8 Best Free and Open Source Asset Tracking Software Solution

Data is the most critical and the most valuable asset organizations maintain. Collected in real-time, an effective data gathering system should tell you everything you need to know about the current direction, health, and state of your business. Yet, many businesses have a blind spot when it comes to the assets and property they currently hold.

Having a picture of your business that is complete and up-to-date is an essential part of management, maintenance, and future growth. Without knowing your current shape or size it’s effectively impossible to plan for future scaling and growth. When it comes to creating this picture—asset tracking software is a tool that more than carries its weight.

The first step to maximizing your organization’s efficiency is effectively managing its assets. The right software solution should integrate into your existing workflows, provide a data dashboard to visualize your firm, and work to ensure you can effectively maintain all necessary resources.

High-quality asset tracking software prevents poor decision-making when it comes to your internal resources. In both short and long-term use, it’s a solution that will eliminate resource scarcity and boost your financial performance with efficiencies and savings you didn’t even know you needed to make.

Here, we’ve compiled a list of the 8 best free and open-source asset tracking software packages to be considered for use in your firm. Each solution has a set of features and benefits well worth considering before making a choice to move your business forward.

Starting by taking a look at the fundamentals of high-quality asset tracking software and what makes a good solution for your firm, we’ve created a guide that should help you understand which choice is right for you and how to go about incorporating it into your existing workflows.

What Makes good Asset Tracking Software?

Asset tracking, in its simplest form, is simply a written record of your company’s existing assets. A notebook and pen are the minimal necessary tools for keeping tabs on your accounts manually. Upgrading to a spreadsheet would present a notable improvement, but there are even more practical, effective, and efficient ways to work now available.

The automated tools available today can make tracking and reporting on assets in real-time a key part of how a business runs. Capable of forecasting the future needs of a business and scaling up or down to any possible degree, current software solutions are creating efficiencies and capabilities that were unheard of even 20 years ago.

Implemented well, effective asset tracking software should be capable of providing a real-time picture of what’s happening at every level of your business.

Asset Tracking Software Benefits and Advantages

Reduced Admin Costs

An effective tracking system saves time and money when it comes to asset management. Reducing the likelihood of misplacing assets within the organization—a robust tracking solution eliminates time wasted searching and replacing lost assets. The right software should be viewed as an investment in your organization’s resources.

Increased Uptime and Reliability

Keeping tabs on maintenance and update schedules, Asset tracking software can be a powerful ally in eliminating unplanned downtime and making efficiency improvements. Automated alerts and pre-planned schedules can keep your assets in use for far longer than an ad-hoc or reactive approach to upkeep and maintenance.

Increased Accountability

Loss of assets and equipment is thought of as a normal part of business in many firms without robust management solutions. Creating budget gaps and unaccounted spending can generate generate uncertainty and issues quickly. Eliminating this uncertainty, asset tracking creates a record of transactions and a point of accountability for every asset the firm holds—making unexplained loss almost unheard of.

Increased Efficiency

More data inevitably means being able to identify more relationships and links within a business and more opportunities to place assets and tools where they can be best used. Good asset tracking solutions can help identify bottlenecks in business that would otherwise turn into traffic jams.

What to Look for in High-Quality Asset Tracking Software

Asset tracking is an essential tool for strong and scalable businesses. The key to taking advantage of what the software can offer is choosing the right solution to match the unique needs of your business.

With every organization having unique sets of working practices, requirements, and workflows—the ideal asset tracking solution will vary from one firm to the next. How do we analyze asset tracking software that works well from other solutions currently on the market? With no one-size-fits-all solution to the problem, we have to analyze the core set of functionality that really matters when it comes to finding great software.

Great asset tracking software should contain a core set of features that will work to enhance and improve all types of firms, these features include:

• Reporting and Updates. Being able to view the current state of affairs inside your organization is another key advantage of an asset tracking solution. Shareholders should be able to output a detailed real-time report that describes the current state of affairs inside a firm
• Advanced schedules. Planned maintenance and downtime for vital equipment should ideally be booked well in advance. A good solution should be able to keep track of this schedule, notify the assigned staff, and take the relevant asset out of production for a short time
• Create assigned responsibilities. A key part of any asset tracking solution should be the ability to assign business assets to an individual, department, or group as a point of contact to reach for access or maintenance
• Advanced booking. An ideal solution should enable users to book or check out an asset from inventory to maximize availability and access. A booking system is a key feature that helps to maintain a real-time picture of what is going on within an organization at any one time
• Inventory upkeep. Each asset within the system will be assigned a unique identifier to track it through its lifetime. An efficient system should allow users to scan asset tags, whether they’re visible barcodes, RFID, or NFC technology, and keep the system up-to-date with where an asset is and what it’s being used for

Factors to Consider Before Choosing Asset Tracking Software

Some factors of high-quality asset tracking software may be things that are far from the goals and plans of your organization today. Scaling and growth may not be on the horizon yet, for example, but still presents a factor well worth considering for the way your business changes into the future.

