There are times when an asset cannot be tagged due to the physical nature of the equipment.  Generally these items will fall into one of two categories: the item is a component of another piece of taggable equipment or; the item is not part of another taggable item.  Some examples include internal components of a machine, magnets, sensitive items where a tag would interfere with the operation of the equipment (e.g., lenses), equipment too small to tag, etc.  Additional reasons might be the conditions to which the equipment may be subjected (environmental such as weather), the surface of the asset, artwork, etc. 

In addition to the above, capitalized software and virtual assets (i.e., a digital representation of value that can be digitally traded or transferred and used for payment or investment purposes) also fall under the non-taggable asset category.  Note, per the July 17, 2017 Frequently Asked Questions Updated: July 2017 For The Office of Management and Budget’s Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, the maximum capitalization level of $5,000 applies to software. This definition “…encompasses purchased software that comes with the hardware with a unit cost greater than $5,000. It does not include internally developed software projects which are to [be] capitalized in accordance with GAAP for financial statement purposes.”  For the UW this means software with a cost of $1,000,000 or more as reflected in the UW Software Capitalization policy.

While these items may not be suitable for tagging they still must be recorded, tracked and inventoried.  Additionally, these assets, along with those that can be tagged, are subject to audit verification including, but not limited to, the internal controls being used by departments/organizations to achieve compliance.

In order to ensure the UW’s equipment records and procedures comply with federal, state and institutional policies departments (organizations) must identify an alternative method for tracking non-taggable assets (equipment) such as:

  • Spray painting (permanent marker) “US Government Property” (and the government tag number if possible) on items,
  • Sewing a “patch” style government property identification label on appropriate items,
  • Storing smaller items in a case/container and applying the tag(s) pertaining to the item(s) stored in the case/container to the case/container itself,
  • Maintaining a “Nontaggable Log” of the item(s) that cannot be tagged e.g., a binder that, at minimum, houses the following asset information:
    • The UW tag (and Federal Government tag when applicable) that would have been applied to the asset.  Note - "NT" for No Tag must be entered into the "How Tagged" box of the snapshot view in OASIS.A print of the snapshot data of the OASIS entry for the asset. Affix the inventory tag to this and enter it into your departmental log. A No Tag log could be as simple as
    • Description of the asset including model number and serial number,
    • Asset location. Note, the “Other Location" field can be populated with more specific location information such as "Used with computer 1199887."
    • Digital image(s) of the asset that reflects the asset’s serial number,
  • When used, a description of the alternative method used should be entered into OASIS, preferably in the “Notes Maintenance” field.  Notify the Equipment Inventory Office (EIO) that the item cannot be tagged and the process being used to track and inventory the asset.