Guide / stock and assets
Inventory and asset management on one record
Stock flows; assets stay. Software that runs both on one record — locations, movements and history — saves the reconciliation between two systems that should have been one.
The key facts
- The structural difference: inventory depletes (buy, sell, reorder); assets persist (buy once, deploy, maintain, retire) — different lifecycles, same need for locations and history.
- Two systems mean two reconciliation problems; one record with both behaviours means the van, the shelf and the tool crib agree by construction.
- BSimple models both: flowing stock with batches and reorders, plus non-depleting asset records, and projects grouping on-site assets under a customer.
- The boundary: no IT-style network discovery, no maintenance-scheduling module — record truth, not telemetry.
- Context: the full inventory system holds the wider system, this page one stop in it.
- 01The key facts
- 02Why the two usually end up in separate systems — and why that hurts
- 03How BSimple models each
- 04When one record beats two — and when it does not
Why the two usually end up in separate systems — and why that hurts
Inventory and assets split naturally: stock moves constantly and needs live quantities; equipment sits somewhere and needs history. Separate tools follow — and then the business runs the reconciliation neither tool can do: which van has the compressor and which parts were drawn for it; what the workshop consumed this month and which machine it fed. The split creates a third, invisible system — the spreadsheet that reconciles the other two — and that one has no guardrails at all.
The alternative is one record that treats both as the same underlying thing — items at locations with movement history — with different behaviours layered on: stock depletes, reorders and batches; assets persist, carry custody changes and accumulate service history. Same machinery, two lifecycles.
How BSimple models each
We build BSimple, so weigh that. Inventory: live quantities across locations, multi-level units (boxes of cases), negative-stock guardrails, reorder levels feeding purchase orders, batch and expiry tracking, stocktakes with reviewed variances. Assets: items recorded without depletion — a vehicle, a compressor, a ladder — with locations, custody changes and a full transaction history; where assets live on site under a customer, BSimple's projects layer groups them for lifetime management: reserve items without consuming stock, install and consume on invoice approval, warranty and service history per job. That pattern fits trade installations and equipment businesses directly.
The boundary, plainly: no automated IT discovery (assets are recorded, not scanned off a network), and no maintenance-scheduling calendar — the record holds the history; the discipline of servicing stays a management decision. The free-hardware reading covers the IT-asset flavour, and the vehicle-as-location pattern is the fleet case.
When one record beats two — and when it does not
One record wins when inventory and assets interact: field service teams drawing parts into vans, installations consuming stock onto a customer site, workshops where the machine history and the parts history are the same story. It is overkill when the two never touch — a pure retail stockist with three desks needs no asset layer, and a plant with thousands of tagged machines usually needs enterprise asset management proper. The vendor view at the heavy end covers that ceiling.
The test: if you currently run two systems and a spreadsheet between them, the single record is the consolidation; if you run one spreadsheet and nothing interacts, stay free a while longer — the trial is how you check which business you are.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can BSimple track both stock and fixed assets?
Yes — stock as depleting records with batches and reorders, assets as non-depleting records with locations and history, both on the same movement machinery. Projects group on-site assets under a customer where the job calls for it.
How are assets different from stock records in practice?
Behaviour, not structure: an asset is never consumed by a sale — it moves between locations and custodians and accumulates history; stock depletes, reorders and batches. One item table, two lifecycles.
Does BSimple schedule maintenance for assets?
No — there is no maintenance-scheduling calendar. The record holds what happened and what the item is; deciding it is due for service stays with you. We state the boundary rather than imply a CMMS.
Can assets be reserved for a customer job without consuming stock?
Yes — that is the projects pattern: reserve items against a job, install and consume them on invoice approval, and keep the warranty and service history with the customer. Built for installations and trade jobs.
What does running both on one record cost?
BSimple plans are $180/$250/$399 per month AUD with both behaviours in the core — no asset module fee. Against two systems plus the reconciliation spreadsheet between them, the arithmetic usually speaks for itself; the trial lets it.
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