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Creating Asset Records

IT Asset Management Guide
Asset Management

Creating Asset Records

Asset records can be created in several ways depending on whether you are entering data manually, from a template, cloning existing records, or importing from external sources. This page covers each method and when to use it.

Manual Entry

The most common way to create an asset is through the New link in the header toolbar:

  1. Click New in the header bar:

New Asset button in the header toolbar

  1. The Create a New Asset dialog opens. On the left, select a category from the tree (e.g., PC - Desktop, PC - Monitor, Servers - Windows). The category determines which form is displayed and what fields are available. If templates exist for the selected category they are listed on the right under "Optional - Select a Template from which to create the Asset"; check one to pre-fill the new asset's fields, or leave the list unchecked for a blank asset of that category.

Create a New Asset dialog showing category and template selection

  1. Click Create Asset to open the asset editing form.
  2. Complete the fields on the form. Required fields are shown in red (e.g. "Required Value").
  3. Click OK to save the new asset and close the form (or Save to save and keep the form open).

The asset is created immediately and assigned a unique reference number. You can continue editing it or return to the results screen.

Creating from a Template

Templates provide pre-populated field values to speed up data entry and ensure consistency. They are selected in the same Create a New Asset dialog used for manual entry:

  1. Click New in the header bar, then select the category the template belongs to.
  2. If one or more templates exist for that category, they appear in the panel on the right. Check the box next to the template you want to use.
  3. Click Create Asset. The new asset form opens with the template's field values already filled in.
  4. Review and modify fields as needed, then click OK to save.

If no templates exist for the selected category, the panel shows "No templates exist for the selected category" and the dialog behaves as plain manual entry. New templates can be created from the same dialog via the Create a template link, or managed via Manage Categories.

Tip: Templates are especially useful for standardised equipment. For example, if your organisation deploys a standard laptop configuration, create a template with the correct manufacturer, model, and specification fields pre-filled. Users creating new laptop records can start from the template instead of entering every field manually.

Cloning an Existing Asset

To create a new asset that is similar to one that already exists, there are three equivalent starting points:

  • From the Create a New Asset dialog (see above), click the Copy an Existing Asset link at the bottom instead of selecting a category.
  • In any results screen, select the asset you want to clone and choose Create a New Asset Like the Selected One from the Actions on Selected Records menu.
  • While viewing an existing asset's editing screen, click the Clone button at the bottom of the form.

All three routes create a copy with the same field values, including specification data.

  1. Edit any fields that should differ from the original (e.g., serial number, asset tag).
  2. Click OK to save the cloned asset.

Tip: Cloning is faster than using a template when you already have a similar asset in the system. It copies all field values including specification data, which templates may not include.

Splitting an Asset

The split function applies to asset records with a quantity of 2 or more. A single record with a quantity greater than 1 represents multiple physical items treated as a group. Use split when those items need to be tracked separately -- for example, when one item moves to a different location or needs different data.

  1. Open the asset in the editing screen.
  2. Click the Split button at the bottom of the screen (alongside OK, Cancel, Save, and Clone).
  3. In the dialog that appears, enter the number of new records to create and the quantity for each.
  4. Click OK. The system clones the original asset into the specified number of records and adjusts the quantities accordingly. Financial transactions are posted against the original record to reflect the split.

Warning: Splitting an asset creates financial adjustments if the asset has financial tracking. Review the resulting records and transactions to ensure the values are correct.

Importing Assets

For bulk data loading, xAssets provides import facilities:

Standard Import:

  1. Navigate to Admin > Transformations > Run a Standard Import.
  2. Prepare a file in Standard Import Format (a structured CSV or Excel template). The required columns and format are documented in the Configuration Guide.
  3. Upload the file through the import screen.
  4. Review the results and resolve any validation errors.

Custom Import:

For non-standard data sources (e.g., data from another asset management system, a procurement system, or a custom spreadsheet), custom import transformations can be created. These use the xAssets transformation engine to map source columns to asset fields. See the Configuration Guide for details.

Tip: Discovery is the most common way assets enter the system -- most hardware records are created automatically by network discovery. Manual entry, cloning, and importing are used for assets that cannot be discovered (e.g., contracts, off-network equipment) or for initial data loading.