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EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT TRAINING

Presented by Fiscal ServicesDecember 2017

G E O R G E M A S O N U N I V E R S I T Y

EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW

Why do we have to track equipment?• Administrative Policy 2104: Inventory Control of Office and

Educational Equipment and Furniture.This administrative policy implements the Commonwealth of Virginia’s policies and the University’s inherent obligation to exercise appropriate stewardship and accountability for all equipment regardless of the method of acquisition (purchase, lease, fabrication, donation via George Mason University Foundation (GMUF), Equipment Trust Fund (ETF), borrowing, etc.) or the source of funding (educational and general funds, sponsored programs, GMUF, ETF, etc.). Because of its status as a publicly funded institution, the University is accountable for all the equipment in its possession.

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EQUIPMENT LIFE CYCLE

Purchasing Equipment

Tagging Equipment

Managing Equipment

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EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW

Which equipment needs to be tracked?Type of Equipment Abbreviation Dollar

ThresholdIncluded in Inventory Process?

General Equipment GEN $5,000 YesLaptops LTP $1,000 Yes

Equipment Trust Fund ETF $500 Yes“Not Fixed Asset” NFA Under

ThresholdsNo

*All equipment should be handled using the same equipment tracking guidelines, however, only tagged equipment over the correlating dollar thresholds will be tracked through the inventory process.

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EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW

What is ETF Equipment?• State appropriated funding through sales of bonds.

• Most departments use this money for new computers through the

ETF “obsolescence” program administered by Information

Technology Services (ITS).

• Some specially funded departments (research or IT-related) also

use this funding to purchase new equipment other than computers.

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G E O R G E M A S O N U N I V E R S I T Y

EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW

Review Inventory

(Nov – Dec)

Physical Inventory

(Jan – Mar)

Inventory Round

Reporting(Mar – June)

General Management(June – Nov)

Equipment Management

Calendar

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G E O R G E M A S O N U N I V E R S I T Y

REVIEW INVENTORY - OVERVIEW

Review Inventory

(Nov – Dec)

Physical Inventory

(Jan – Mar)

Inventory Round

Reporting(Mar – June)

General Management(June – Nov)

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REVIEW INVENTORY - OVERVIEW

November thru December• Attend Annual Equipment Inventory Training!• Utilize Home Loan Report for quick inventory resolution.• Check Building Schedule for an idea of when Fixed Assets will be

scanning your department.

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G E O R G E M A S O N U N I V E R S I T Y

PHYSICAL INVENTORY – HOME LOAN REPORT

Utilize Home Loan Report for quick inventory resolution.• Anything highlighted in Yellow is OLD and form needs to be renewed.• Names on spreadsheet indicate who should be in possession of the

equipment. A quick email response from them will suffice.• Renew any old or outdated forms by the end of Round 1 in the inventory

process (March 30th, 2018).

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G E O R G E M A S O N U N I V E R S I T Y

PHYSICAL INVENTORY – BUILDING SCHEDULE

Check Building Schedule for an idea of when Fixed Assets will be scanning your department.

• Dates are FLEXIBLE! We will email you to schedule a specific day and time to scan inventory.

• If your equipment is in multiple buildings, look at the date for the building that has the most equipment in it. We will likely scan ALL locations in one session unless across campuses.

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G E O R G E M A S O N U N I V E R S I T Y

PHYSICAL INVENTORY - OVERVIEW

Review Inventory

(Nov – Dec)

Physical Inventory

(Jan – Mar)

Inventory Round

Reporting(Mar – June)

General Management(June – Nov)

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PHYSICAL INVENTORY – OVERVIEW

January thru March• Be prepared to accompany Fixed Assets through

scanning process.• Review Follow-Up Report to resolve any inventory that

is easy to find.• Start looking for missing items.

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PHYSICAL INVENTORY – SCANNING PREPARATION

Be prepared to accompany Fixed Assets through scanning process.

