An inventory is out of sync when the record is not updated as the device moves. Five checks reveal it: rows with no owner, support still paid on retired devices, and two teams holding two different lists. At .bord every reception is logged with photos tied to the serial number, and it blocks if a field is missing.
Check 1
Check when the sheet was last edited
If nobody has touched it since the last joiner or leaver, the inventory is not outdated — it is abandoned. A record that depends on someone remembering has already lost the race against operations.
Check 2
Filter the owner column and count the blanks
Every blank cell is a device nobody will return, because nobody knows they have it. It is the most common ghost asset: the device exists, the owner does not.
Check 3
Pick someone who left last quarter and find what they took
If the answer comes over chat instead of a query, there is no record — there is memory. Memory does not answer an audit and cannot be handed over to whoever joins tomorrow.
Check 4
Cross the latest support or warranty invoice against your list of retirements
Whatever is left over are ghost assets: devices the sheet says you have and that no longer exist. They are paid for every month and only surface when someone crosses the two lists.
Check 5
Ask IT and Finance for the inventory on the same day and compare the totals
If the two numbers do not match, the one used to sign off the next purchase is the wrong one. You over-buy because nobody can prove what is already there.
All five have the same fix: let the movement write the record, not the person. In .bord you can also load devices you did not buy from us, export the inventory to CSV whenever you need it, and every movement is stamped with its serial number, operator and time.
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