The template does that in eleven columns. Together they answer the questions that come up when something goes missing.
Keep the column names exactly as in the file, lowercase with underscores. The sheet can then move into other software later without retyping a row. An asset register, the list of everything you own, uses the same asset_id, so the two records line up.
| Column | What goes in it | Why it has a column |
|---|---|---|
| asset_id | Your own permanent short code, e.g. DRL-014 | Serials are long and get copied wrong. A short prefix and a number is what people write on a clipboard. |
| description | What a crew member calls it out loud | Someone searching the sheet types "hammer drill", not the model number. |
| serial | Manufacturer serial or service tag | A police report or an insurance claim asks for it. Format the column as Text. |
| condition_out | One of new, good, worn, damaged | A fixed list of four words, so the two condition columns can be compared by formula. |
| taken_by | The person who carried it away | The person holding the item is the one accountable, even when a supervisor approved the loan. |
| signed_out | Date and time, YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM | Back the same day is a different case from a four-week loan. |
| due_back | Expected return date | The date the overdue check runs on. A blank means open-ended, and a row without a date can never turn overdue. |
| job_site | Job number, site name, truck or room | What you search when something does not come back. |
| condition_in | Same four words as condition_out | Filled at the counter on return, with the item in front of you. |
| returned | Date and time back | A blank here is what the weekly check looks for. |
| notes | Missing pieces, damage, who to bill | Free text, last, so it never holds up the other columns. |
Use the same four words in condition_out and condition_in. A drop-down list on both columns stops anyone typing "ok". Then put this formula in a spare column: =IFERROR(MATCH(I2,{"new","good","worn","damaged"},0)>MATCH(D2,{"new","good","worn","damaged"},0),""). It shows TRUE on every row where the item came back worse than it left.
A conditional formatting rule with the formula =AND($G2<>"",$J2="",$G2<TODAY()) turns each overdue open row red. Apply it to the rows below the header. Blank rows stay white, because the rule skips rows without a due date.
On paper, taken_by is a signature line, and the signature makes the row a custody record. Check the law before you dock pay for a lost tool.
The federal floor is the Fair Labor Standards Act. A charge for tools, damage or theft cannot take pay below minimum wage or cut into overtime pay (U.S. Department of Labor Fact Sheet #16). State rules can be stricter.
Tool sign out sheet: the columns to add for tools
A tool sign out sheet uses the same eleven columns, plus a few that tools need. Tools leave in kits, run on shared batteries and ride on trucks. Add a column only when someone at the counter will fill it in.
- pieces_out and pieces_in. A case or gang box goes out as one row, with many pieces inside. Count the pieces at the counter both ways. When the counts differ, the notes column says what is missing.
- battery_packs_out and battery_packs_in. One battery pack fits many tools on the same platform, so packs move between tools. Count them out and back like the tools.
- A truck or van number in job_site. A tool that lives on a vehicle is signed out to the truck. Fleet tool management covers tools kept across several trucks.
- Consumables stay off the sheet. Blades, sanding discs and fasteners are used up, so they never come back. Record them on a separate issue list, or they leave rows that never close.
- cal_due for measuring tools. Torque wrenches, gauges and meters have a calibration date. Set due_back no later than cal_due, so the tool is back before its check. When a gauge fails its check, the tool crib checkout system guide shows how to trace its loans.
Initials instead of a full signature keep the counter moving. Either way, the row names the person who carried the tool out.
Extra columns for AV kits, IT loaners and lab equipment
Other shared equipment needs its own extra columns. The eleven stay the base.
- AV and production gear. Add show_or_event and pack_list_ref, pointing at the case manifest. Use pieces_out and pieces_in as for tool kits, because a case can come back short.
- IT devices and loaners. Put the service tag in serial, and add encrypted and wipe_required_on_return. Put a department or ticket number in job_site.
- Lab and medical equipment. Add last_cleaned, use cal_due as for measuring tools, and make due_back required. A device can pass its calibration date while it is out.
- Schools and lending desks. Put the class or teacher in job_site, since that is who you ask about a late return.
Why returns go missing from a sign out sheet
A return goes missing when the item comes back and nobody writes it down. Signing out happens at the counter, where someone hands the item over. A return can happen after hours, straight back to the shelf. The row then stays open, though the item is back.
Take the open AV-207 row. The blank returned cell can mean three things: the kit is still out, it came back unrecorded, or it is lost. The sheet alone cannot tell you which.
Each unrecorded return leaves an open row. Once there are many, a real loss is hard to spot among the clerical blanks. Two more gaps come from the sheet itself.
