Making Personal Inventory Software An Everyday Tool

We're halfway through the season of spring, which means, for most of us, spring cleaning has been in full swing. Not only should we use this time to reorganize our physical space, but also our mental space. Besides, you'll need a mental distraction to get you through scrubbing the walls and dusting every corner of your home.

Let's use this time to reflect on what we have done both professionally and personally. The choices we made – some of which were successful and some others maybe not so much. We can look at how we spent our money. Did we go over budget? Come under budget? Do we have more than we need or did we not purchase enough? While many questions go under the “work” category, this is also a good time to think about your personal side as well. Do you have a personal inventory software program that has been helpful as you navigate your own purchases and decisions over the past year? If the answer is no, maybe it’s time to give it a thought.

Keeping Track of Personal Assets

As people collect more items of value such as electronics, artwork, wine, jewelry, furniture and automobiles, they are turning to inventory software to keep an accurate record of these items. It used to be that you might jot information down about items or maybe hold on to the paper receipts or documentation for items you acquire. Or if you were “up” on technology, you used an online spreadsheet like Excel as your personal inventory software and saved that information on your home computer.

Yes ... you have started the process of tracking your inventory, but what if there was a disaster of some sort – a fire, flood, tornado, or you were robbed and your handwritten notes, paper receipts or computer were completely destroyed or lost? What then?

Using Personal Inventory Software in Dealing with Insurance

Investing in personal inventory software can protect homeowners and their family against increased property loss. According to Homeland Security News Wire, natural disasters alone cost U.S. homeowners more than $32 billion a year. An almost equal number is spent on manmade disasters, as well; and thefts add billions to this total. Just because you were in one of these situations doesn’t mean that your insurance company will cover your full loss.

If you wind up being robbed or your house is flooded or burned, you’ll have to go through a long and frustrating insurance claims process. If you’ve kept good records of your possessions through a personal inventory software, then you have the proof of a wealth of information that will be beneficial when dealing with insurance such as what you own, when it was acquired, and its value at purchase.

In times of trouble and high-stress, the last thing you will be able to do is work from memory and try to think of every item that was lost and how much it might be worth. It’s no secret that insurance companies are disinclined to agree with assessments that aren’t backed up by reports, documentation, and excessive paperwork. In some cases, you might not be able to get anything at all.

Dealing with “Too Much Stuff”

Keeping track of personal assets today is easier than ever and is an easy-to-use means to track and catalog the value of your belongings, removing a considerable and unnecessary headache from your life. We are always talking about how we have “too much stuff” and need to minimalize and scale down.

According to a story in the LA Times, there are 300,000 items in the average American home. People are running out of space in their homes and are resorting to renting out storage facilities to house the overflow. It’s reported that 1 out of every 10 Americans rent offsite storage—the fastest growing segment of the commercial real estate industry over the past four decades. If you have items at home and at an offsite storage facility, do you really have an accurate knowledge of everything you own and where it is?

The Value of Personal Inventory Software

The value of using personal inventory software is that you can capture all the data about the items in your home and download it straight to your smartphone or tablet. There is no need to purchase any extra hardware or complicated hours of training to endure. You can go through all of your items and document your belongings by taking photographs of them with your smartphone and upload them to the software database. You can add notes, user guides, receipts – anything that is pertinent to each asset.

Many software platforms come with built-in barcode scanners as an included feature. You simply scan barcodes of relevant items such as computers, printers, electronic equipment and upload it into a secure database that is stored in the cloud.

By taking the time to document your personal inventory, you can determine if you have the right type of insurance on your items. Once you realize any gaps, you can evaluate whether you want to purchase additional coverage to insure them for their full value.

Asset Panda is a great tool to employ as your personal inventory software system. Because of its easy-to-use functionality, it takes very little time and effort to capture your assets and catalog them in a safe and secure fashion. By taking inventory of all of the valuable things in your life, you are more prepared for those moments that will challenge and take the most out of you. Don’t let the guesswork on your personal possessions add to that stress. Consider Asset Panda as your personal inventory software system and how it can be configured to fit your needs now and for the future.