• Alert the entire department when we will be scanning. Let them know to bring in their laptops and make sure Mason barcodes are visible on all equipment.

• Acquire any necessary keys or access codes for rooms containing equipment.

• Review which rooms we need to visit ahead of time. You know your department better than we do!

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PHYSICAL INVENTORY – FOLLOW-UP REPORT

Review Follow-Up Report to resolve any inventory that is easy to find.

• These reports include both SCANNED and NOT SCANNED equipment. SCANNED equipment will be highlighted in GREEN on the report.

• These reports are sent within a week of scanning. Please utilize the electronic version by arranging the report in whichever way is most helpful to you.

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G E O R G E M A S O N U N I V E R S I T Y

PHYSICAL INVENTORY - OVERVIEW

Review Inventory

(Nov – Dec)

Physical Inventory

(Jan – Mar)

Inventory Round

Reporting(Mar – June)

General Management(June – Nov)

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INVENTORY ROUND REPORTING – OVERVIEW

March thru June• Use the Round Reports to report inventory as “found.”• Know what to do if equipment is “missing” after the Final Round.• Review Best Practices for maintaining a low-stress inventory and

even becoming an Exempt Department.

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INVENTORY ROUND REPORTING – OVERVIEW

Round Information

Round Send Date Due Date Notes

Round 1 March 12th March 30th Only sent to Liaison

Round 2 April 9th April 27th Sent to Liaison and Department Chair

Round 3 May 7th May 25th Sent to Liaison, Department Chair and Dean/Director

FinalReports

June 4th N/A Only sent to departments with missing equipment containing a penalty. Used to report penalty items to SVP, Provost

and Budget Office

*Note: Dates are subject to change. Emails will reflect any changes to this schedule.

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INVENTORY ROUND REPORTING – ROUNDS 1 & 2

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INVENTORY ROUND REPORTING – “FOUND” EQUIPMENT

Use the Round Reports to report inventory as “found.”• Be sure the most current Round Report is being used when reporting

equipment as “found.” Sometimes equipment can turn up elsewhere.• Remember to update the Building and Room information on the spreadsheet.

It is not “found” if we do not know the current location!• Return the same spreadsheet with highlighted changes. This is the cleanest

way to report items as “found.” NOTE: We manually enter this information into a database so we must be sure of changes indicated on spreadsheet.

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INVENTORY ROUND REPORTING – ROUND 3

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INVENTORY ROUND REPORTING – FINAL ROUND

Know what to do if equipment is “missing” after the Final Round.

• If current book value of equipment is greater than the dollar threshold, it is subject to a penalty.

Type of Equipment Abbreviation Dollar Threshold Penalty?

General Equipment GEN $5,000 Budget reduction

Laptops LTP $1,000 Budget reduction

Equipment Trust Fund

ETF $500 Replacement

“Not Fixed Asset” NFA Under Thresholds N/A

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INVENTORY ROUND REPORTING – FINAL ROUND

Budget Reduction Example

Missing GEN or LTP Equipment:• Purchased 7/1/2017• 5 year life (useful life)• Cost of $10,000• Annual depreciation $2,000 ($10,000/5 years)• Book value $8,000• Fiscal year 2019 budget reduced by $8,000 for department with missing

equipment

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INVENTORY ROUND REPORTING – FINAL ROUND

Replacement Example

Missing ETF Equipment:• Purchased 7/1/2016• 5 year useful life• Cost of $2,500• Annual depreciation $500 ($2,500/5 years)• Book value $1,500• Department must order a replacement item worth at least $1,500 within

90 days of receiving the Final Inventory Report. Purchase requisition should include barcode of equipment being replaced and Fixed Assets should be notified.

*Note: If ETF computer is older than 3 years, it does not need to be replaced (the 3 year rule applies to ETF desktops and laptops only).

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INVENTORY ROUND REPORTING – BEST PRACTICES

Review Best Practices for maintaining a low-stress inventory and even becoming an Exempt Department.

