Asset Manager Enterprise Edition for Windows

Businesses, organizations, and others who have a lot of stuff going out all over the place need to know who's got what stuff where, not only to make sure it doesn't go missing, but also to maximize its usefulness and your return on investment; stuff isn't cheap. Kaizen Software's Asset Manager 2010 Enterprise Edition has an easy-to-apply answer to the problem of keeping track of stuff. This bar code label printer and manager creates custom bar codes that you can attach to equipment, materials, tools, supplies, and anything else that is all too portable. You can also attach manuals, service logs, and other records to maintain an easily accessed and updated database of all your assets.

At first run, Asset Manager searches your system and creates a database. The program's main window shows all bar codes issued for each category in a configurable tabular display. An icon-based toolbar makes it simple to edit bar codes and generate new ones. Tabs also call up categories in the navigation panel: Assets, Personnel, Vendors, and Reports. Each category displays tracked items in detail; for instance, Assets are displayed by Type and Location, and Types include Electronics, Furniture, Hardware, and, of course, Miscellaneous. The Reports tab has a series of common categories you can simply click to select; Asset Manager generates and prints an accurate, business-quality report for you. Though some might see this as an extra, we feel it's just the sort of primary feature that has potential to save time in actual use and helps make Asset Manager more of a productivity tool than simply a bar code application.

Like Kaizen's other software, Asset Manager is geared toward business users, but it has a wide range of other potential applications, such as clubs and community groups. The program is also available in a Standard Edition; the chief difference between the two editions is in refinements and extras, such as the ability to set automatic backups. Asset Manager isn't cheap, but it has the potential to pay for itself in protecting assets and improving productivity.

Editors' note: This is a review of the full version of Asset Manager 2010 Enterprise Edition 1.0.1092. The trial version is limited to 10 records.