Many companies facilitate their employees' productivity by issuing company-owned laptops for individual use. Salesmen, service technicians and other employees that work off site particularly benefit from having a portable computer to take orders and service customers with. Unfortunately for business owners, portable computers are also subject to loss, damage and theft. To address these concerns, companies conduct laptop audits to ascertain exactly how many laptops they own, who has them and what condition they're in.

Things You Will Need

  • Notebook

  • Pen or pencil

Review your company's purchase records to determine how many total laptops the company has purchased and should have "on hand." With each purchase record you find, note the laptop's manufacturer, model number and most importantly, its serial number.

Determine where each laptop should presently be found and which laptop was assigned to which employee (if possible). This may require employees to bring their laptops in for registration, especially if records were not kept at time of purchase. A company's office manager or IT manager also can be an invaluable resources in determining the disposition of each company-purchased laptop. Note any laptops that have been taken out of service over time.

Compare the serial numbers of each purchased laptop (from the purchase records) with the numbers on each individual laptop, so that each one can be tracked to a specific employee. This prevents stolen or damaged laptops from being swapped for another. It's also important to track each laptop individually so that you can track its lifespan.

Run a basic diagnostics program on laptops while you have each them physically available. This helps ensure they work at peak performance. Free programs such as Glary Utilities, Advanced SystemCare Free, and Everest Ultimate edition are available for download online. Record the date of your diagnostics testing so that each laptop's functional status is documented in your audit.

Trace any missing laptops by recreating a chain of custody. Some questions to ask include: Who signed for it? Who was responsible for issuing it? To whom was it issued and did they receive it?" Consult your company's policy regarding workplace property for steps when laptops are found to be missing or damaged.

Mandate all employees receiving a laptop to sign a declaration of receipt.