Ghost assets 👻 are items recorded in your system that are no longer in use—either because they are broken, stolen, or simply forgotten. Carrying out regular cleanups ensures your database remains error-free and saves you valuable time during your next physical inventory.
Ghost assets usually stem from two scenarios: Either an asset was registered and should be located at a specific spot, but has gone missing (Status: Missing). Or an asset exists in your system but has not been assigned a location or verified (Status: Unknown). Follow these steps to quickly identify and correct your ghost assets using the seventhings Status tool.
Open the Dashboard and Identify Ghost Assets Instantly
Open your Dashboard. Here, you will see a pie chart displaying the status of your assets. The status is based on the matching between the Target Room (the planned location) and the Actual Room (the current location).
Important:
The following explanations regarding the two relevant statuses for Ghost assets are only meaningful once the inventory has been completed!
During an ongoing inventory, the ‘Missing’ status simply indicates that the asset has not yet been found.
Two specific statuses indicate ghost assets.
The Missing status shows a known asset with a defined Target Room that could not be found at that location during the last check. The item is gone: stolen, broken, or moved to an unknown location.
The Unknown status, on the other hand, describes an asset without an assigned Target Room that has not yet been registered or checked. This is a ghost asset in the literal sense—it should theoretically exist, but you might have no information about what exactly it is or where to start looking for it.
Use the Asset List for a Systematic Check
Click on Assets to see all recorded assets in a table. Filter by the two relevant statuses to display all ghost assets at once. These assets require attention.
Now, open the detail views of all ghost assets one by one. Here, you can check all information: e.g., description, purchase date, category, value, and location assignments. For each affected asset, ask yourself the crucial question: Is this asset still relevant to my company? The following considerations can help you answer this question:
Findability & Availability Is the asset still physically present or truly lost? For "Missing" status: Has the target location been thoroughly searched, or could it have been moved to another location by now? For "Unknown" status: Can you locate it anywhere within the company?
Functionality & Condition Is the asset still functional or is it broken? Is a repair economically viable?
Business Relevance Is the asset still needed? Is there another department that might have a use for it, or is it obsolete?
Financial Assessment How much does the asset cost the company monthly/annually (insurance, maintenance, storage)? Do these expenses outweigh its residual value?
Compliance & Accounting Does the asset need to remain documented for regulatory reasons, or can you write it off? Under which balance sheet item is it recorded?
Time Factor When was the asset last recorded? The longer ago this event was, the more likely it is that the asset is gone for good.
Eliminate Ghost Assets from Your Inventory
Once you have confirmed that an item is indeed a ghost asset, you should clean it up. You have two options for this:
Do you want it to be removed from your regular asset list but retained in the history so that it can still be accessed and, if necessary, restored? Then archive the ghost asset. Select it in the asset list via the checkbox on the left. Then click on More and select Archive.
If you want to permanently delete the asset—because it is gone or broken—you can also remove it permanently from the archive. In this case, it will be irretrievably deleted and can neither be displayed nor restored. To do this, open the archive, select the desired assets, click first on More (Mehr), and then click Delete (Löschen).
Avoid new ghost assets
To prevent new ghost assets from arising, perform regular inventories. Use the App to scan assets and check their status. Among other indicators, the status is displayed as a colored ring around the photo.
Ideally, conduct an inventory semi-annually. This keeps your data up-to-date, prevents new ghost assets, and quickly shows you if something is broken or lost so it can be written off.