Here, we’ve built these considerations into choosing asset tracking software to create a solution that will continue to work long into the future as your organization shifts and changes. Some key questions you should ask when choosing an asset tracking solution should include:

• Is it scalable? It’s surprising how quickly you can outgrow an existing product or solution. How will the solution you choose today fare as the shape and size of your firm changes one year from now? How will it look in five years, or ten? A readily scalable solution is one that will help you prepare for the future
• Is it customizable? The right solution should conform to the requirements of your organization rather than the reverse being true. You should be able to set up your solution in a way that works with existing workflows and tools without having to radically re-shape your organization from the ground up
• Is it easy to learn? It should be relatively straightforward to get all team members on to a new solution or software package. How easy a new technology is to use has a direct correlation to how well its uptake goes and how often staff will update it in the future. Factors that go into how easy a solution can be to learn to include its interface, documentation, and the available learning resources it provides
• Can data be readily exported? You may one day need to migrate away from the solution you’re adopting today. Whether a question of scaling, licenses, or end of shelf-life—knowing you can take the data with you into a new package can save bundles of time and ensure later success
• Is it secure? Data is one of your business’s most valuable commodities. The data you input into the system is highly confidential and should be kept private. Taking a look at the security features available and what steps are taken to secure your data can go a long way to making the right choice
• Can it be integrated with Existing Systems? To maximize functionality, an asset tracking solution should be capable of sharing data with related systems throughout your organization. This requires taking a look at what systems and solutions you have in place already and choosing asset tracking software that can deliver maximum ROI in working with these systems

Top 8 Free and Open Source Asset Tracking Software Packages

#1 - Spiceworks

The Spiceworks suite of IT tools and the community that supports them are well-known amongst IT admin and staff. With some of the best-in-business community support, Spiceworks IT Asset management software is a fully-featured solution that integrates well with related Spiceworks tools.

Designed with IT resources in mind, Spiceworks is built to track your organization’s hardware, licenses, and cloud services. A feature-rich dashboard enables detailed real-time reports on all information held about your organization within the system.

Top Features:

• A self-hosted solution for your network
• Automated information gathering for networked devices
• Automatic status updates as devices are added and removed from the system
• Integrates with other Spiceworks IT and networking tools
• Extensive reporting and auditing available
• Includes tools to assist with auditing and compliance
• Detects and tracks cloud service assets
• Tools for tracking software licenses and mobile devices
• Web-based platform

#2 - Snipe-IT

Snipe-IT is designed as a comprehensive web-based warehouse and inventory management system. Available as a self-hosted cloud solution, it offers a feature-rich package to allow businesses to seamlessly integrate asset management into their existing workflows.

The offerings available from Snipe-IT includes advanced asset management, software license management, and barcode tagging for physical assets. A REST API ensures complete integration is available for existing services, and a premium SAAS model is capable of providing a range of hosting options for businesses looking for a more complete service.

Top Features:

• Self-hosted on existing hardware or hosting packages
• Customised asset notifications via email or slack
• Highly customisable asset properties and types
• Generates asset tags with barcodes or QR codes for in-house assets
• Features SAAS option as a premium add on
• License management for software assets
• REST API for custom integrations
• Mobile-friendly interface

#3 - OpenMAINT

OpenMAINT is a management solution designed for maintaining buildings, equipment, and industrial plants with ease. A comprehensive management system for physical assets, it’s a solution that boasts of being infinitely customizable while allowing gradual implementation to minimize impact to the organization.

Featuring extensive data dashboards and all the necessary reports and processes to create an effective working solution, one of OpenMAINT’s primary selling point is in being able to create a complete solution straight out the box.

