Guidance for Managing Inventories

How to Successfully Manage Departmental Equipment Inventories

Contacts and revision dates:

Table of Contents

1. General Information
2. Disposals/Surplus
3. Home Use
4. Transfers
5. Reporting
6. Coordinators
7. Policies

General Information

• Deans, vice presidents, department heads, chairs, and directors are responsible for the control and oversight of all equipment and assets in their custody. This includes establishing appropriate business practices and procedures.
• Departments are responsible for the care, maintenance, and protection of equipment and other assets. Reasonable safeguards must be in place to prevent loss, damage, or theft. Assets must be used only for university business—not personal or commercial purposes.
• Avoid purchasing duplicate equipment.
• Promptly report thefts, suspected fraud, waste, abuse, or casualty losses to Fixed Assets and Equipment Inventory Services (FAEIS), the Virginia Tech Police Department, Risk Management, and Internal Audit.
• Appoint an equipment coordinator and a backup. Coordinators must complete Banner Fixed Asset training and should use Banner to run reports and update information. Notify FAEIS promptly of coordinator changes.
• Banner Fixed Assets is the official university equipment record. If departments use internal tracking systems, they must regularly reconcile them with Banner. Notify FAEIS of all changes needed in Banner.
• Report donated equipment received outside the Virginia Tech Foundation to FAEIS.
• •Internally fabricated or constructed assets with accumulated costs of $2,000 or more and a useful life greater than one year must be reported to FAEIS before being placed in service.
• Departments must locate at least 95% of the equipment value and count within 60 days of receiving the initial missing report.
• Department Heads must review the VT Moveable Equipment Inventory Summary Report by Department report for accuracy and notify FAEIS of issues within two weeks. A lack of response is considered acceptance of the results, per Policy 3950.
• Notify FAEIS when new equipment arrives and hold the equipment in a central location until barcoded.
• Assign custodians to all equipment and keep this information current.
• Ensure all equipment is returned to the department before an employee’s final day. 

Disposals / Surplus

• Departments may not sell, loan, give away, scrap, cannibalize, or dispose of university equipment without prior written approval from the University Surplus Officer in coordination with the Director of FAEIS. All disposals must follow surplus property procedures.
• Only university-owned equipment may be sent to surplus. Items must have a “VT” ownership designation in the Fixed Assets Organization Report (FZRFORG) to be eligible for surplus.
• Special procedures apply to equipment not owned by the university, including federally owned items, leased equipment, and SCHEV Equipment Trust Program assets.
• Departments must ensure all hard drives are erased and free of data before sending equipment to surplus. Surplus Property and AIS will verify cleaning per COV ITRM SEC2003-02.1 standards.
• Equipment coordinators or fiscal officers must complete the online Surplus Property Report Form. Department Heads must authorize the disposal. Forms must be accurate and complete (barcode, description, manufacturer, model and serial number), as inaccuracies affect departmental inventory.
• SCHEV equipment cannot be altered, destroyed, or cannibalized for seven years (three years for computers) because it serves as bond collateral.
• Notify FAEIS promptly when leased equipment is returned, traded in, sent back to the vendor, stolen, or damaged so fixed asset records can be updated.

Home Use

• Department Heads may authorize employees to take university equipment home for official business.
• Use the electronic Home Authorization Application to document equipment at an employee’s residence.
• Approvals must be completed before equipment is removed from campus. Banner Fixed Assets will be updated upon approval.

Transfers

• Equipment transfers outside the university are only allowed in limited situations and must follow University Policy 3951.
• For internal transfers of computers and electronic equipment, departments must remove sensitive data and clean hard drives in accordance with university security policies and COV ITRM SEC2003-02.1.
• Department coordinators should use Banner screen FZATRAN to receive equipment (after verification) and to update locations and custodians
• For departments without trained coordinators, FAEIS will process transfers based on an approved Inventory Update Form signed by both the giving and receiving Department Heads. Both departments are responsible for ensuring accuracy.

Reporting

• Review the monthly Fixed Asset Change Detail Report (FZRFCHG):
  • Section 1: Equipment transferred into the department
  • Section 2: Equipment transferred out of the department
• Review Sections 3 and 4 carefully:
  • Section 3: Items picked up by Surplus—confirm they were removed and transferred correctly
  • Section 4: All disposals (trade-ins, returns, casualty losses, thefts, etc.) Investigate discrepancies and notify Surplus Property and/or FAEIS as appropriate.
• Investigate all discrepancies and notify FAEIS. Maintain documentation per record retention requirements.

Coordinators

• Complete online Banner Fixed Assets Training
• Request Fixed Assets update access after training.
• Complete online Fixed Assets Tagging Application forms for all new equipment 
• Run the following reports as needed:
  • FZRFORG – Fixed Assets Organization Report
  • FZRFSAR – Single Asset Report
  • FZRFIMS – Missing Equipment Report

Policies

• University Policy 3950: Fixed Asset Accounting
• University Policy 3951: Transfer of Equipment to Other Domestic Institutions

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