Have A “Picture Perfect” Holiday With Asset Tracking

Ah … the holidays! The time of year when families come together to celebrate and share in the joys of one another. And of course, no holiday is complete without photos to capture it. Whether you are just an amateur trying to get a few snaps of the kids opening gifts, or a professional whose entire livelihood rides on the holiday season, making sure you know where your expensive camera equipment is at all times is of utmost importance. If you haven’t considered asset tracking for holiday photography jobs (in addition to normal business) and related equipment, ‘tis the season to start!

Photographers, photography studios, in-house agencies, and video production companies are seeking ways to track expensive equipment without breaking the bank. Tracking cameras and related equipment is difficult because it is always on the move, especially if there are multiple people using the same pieces of equipment and it’s all needed at the same time. This is even more common during the holidays. There are so many different opportunities out there for photographers to capitalize on and it’s paramount that all of their equipment is where it needs to be at the right time and in perfect working order.

We see photography all over the place during the busy holiday time, starting from Thanksgiving and going all the way through to New Year’s Day. Think about all the different places where cameras are most common – pictures with Santa Claus, company holiday parties, family holiday parties, church Christmas productions, city celebrations, and of course by families looking to capture the one perfect image for their annual Christmas card. But what if you couldn’t find your DSLR camera or the telescopic lens or the flash that takes the glare off faces and gives the most perfect “angelic” light to any screaming toddler? Add an assistant or two, three backdrop changes plus props and you have a recipe for a potential Christmas disaster if you don’t know where all your tools and equipment are. And not being prepared typically leads to very unhappy clients.

This exact scenario is why asset tracking for those in the photography profession is so important. Photographers need a system that moves as quickly as they do from job to job. The sheer amount of devices, equipment, and random items that a photographer has on a normal basis can be staggering. But at the holidays, that amount can double or even triple depending on the location, audience and timeframe.

Tagging each of your photography assets with barcode labels as soon as they are added into your business is one of the easiest tasks you can undertake and will provide many benefits at your busiest times of the year! Finding an asset tracking management tool that has a barcode scanner already included with the software makes the once complicated task of entering a serial number by hand or into an online spreadsheet simple with one click of your own smartphone or tablet. You can record every detail about each asset and even add a photo of the piece (which is helpful should it be damaged or lost/stolen and you have to report it to insurance for replacement), maintenance reports, troubleshooting records, and of course the check in/check out status.

And with as mobile as the photography industry is, finding a cloud-based asset tracking software that is coupled with mobile apps takes a lot of extra work out of your day so you can focus on your profession and clients instead of trying to find equipment and who has what. Having access to the full lifecycle of an asset and detailed data on it any time from anywhere is crucial. This important factor improves management of accountability of all asset related information on your equipment as well as the people who are using it – saving time and money for your business, which is a great holiday gift in and of itself!

Asset Panda offers the most powerful, yet simple mobile asset inventory solution to photographers. With a roster of clients spanning everything from global brands to small start ups, our flexible tool offers an easy-to-use, completely customizable system that empowers you to track your assets and inventory exactly how you want. Powered by free Android and iOS apps the sync with the cloud, Asset Panda requires no additional hardware or software to operate. The tool includes a mobile barcode scanner for greater convenience and cost savings.

And you don’t have to worry about learning a whole new trade to use Asset Panda. We’ve designed it to be the most user-friendly product on the market, with a simple user interface, custom dashboard and an extensive list of customizable features, including alerts and notifications, reporting and exporting, fields and actions, user configurable views, sortable columns, and so much more.

The holidays are your time to bring joy and cheer to all your clients through your artistry and skill. Don’t be viewed as the Grinch who ruined Christmas photos by having the wrong or not up-to-date broken equipment! Start your free 14-day trial with Asset Panda, and find out how we can we help you deliver a happy holiday to all your clients. Visit www.assetpanda.com for more information.