2011 Review of Wasp Barcode Technologies – MobileAsset

Wasp Barcode Technologies - MobileAsset
214-547-4100
www.waspbarcode.com 

Best Fit:
Businesses needing to track mobile assets, such as tools, equipment and vehicles, including scheduling and check-in/out features.

Strengths:

• Excellent location tracking capabilities
• Built-in barcode scanning support
• Intuitive interface

Potential Limitations:

• Limited to a single book per asset
• No compliance reporting for FASB 109, Sec. 179, IRS
• Limited asset type, class, depreciation methods

From the December 2011 Review of Fixed Asset Management Programs

MobileAsset is designed primarily for direct business use, but can also be used by accounting professionals serving multiple clients, with three versions of the system providing various levels of asset location tracking functions along with depreciation, forecasting and asset accounting capabilities. The Enterprise version, which is the most comprehensive, is reviewed here. Wasp Barcode also offers a broad product line that includes inventory management, point-of-sale, time and attendance monitoring, and barcode technologies and supplies.

Basic System Functions - 4.25 Stars
MobileAsset offers an exceptionally user-friendly interface, with guides and wizards helping users create companies and import or add new assets. It offers options for creating templates or copying entities or assets, as well as tools for mass acquisitions and disposals. The system opens into a home screen that offers icons for the primary system areas, including asset management functions, administration, reports, a list of forms, label options, and mobile tools and utilities. Upon selection of one of these, a submenu of icons appears with access to specific tasks, such as disposals, checking assets in or out, calculating depreciation and other activities.

Asset selection screens are spreadsheet-based, displaying summary information for descriptions, types, location, date acquired and asset tag ID, with an icon menu across the top of the screen for creating new items, disposing, duplicating, maintenance, and grouping functions, as well as assigning assets to individuals and tracking responsibility and asset return dates.

Asset detail screens include extensive information fields and the ability to customize up to 20, with tabs for accessing depreciation, asset linking, transaction histories, images, documentation and custom fields. Asset information can be changed individually, by group or globally.

As the program’s name would imply, MobileAsset is very focused on managing assets that are mobile and may be checked out for defined periods of time, such as vehicles, computers, tools and other equipment. Additional customization features include the ability to create alerts based on asset events such as overdue asset returns and maintenance needs. Security functions can be set to task-specific levels, enabling greater access for some users than others. The Enterprise version of the program can be used to manage multiple clients with any number of assets, with support for multiple concurrent users when networked.

Core Asset Management Features - 3.75 Stars
As previously noted, MobileAsset is exceptionally strong at asset tracking and management, with built-in barcode capabilities, check-in/check-out features that can be used for employees or customers (such as those at equipment rental businesses), and extensive location details. It even allows tracking and scheduling of other non-traditional assets, such as conference rooms and other resources.

The system’s asset depreciation and accounting management capabilities are geared primarily toward less complex asset bases, with only one book (tax) per asset and depreciation methods that include straight-line, double declining, 150% declining, custom declining balance and sum-of-the-years’ digits. Likewise, it supports only basic property class settings. For asset acquisitions and disposals, the program enables mass events, and can be used to manage assets in progress, those with multiple parts and parent-child relationships.