The Asset Management Process: A Complete Guide for Businesses

Every organization relies on assets. Laptops, servers, licences, furniture, vehicles. As every asset manager knows, the list is literally endless.

Without a clear way to manage your company’s assets, costs rise, efficiency drops, and valuable resources go underused. Our solution to this is having a clear asset management process.

Far from being just an inventory list, asset management is about making sure every physical or digital object your company owns is really carrying as much weight as they can throughout their lifetime. In this blog, we’ll explore what an asset management process is, why it matters, how it works, and how to perfect it for lasting results. By the end, you’ll be ready to begin your asset management journey. Here we go.

Asset management process 101

So, let’s begin by making sure we’re on the same page. Firstly, what is an asset? There are different kinds, including facilities (coffee machines, company cars…), IT (subscriptions, software and computers, or your ITSM software like TOPdesk) and finance. We’d recommend taking a look at this glossary page if you’d like to dive directly into IT asset management.

An asset management process—sometimes referred to as ‘asset lifecycle management’—is not a single activity, it’s a systematic approach to ensuring your company extracts the most value from its assets. The asset lifecycle typically includes planning, acquisition, operation, maintenance, and disposal—every stage of an asset’s life needs attention to get the most from it. Simple, right? In this section, we’ll expand upon that definition.

What an asset management process isn’t

An asset management process is not only about having a big database of your company’s stuff so that you can see what you have (inventory time, anyone?). Neither is it a single or isolated activity that you apply to your company’s assets, never to touch again. As we’ll show you in the next section, your asset management process should be a living thing that you rely on day-in, day-out: your playbook, northstar—insert other relevant metaphor here.

What an asset management process is

An asset management process is your ticket to understanding everything to do with your assets—both owned and desired. It can tell you:

• what assets your company has
• what you need to acquire
• what stage of their lifecycle your assets are at
• to what extent you’re taking full advantage of your assets

To summarize, what your asset management process does, is give you the peace of mind that every asset the company owns—and may own in the future—is working as hard as it can to create ROI. And that can only be a good thing, right?

The real value of an asset management process to your business

Every business owns assets—from laptops and office chairs to software licences and cloud subscriptions. A structured asset management process turns those everyday items into real business value. Here’s how.

1. Cut unnecessary costs

Without oversight, waste will find a way to slip through the cracks. Think duplicate licences, forgotten subscriptions, or equipment gathering dust. An asset management process gives you a clear picture of what you already have, helping you avoid overspending and negotiate smarter vendor contracts. The result? Fewer surprises and lower costs. Hurrah!

2. Extend the life of your assets

Assets aren’t always cheap to replace. Regular maintenance (spoiler alert: read on for more on this) keeps them working better for longer. From servers to office chairs, treating assets with care delays replacements and squeezes as much juice from your investment as possible.

3. Make better decisions

Knowing which assets give the most bang for your buck and which ones are a drain on resources makes life easy. Should you renew that licence, repair that machine, or switch vendors? The more data you have on your stuff, the easier it is to make well-reasoned choices.

4. Get things done faster

How much time do your teams lose hunting for equipment, chasing expired warranties, or dealing with breakdowns? Asset management centralizes everything in one tidy place. Staff can quickly find assets, track service history, and log requests, which keeps things on track and downtime low.

5. Have clarity and control

Perhaps the biggest win is transparency. With a live overview of every asset—what it is, where it is, and who’s responsible for it—nothing slips through the cracks. By linking assets to the level of service they support, managers can prioritize resources where they’ll have the biggest impact. That means easier audits, better compliance, and more accountability across the business, lowering stress levels organization-wide.

How an asset management process works

In this section of the blog, we’re going to dive into the nuts and bolts of how asset management actually works. As we’ve established, relying on an asset management process is a great way to make sure your company is getting the most bang for your buck when it comes to your business’s assets. So, how do you go about implementing your own asset management process, we hear you ask? Let’s review a standard asset management process below.

Planning

Let’s start afresh. Forget, for now, the assets your business currently owns. Let’s begin with the needs your company has now, that are not being met. Build a list of those, and then write out another one of the assets that might solve those problems.

If the answer your company needs is going to be costly, perhaps list a few assets as part of your research, as this will help you to suss out which one is the best match for your company’s needs at the right price point.

Now take a look at the stuff your company owns. How much of it will last forever? How much of it needs to be upgraded—or entirely replaced in the coming months?

Acquisition

After your planning is complete, it’s time that you move on to buying your assets. Start by finding a handful of vendors for each asset. Ask them to quote for what’s necessary. Creating a thorough vendor shortlist is probably one of the most challenging parts of this process. Try and consider cost, quality and reliability as part of your decision-making.

If you want to be extra thorough, you should try to take into account the vendors’ customer support, as well as whether their products and services match your existing assets—for example, technical systems compatibility.

Getting everything to fit together well means you’re saving as much money as possible and running a tight ship—go you!

Your next step is to get contracts from your shortlisted vendors. This might mean asking whether to buy or lease the asset, or to see if any volume discounts are available. And you should always look to see whether you can get an extended warranty.

Once you’ve got your shortlist, it’s time to seek approval. Speak with your internal decision-makers who will determine whether to go ahead with acquisition.

You’re now ready to begin working with the asset. Whether it needs to be installed, set up, built, or implemented, your asset is now in your position.

Operate

Tracking asset performance in real time gives you insights into efficiency and reliability, making it easier to decide when to maintain, upgrade, or replace. Each asset comes with its own operational playbook, and even asset lifespans are unique, so be careful to treat each asset with individual attention.

