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16.11. Track Client Equipment in Custody
Record client equipment your team physically holds, follow it through moves, hand-offs, and vendor shipments, and return it to the client from the Equipment in custody queue.
When GreenLeaf Dental Group's firewall fails and a technician brings it back to the office for a warranty claim, three questions follow: where is the unit now, who has it, and what is it waiting on? Custody answers them. Each stay of a device with your team is one custody episode, from the day you receive it until you return it to the client.
Custody does not create stock and does not touch billing or time.
Before you begin
- You need update permission on assets to receive equipment or to use the custody actions below. Creating a new item while receiving also needs create permission on assets.
- Receiving from a ticket works on the ticket's client. Have the ticket open, or know which client asset you are taking in.
Receive equipment from a ticket
Use this when a device arrives because of a ticket, such as a laptop dropped off for repair or a failed firewall going back to the manufacturer.
- Open the ticket and select Receive equipment at the bottom of the Assets tile.
- Choose Existing asset to pick one of the client's assets, or New item to enter its Name, Type, Manufacturer, Model, Serial number, and an optional Asset tag.
- Pick a Location and, if you use them, a Bin or shelf. The Holder defaults to you.
- Set the Purpose (Repair, Warranty evaluation, Loaner preparation, or Staging), who the Next action is with (Us (MSP), Client, or Vendor), and a Follow up on date.
- Add a Next action note, the Condition on arrival, any Accessories received with quantities, and photos if you need them. The next action note is internal: it is never printed on a label or shown to the client. Photos are attached to the ticket and hidden from the client.
- Select Receive.
Figure 1: Receiving a failed firewall for a warranty claim. The next action is with the vendor, so the item also appears under Waiting on vendor.
A new item is created as a client-owned asset with the status Held by MSP. When the episode starts, AlgaPSA confirms that the equipment is now in MSP custody and offers Print asset label and Open asset.
Receive equipment from an asset
Open the asset and select Receive into custody on its Custody card. The card shows this button only when the asset has no open episode. Otherwise it shows the current location, holder, purpose, next action, follow-up date, and days held.
Figure 2: The Custody card on an asset that is not in custody, with the Receive into custody button.
Work the queue
Expand Assets in the sidebar and select Equipment in custody. The page lists every open episode you are allowed to see.
Use the tabs to narrow the list. Each tab shows a count.
| Tab | What it shows |
|---|---|
| All open | Every open episode. |
| In office | Items physically in your office. |
| Waiting on vendor | Items with a vendor, or items whose next action is with the vendor. |
| Waiting on client | Items in the office whose next action is with the client. |
| Overdue | Items whose Follow up date has passed. |
Filter further by Client, location, Holder, purpose, or Mine.
The table shows Asset, Client, Location, Holder, Purpose, Next action, Follow up, Days held, and Ticket. An overdue follow-up date is shown in red. Select a row to open the asset.
Move equipment through custody
Select the menu in the Actions column, or use the buttons on the asset's Custody card.
- Move: change the location or bin or shelf.
- Hand off: pass the item to a colleague, who becomes the Holder.
- Ship to vendor: enter the vendor or carrier. The item stays in custody and shows as With vendor.
- Receive back: bring it back from the vendor. This is offered only while the item is with a vendor.
- Edit details: change purpose, next action, follow-up date, and notes.
Return equipment to the client
Select Return to client and, if you want, enter Collected by. This closes the episode and removes the item from the queue. You can return an item from the office or from the vendor. If the asset's status is still Held by MSP, it changes to Active.
The asset's Custody history keeps every event, including past episodes.
Operational checks
- Review the Overdue tab daily, and update the follow-up date or next action on anything you are still waiting for.
- Check Waiting on vendor before a client asks about a warranty unit, so you can answer with the vendor and the date it shipped.
- Before returning a device, compare the Accessories on its Custody card with what is going back to the client.