Top Features

• Extremely flexible design allows for seemingly infinite customizations
• Maintenance and servicing alerts prevent lapses in asset upkeep
• Build with accurate logistics in mind to manage materials, parts, and movable assets
• Ability to manage purchases and budgeting to forecast costs
• Integrates seamlessly with ERP systems

#4 - CMDBuild

An open-source asset tracking software solution, CMDBuild is a highly capable suite for tracking all data relating to IT, mobile assets, and service management. Featuring a rich mobile platform to interface with its web services, it’s a solution ideally suited to ensuring your organisation is on top of IT maintenance and management.

Built from knowledge and experience gained in the field, CMDBuild is perhaps the most highly customisable and flexible solution included on our list. The solution comes with ready-made workflows for a wide range of management solutions and integrations for external systems.

Top Features:

• Highly customisable to meet the requirements and expectations of your business
• Can be gradually configured to minimise the impact on your organisation
• Can be integrated almost universally with REST and SOAP web services
• A rich array of reporting options to gather and audit data on existing assets
• Ability to incorporate purchase information and budget requirements into system data
• Extensive user support and training are available
• Commercial level technical support available on a pay-per-use or contract basis
• Web and mobile platform-tools

#5 - Asset Tiger

Source: Asset Tiger

Asset Tiger is a cloud-based asset management tool featuring detailed auditing and tracking for equipment logged into the system. A significant advantage of Asset Tiger over some other solutions is the highly capable booking and check-in/check-out functionality that allows users to take ownership of assets.

The feature-rich Asset Tiger package includes a highly capable mobile app for managing assets on the go. Leaning on these features, Asset Tiger aims to ensure the view of your organisation is always an accurate and a real-time picture of what is really going on underneath.

Top Features:

• Unlimited number of users and reports
• Fully configurable email alerts and notifications
• Maintenance scheduling, booking, and check-in/check-out on organisational assets
• Export data to a wide range of formats
• Barcode creation and scanning tools available on mobile
• Tracks software licenses and contracts too
• Extensive security with customisable user roles for granular asset management

#6 - Reftab

Source: Reftab

A commercial asset management solution for hardware, accessories, and licenses—Reftab delivers a powerful but simple management solution to its users. Leading with a user-friendly approach first and foremost, Reftab makes updating assets as easy as possible and ensures the system is always up to date by doing so.

Reftab is well placed to meet the requirements of organizations at every scale, from small business users to global corporations. The feature-rich mobile app allows users to add, update, assign, and even geotag assets into the system.

Top Features:

• Maintenance alerts and customisable email notifications
• Customisable asset properties and categories
• Allows for booking and checking-in/checking out assets
• Majority of functionality is accessible via the mobile app
• Tracks software and hardware assets together
• Tracks asset depreciation to optimise financial decisions

#7 - ResourceSpace

ResourceSpace handles IT Asset Management slightly differently from most available solutions. ResourceSpace asset management offers abundant free space for clients to host their asset management solution and options to extend their offerings to any size of organisation or requirements.

Offering both open-source accessibility and training and support where required—ResourceSpace covers a wide range of use cases with a highly capable asset management solution.

Source: ResourceSpace

Top Features:

• Highly customisable asset management
• Requires minimal investment to get started
• Can be integrated with existing system easily
• Customisable user roles with permissions and role setting
• Detailed reports and statistics available in real-time
• Supports most popular standards for exchanging metadata
• 10GB free space available

#8 - Ralph

A lightweight asset management solution, Ralph is designed to have minimal impact on existing workflows while maintaining maximum flexibility in its approach. Its primary appeal is to businesses looking for a no-fuss approach to asset management while still delivering the benefits and advantages of a fully-featured asset management system.

Despite being so lightweight in design, Ralph remains highly customizable for businesses. There are a wide array of extensions and plugins available for the software and a REST API available for developers too.

Top Features:

• Lightweight package designed to impose as little as possible on existing workflows
• Core asset management functionality bundled in an easy to use package
• Provides extensive support for integration with existing systems
• Flexible flow system designed to support the asset life cycle
• Ready-made workflows for data center assets, back-office equipment, and non-physical assets such as licenses, vendor contacts, and domains
• Powerful dashboards available to view real-time updates
• Granular asset management

Conclusion

A strong asset management solution is the most effective step you can take to enable your firm to grow and scale over time. A key tool in capturing a snapshot of your business, it’s one that addresses more and more challenges as a firm grows larger.

Few solutions can deliver such significant improvements in efficiency in such a short time frame. The return on investment from asset management software is one of the best you’ll get from any software package. Regardless of your firm’s shape, size, or requirements there’s an asset management solution here certain to match your organization.