SaaS software might last a lifetime, an office chair might have a lifespan of a decade, while a phone might have a recommended lifespan of 2-3 years.

Dealing with the operational nuance of each of your assets might be time-intensive, but spending some time here will make sure you get the most value from your business’s investment.

Maintenance

When it comes to asset maintenance, you need to be aware of three types: preventative, predictive and corrective. Let’s take a look at each in turn.

First, preventative. This is the type of maintenance that stops future malfunctions from happening. A good way to keep on top of preventative measures is to operate a standardized maintenance checklist. That way, you know you’re not forgetting anything.

Second, predictive. Predictive maintenance is using the information you have right now to help you understand when an asset is going to fail in the future. Knowing this means you can get ahead of things, replacing, updating or upgrading what you need to before it becomes redundant.

Finally, corrective maintenance. This is the obvious kind of maintenance—the type that you probably don’t want to see. Corrective maintenance is where you have to make repairs to assets that have already broken, failed or crashed.

If you find that your company is mostly stuck doing corrective maintenance on your assets, then in an ideal world, begin shifting towards predictive and preventative maintenance. Create a plan, keep a firm grip of your schedule, and you should be able to move from reactive, to proactive, in no time.

Disposal

You can only repair or upgrade an asset for so long. At some point, it becomes more cost-effective—and a better use of company resources—to retire it. But retiring an asset isn’t as simple as throwing it away. A good disposal strategy protects your company financially, legally, and environmentally.

The first option to consider is resale. If the asset could still be helpful for another business or in a secondary market, selling it allows you to recover part of your investment. For high-value items like hardware or vehicles, resale can meaningfully offset replacement costs.

Where resale isn’t possible, repurposing can work. An asset that no longer meets the requirements of one department might still serve another. For example, older laptops may not be powerful enough for development teams but could work perfectly for interns or staff with lighter needs.

If neither resale nor repurposing makes sense, your focus should shift to responsible recycling and disposal. Electronic devices in particular must be handled with care to meet data security and environmental standards. Hard drives and mobile devices should be securely wiped or destroyed to comply with data protection regulations like GDPR. Partnering with certified e-waste recyclers ensures that valuable materials are recovered, while minimizing your company’s environmental footprint.

Finally, keep in mind that the retirement stage is also an opportunity for learning. Documenting the reason for disposal—whether the asset was too costly to maintain, no longer compatible, or underutilized—feeds back into your planning process. That way, each disposed of asset improves decision-making for future acquisitions.

Fine-tuning your asset management workflows

By now, you’ve seen how the asset management process works at a high level. But simply having a process isn’t enough—the real value comes from adjusting your workflows so they run smoothly, give you reliable information, and avoid wasting time. Here are some good ways to take your asset management process from functional to best-in-class:

1. Automate repetitive tasks

Manual tracking of licences, warranty renewals, or scheduled maintenance eats up valuable time and leaves plenty of room for error. Automation within an asset management tool like TOPdesk can take care of these repeatable tasks in the background, freeing your team to focus on higher-value work. Imagine licence renewals triggering automatically or maintenance reminders appearing in technicians’ schedules—no chasing, no surprises.

2. Standardize with templates and checklists

Doing things the same way every time makes companies easier to grow. By creating standard asset templates and maintenance checklists, you ensure everything is registered, tracked, and serviced in the same way. This reduces the risk of errors, makes training easier for new staff, and keeps your reporting clean and reliable. TOPdesk’s tutorial on setting up asset templates is a good place to start.

3. Connect with other ITSM processes

Assets don’t live by themselves. Linking asset data with incident, change, and problem management workflows helps your IT team see the bigger picture. For example, if a repeating incident always ties back to a specific device model, you can address the root cause much faster. Similarly, connecting your CMDB with your asset management records gives you a live, accurate map of your world of IT.

4. Improve reporting and visibility

Good workflows need good data. With asset management reporting dashboards, you can spot trends—like which equipment costs the most to maintain or which vendors deliver the best ROI. This visibility helps you make fast decisions based on good data, making sure you spend money in the right places. In TOPdesk, you can build reports that give leadership clear insights into costs, usage, and performance at a glance.

5. Embrace predictive maintenance

A workflow that only reacts when things break will always be on the back foot. By combining monitoring tools with your asset management system, you can predict failures before they happen. This allows your team to change to something else at the right time, cutting downtime and extending asset lifespan.

Keep compliance, risk and sustainability in focus

From GDPR-compliant data disposal, to strong cybersecurity, to environmentally responsible recycling, compliance, risk and sustainability are easier to manage when they’re built into your workflows. Tracking compliance steps in the same place as your operational tasks makes audits less painful and ensures your business doesn’t overlook its obligations.

Conclusion

Managing assets isn't just about keeping track of stuff, it's an important part of running your business well. A good management process helps you cut costs, extend the life of your investments, and make smarter decisions. It also helps you see what’s happening and stay in control, ensuring your business runs with fewer problems.

In this blog, we’ve shown that your asset management process is a continuous cycle, not a one-off project. From planning and acquisition through to maintenance and retirement, each stage builds on the last. Fine-tuning those workflows saves you time, prevents mistakes, and gives you better information.

With TOPdesk Asset Management, you can bring all these elements together in one easy-to-use platform. From registering new assets to automating renewals and reporting on performance, TOPdesk helps you unlock the full value of your company’s resources.

Ready to get more from your assets? Implementing an asset management system like TOPdesk gives you the tools to register, monitor, and report on all assets in one place. With the right asset management software, you’ll have the visibility needed for smarter decisions. Explore TOPdesk’s Asset Management software and start creating a better process that saves you money.