Asset Models

Asset Models

An Asset Model groups identical, individually tracked units under one shared template, for example "Dell Latitude 5550" or a fleet of the same camera body. Every unit remains its own asset with its own QR label, custody chain, and history; the model is the family it belongs to. Creating assets from a model pre-fills shared defaults such as category and valuation, so fleets stay consistent as they grow.

This sits between the two tracking methods in Shelf: individually tracked assets, where each item is unique, and quantity-tracked assets, where interchangeable stock is one record with a count. Asset Models give you fleet-level convenience without giving up per-unit identity.

Why group units under a model

• Consistent records: new units inherit the model's defaults, so a fleet of 30 laptops does not drift into 30 slightly different records.
• One picture for the whole fleet: upload a photo once on the model and every unit that has no photo of its own shows it.
• Per-unit accountability stays intact: each unit keeps its own QR label, custody, maintenance reminders, and audit trail, so you always know exactly who has which unit.
• Book by model: reservations can target the model instead of a specific unit.
• Group a fleet you already own: select the units in the asset index, then Actions → Update asset model. You can create the model from inside the picker, and Remove from asset model ungroups a selection the same way. Only the model link changes: category, value, and custody stay as they are, and quantity-tracked assets in the selection are skipped rather than blocking the batch. See Using Batch Actions in Shelf. If you are changing several fields at once, an Asset model column in Bulk Updating Assets via CSV does the same job as part of a wider edit, matching names case-insensitively and creating a model that doesn't exist yet.

Book by model

With units grouped under a model, a booking can reserve a quantity of that model without picking units up front: reserve "4x HDMI cable", and at pickup staff scan whichever 4 physical units they hand out. Any unit of the model fulfils the reservation, and the booking records exactly which units went out. Bookings, including reserving by model, are part of the Team plan.

One cover image for the whole fleet

A model carries an optional Image, set under Settings → Asset models when you create or edit the model. It accepts PNG, JPG, JPEG, and WebP up to 8 MB.

Shelf then picks the picture an asset displays in this order:

1. the asset's own image, if it has one
2. otherwise its model's cover image
3. otherwise the standard placeholder

Nothing is copied onto the individual records. The model holds one file and every unit without a picture of its own points at it, which has four practical consequences:

• Replacing the model's image updates every unit that inherits it, right away. The form tells you the reach before you upload: "Used by 12 assets that don't have an image of their own."
• A unit's own photo always wins. Upload a picture on one laptop of the fleet and only that laptop changes. The model's image is never overwritten.
• Ungrouping is clean. Take a unit out of the model, or delete the model, and that unit falls back to its own photo, or to the placeholder if it never had one.
• It shows everywhere the asset does: the asset index, the asset page, booking and kit lists, reports, audits, the booking PDF, and the Shelf Companion app on your phone.

On an asset's own edit form, Use the model's image instead drops that asset's photo so it follows the model again. An asset with no model image behind it gets Remove image, which clears the photo back to the placeholder.

This also reaches fleets you import. A CSV still cannot carry photos, but if the rows name an asset model that has a cover image, the imported units show it the moment they land.

Asset Models vs Quantity Tracking

Two rules to remember: models group individually tracked items only (a quantity-tracked pool cannot join a model), and while model grouping can be changed at any time, the underlying individual-or-quantity choice is fixed when an item is created.

Related Terms

• How to Choose a Tracking Method: individual, model-grouped, or counted, pick per item type
• Quantity-Tracked Assets
• Bookings: includes book-by-model reservations
• Check-In / Check-Out
• Asset Tagging