When to check an Asset back in
Check an Asset back in whenever a piece of kit comes back to your stores or yard. The check-in closes the loop on the checkout, captures the return condition, and gets the kit ready to go out again — or flags it for maintenance if it's come back damaged.
Common moments:
- An operative drops tools back to the stores at the end of the day or end of a job
- A site manager returns harnesses after a project finishes
- A piece of plant comes back from a hire job
- A laptop is handed back when an employee leaves
The check-in is what stops your register drifting away from reality. Without it, you'll end up with kit that says it's still on a job that finished six months ago.
Check In is only available when the Asset is currently out (one of your Out status labels). If it's in stock, the button will say Check Out instead.
Opening the form
You can open the check-in form in two ways:
- From the Assets list — find the Asset and click Check In on the row, or use the actions dropdown
- From the Asset detail page — click the Check In button in the header
Either way, the Check In Asset form opens in a dialog and is pre-filled with the details of the active checkout, so you don't have to re-enter who had it.
Filling in the form
- 1
Pick the Checkin Condition — Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor — to capture how the kit looks coming back.
- 2
Add Checkin Notes if there's anything worth recording (for example "battery missing" or "blade needs replacing").
- 3
Tick Flag for Maintenance if the kit has come back damaged or in need of attention.
- 4
Drag in any Return Condition Photos showing the state of the kit at the point of return.
- 5
Click Check In to save.
The Flag for Maintenance checkbox
This is the most important field on the form. Tick it whenever the kit comes back not ready to go straight back out — broken, damaged, due for service, missing parts, anything.
Ticking it does two things:
- Sets a maintenance flag on the Asset
- Moves the status to whichever Out of Service label your asset manager has set up
While the flag is on, the Asset can't be checked out again. The only ways to clear it are:
- Run an audit on the Asset and tick Clear Maintenance Flag in the audit modal
- Manually edit the Asset and change the status away from Out of Service
The audit route is the recommended one because it leaves a permanent record that the kit was inspected before being put back into service.
Return condition photos
Just like at checkout, you can attach photos to capture exactly how the kit looks coming back. This is where the comparison really matters: side-by-side checkout and check-in photos make it obvious whether the wear is fair or whether something has happened.
You can mark up the photos before saving — circle new damage, dents, or missing parts so the next person to look at the Asset can see them straight away. See Attachments and annotation.
For high-value kit, scroll back through the previous checkout photos before you save the check-in. If you spot new damage that wasn't there before, flag it for maintenance straight away.
What happens after you save
When you click Check In, the active assignment is closed off and the Asset's status moves:
- Back to one of your Available labels if you didn't tick Flag for Maintenance
- To one of your Out of Service labels if you did
On the list, the Check In button is replaced by Check Out (or by no checkout at all if the kit is now flagged for maintenance), and the current assignment on the sidebar clears.
You'll see a confirmation, including how many photos were uploaded.
Checkout and check-in side by side
The two forms are designed as a pair — every checkout should eventually have a matching check-in that closes the loop.
- Checkout captures who's taking the kit and what condition it's in as it goes out
- Check-in captures the return condition, any damage, and whether maintenance is needed
Together they give you a clear lifecycle for every piece of equipment.
Real-world examples
- End-of-day return — operatives drop tools back to the stores, the storeman runs through Check In for each one with the condition set to Good
- Damaged grinder — a grinder comes back with a cracked guard, so the storeman ticks Flag for Maintenance, adds a photo, and the grinder drops out of circulation until it's fixed
- Plant off a job — a digger comes back from a six-week project, the plant manager checks it in with Excellent condition and notes it's ready to go to the next site