Although giving a commitment to “protect the NHS”, the Lib-Tory coalition government is still set to make cost savings across the health service.The recently published Health White Paper suggests massive job losses through the abolition of Primary Care Trusts.The Royal College of Nursing warned that almost 27,000 health jobs faced the axe, calling the government’s promise to protect the NHS as an “urban myth.” The RCN added that waiting lists for operations will rise as job losses hit and the public should be “really concerned” about the impact of the cuts.
Against this background it’s even more imperative that NHS Estates Departments operate within ever tighter budgetary constraints while increasing staff efficiency and reducing departmental costs. Asset tracking will therefore assume a much higher profile in helping manage and control costs in order to maintain the fabric of the hospital while allowing as much money as possible to be diverted into front line services and retaining staffing levels. The use of a inventory software can reduce the need to spend money on additional equipment by identifying and utilising idle plant or medical machinery. Costly lease termination penalties can also be avoided by ensuring the equipment is returned or the lease renewed in plenty of time.
Equally, it will be increasingly important to manage MRI scanners for example by keeping an even tighter rein on medical equipment maintenance to ensure maximum up time for these costly pieces of technology.Medical equipment management software can contribute here by rationalising planned and breakdown maintenance schedules to ensure down time is minimised. A few packages allow resource scheduling and job prioritisation using simple to follow visual calendars that are accessible from the ward level. Some packages can even be fully integrated with stock control and order requisitioning to ensure there is no break in what should be a smoothly operating supply and service chain so these high capital-high tech resources are available when they are needed.
Filed under Accounting, Bookkeeping by on Dec 30th, 2010. Comment. 
Most companies are prepared to face the fact that, although taking a physical inventory of assets is a major effort, it’s an essential task to ensure that the books reflect the real assets.When the pain is over, you have the satisfaction of knowing that there is a sound and accurate system in place.Getting such a comprehensive and accurate asset inventory in place is of course expensive and many companies look no further than the initial costs associated with a fixed asset inventory.
Managers can always find a reason to avoid expenditure on something that they perceive as being of little immediate relevance or value to the company’s bottom line. What they fail to appreciate is precisely those bottom line benefits and cost savings that accrue from using the latest fixed asset management software. Rather than focusing on the cost of the solution, they should consider the cash flow benefits that result from not paying unnecessary taxes and insurance premiums as well as many other financial benefits.This very real return on investment goes unnoticed when looking only at the top line costs of barcode software packages.
An adequate solution that facilitates an accurate idea of numbers for fixed asset accounting can pay for itself remarkably quickly. Uncovering unrecorded retirements can result in an immediate write off, reducing income taxes, property taxes, and insurance premiums.Armed with the information from a fixed asset audit you can address the concern that the firm may be over or underinsured by accurately matching required insurance coverage and premiums with actual assets.Accurate fixed asset accounting can reduce the need to spend money on additional equipment by utilising idle equipment instead of having to purchase brand new plant or machinery. Lease termination penalties can also be avoided by simplifying the process and ensuring the equipment is returned promptly when the lease term expires.
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Filed under Accounting, Bookkeeping by on Dec 12th, 2010. Comment.
Many US companies, large and small, continue to rely on a conventional spreadsheet approach to try to keep track of their fixed assets in an attempt to ensure the company is SARBOX compliant. Asset tracking is capable of being used for more than a accountancy compliance issue. It is an integral part of informed and sound management.
That’s especially important with IT asset tracking. In today’s society, IT and business go hand in hand. One issue is the fact that these high value assets like laptops, notebooks, peripheral devices and other items like the Blackberry are also highly portable, and thus tend to “disappear” although still on the books. Computer components may also be replaced, upgraded or replaced during the products functional life. Software is frequently installed, uninstalled or upgraded. Usually the changes are internal and “visible” as a result.Central to inventory depreciation softwaretracking system should be a centralised database including information on invisible software assets in your IT network – how many programs and if they are licensed or not? A single audit should have the capacity to cover multiple locations and thousands of assets. It should also be fully compatible with inventory management systems. The asset tracking system should also be able to easily handle and manage both mobile and fixed assets.Asset tracking performed thoroughly and professionally can be a long process, but there are software packages and new technologies that can speed things up.
Systems that utilize RFID asset tracking use simple, hand held scanning devices to provide an accurate, validated, and consistently current database. The actual “real time” data from these systems means you can have full confidence in compliance with any auditor. Once the audit data has been uploaded into the asset or inventory register, managers can get reports detailing total assets and informed suggestions about possible actions (dispose, relocate, upgrade etc) for each of the assets located in the audit.
Filed under Accounting, Bookkeeping by on Nov 7th, 2010. Comment.
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