Use web tools and be proactive throughout the year Request a pre-inventory report towards the end of the summer

or early fall Return home loan information as soon as possible Use most recent report during inventory period Reschedule if not available for scanning or find a substitute Accompany inventory staff Provide access to all areas Notify faculty of inventory dates Equipment available and visible Be compliant with deadlines

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INVENTORY ROUND REPORTING – BEST PRACTICES

Departments can be exempt from participating in the following year’s inventory if:

100% of items are found in Round 1 (Due March 30th)

*Note: Departments with $500K in equipment can be exempt if 95% of items are found in the first round and 100% are found by end of the third round (May 25th)

Note: Departments cannot be exempt consecutively. You can be exempt in FY19 if you find 100% in this inventory (FY18).

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G E O R G E M A S O N U N I V E R S I T Y

REGULAR MANAGEMENT

Review Inventory

(Nov – Dec)

Physical Inventory

(Jan – Mar)

Inventory Round

Reporting(Mar – June)

General Management(June – Nov)

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GENERAL MANAGEMENT – OVERVIEW

June thru November• Keep the equipment safe and encourage others to practice internal

controls in order to prevent loss.

• Send the proper equipment forms to Fixed Assets when changes to

equipment occur.

• Utilize TraQ to help keep up with changes to equipment.

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G E O R G E M A S O N U N I V E R S I T Y

GENERAL MANAGEMENT – INTERNAL CONTROLS

Keep the equipment safe and encourage others to practice internal controls in order to prevent loss.

Importance of Internal Controls• Lock up laptops and other small equipment

• Secure offices and storage rooms

• Keep information up-to-date in case of loss

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GENERAL MANAGEMENT – INTERNAL CONTROLS

In case of Loss or Theft:Step #1: Contact University Police for Incident report

• Contact the University Police (3-HELP) as soon as the loss is discovered• DO NOT DISTURB CRIME SCENE!

Step #2: Gather Information• Find out which equipment was stolen and if any was tagged.• Good information to have: Barcode, Serial Number, Value of Item,

Location, any information on who might have access to the location or any suspicious activity.

Step #3: Contact Risk Management for insurance claim• Proof of ownership• Proof of replacement• Related invoices

Step #4: Send completed Equipment Loss Form to Fixed Assets• Must include police incident report number in order to dispose of

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GENERAL MANAGEMENT – FORMS

Send the proper equipment forms to Fixed Assets when changes to equipment occur

Available on the Fiscal Services Websitehttp://fiscal.gmu.edu/forms-and-instructions/• Home Loan/Off-Campus Assignment Form

Assign equipment to a specific individual• Interdepartmental Transfer Form

Transfer equipment to another department• Returned Equipment Form

Transfer equipment to a vendor as a trade-in for new equipment, return for credit or warranty replacement

• Equipment Surplus FormDispose of a piece of equipment

• Request For Authority to Cannibalize EquipmentRemove parts from specified equipment

Go to Online Forms

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GENERAL MANAGEMENT – SURPLUS WORKFLOW

Notes About Surplus Workflow• Web address is https://workflow.gmu.edu:4443/wfprod/logon.jsp

• Login ID and password are your MESA login and password. If you

have problems logging into Workflow, email assets@gmu.edu

• Help manuals are available at:

http://fiscal.gmu.edu/equipment/dispose-equipment/

Surplus Workflow

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GENERAL MANAGEMENT – TRAQ

Notes About TraQ

• Web address is http://gmu.quetelcloud.com

• To request access, complete the TraQ Access Request

form at http://fiscal.gmu.edu/wp-

content/uploads/2013/10/TraQExpressWebClient.pdf

• Help manual is available on Fiscal Services website

Go to Live Demo

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G E O R G E M A S O N U N I V E R S I T Y

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Equipment Program Administrator:Penny Griffith703-993-4456pgriffi6@gmu.edu

• Financial Reporting Manager:Joy Sobieralski703-993-9595jsobier1@gmu.edu

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