- It records what someone wrote. A row that reads "signed out 07:10 to Job 4412" says where the item was meant to go. If the truck left without it, the row is wrong all week.
- The sheet stays at the shop. It names one person. When the item changes hands on site, nothing on the sheet records it.
Keep the sign out sheet, and add where each item was last seen
The sheet records who took each item, for which job and in what condition. A tag on the item shows where it was last seen, and when. Each answers a question the other cannot, so keep both.
Drills, meters and kit cases were rarely tracked, because nothing this small carried a tracker with web access and site alerts. A coin-sized tag now can, with no wiring or data plan. It is crowdsourced: any phone that passes 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).
The battery lasts up to six years, depending on its size, so the tag stays on the item between counts. The smallest tag is 26 mm (1 in) across, made for tools and cases.
The asset_id ties the sheet and the tag together. When the returned cell and the tag's last report disagree, you have found a clerical blank or a real loss. The map shows where to look.
Start with the items that keep rows open. Run the sheet for a month before you tag anything, and count the late or never-closed rows per asset_id. The items with the most are the ones to tag first. For a whole crib, see which tools belong in a tool tracking system.
How to check an equipment sign out sheet each week
Check the sheet once a week, in a fixed slot such as Friday afternoon. Close the clerical blanks fast, so the real problems stand out.
- Filter to rows where returned is blank and due_back is before today. These are the red rows from the formatting rule.
- Check the rows with a blank due_back too, because the rule never flags them. Give each one a date.
- Sort the open rows by due_back, oldest first.
- Open the tag map next to the sheet and look up each asset_id's last location and time.
- If the item was last seen at your yard or shop, it is back. Fill in returned with the date the history shows it arriving, check its condition, and close the row.
- If it was last seen at the job named in the row, it is still in use. Set a new due_back and note why.
- If it was last seen somewhere it should not be, such as a finished job, send one person to collect it that week.
- If it was last seen leaving a site and not since, treat it as missing. Start with the stolen tool and equipment recovery guide.
What to expect from tags on signed-out equipment
Tags give each signed-out item a dated record of where it was seen. How often that record updates depends on the phones that pass.
- Updates follow passing phones. A busy shop or an active job site updates all day. A quiet yard at night updates less often. Each report carries a time, so check it before you drive out.
- Building-level position. Expect the right building, site or yard, not the right room or shelf. The asset_id on the item does the rest.
- Closed steel boxes. Inside a closed gang box or steel cabinet, a tag may report only once the lid opens.
- Where, not who. A tag shows where an item is. The signed row shows who took it and in what condition, so keep the sheet as the custody record.
Frequently asked questions
What is an equipment sign out sheet?
It is a log of who took each piece of shared equipment, when, for which job, and when it came back. It also records the condition going out and coming back. Crews, schools and IT desks use one to know who to ask when something is missing.
What should be included in an equipment sign out sheet?
Include an asset ID, description, serial, condition out, the person who took it, the date out, the due date, and the job or site. On return, add condition in, the return date, and notes. Without a due date, a row can never turn overdue.
How is a sign out sheet different from an inventory?
An inventory or asset register lists what you own, one row per item. A sign out sheet logs each loan, so one item gets a new row every time it leaves. Use the same asset ID in both, so the two line up.
What is different on a tool sign out sheet?
A tool sign out sheet adds columns for how tools move. Count pieces out and in for kits and gang boxes, count battery packs, and allow a truck number as the location. Keep consumables like blades off it, and give measuring tools a calibration due date.
How do I make an equipment sign out sheet in Excel or Google Sheets?
Start from the free template. In Excel, import it with Data, then From Text/CSV, then Transform Data, and set the serial column to Text so leading zeros stay. In Google Sheets, use File, then Import, and set the serial column to plain text. Then add a drop-down list to both condition columns and a rule that turns overdue rows red.
Should people sign an equipment sign out sheet?
Yes. A signature or initials make each row a custody record, which shows who had the item if there is damage or an insurance claim. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, charging a worker for tools, damage or theft cannot take pay below minimum wage or cut into overtime pay. State rules can be stricter.
How often should I check the sign out sheet?
Weekly, in a fixed slot. Filter to rows where returned is blank and the due date has passed, then check each item's last reported location. A weekly check keeps the list of open rows short enough to chase.
Do tracking tags replace the equipment sign out sheet?
No, they answer a different question. A tag shows where an item was last seen, and when. The sheet shows who took it, for which job and in what condition. Keep the sheet as the custody record and check it against the tag map each week.
Next step
Keep the sheet. See where each item was last seen.
Download the template and run it for a month. Then tell us which items keep leaving rows open, and we will suggest a tag size for each.