Asset register keeper
A small system that records assets, handles the step everybody skips, and verifies itself by sampling rather than by an annual audit nobody has time for. The interesting part is that an asset register serves four different purposes that want different things, and most registers fail because nobody decided which one they were building. Seven posts on the same system, one diagram at a time, with a cost breakdown and an engineering reference at the end.
- 01
An asset register keeper on AWS for a few dollars a month
The whole system on one page — add, move, dispose — and why the third one is the only difficult part.
- 02
What the register is actually for
The four purposes an asset register serves, what each one needs, why they conflict, and how the capitalisation threshold should be set.
- 03
How things get onto it and off it
How acquisitions are captured from purchasing, why physical labels matter, the absence of a disposal trigger, and the moments where one can be created.
- 04
How it gets verified without a full audit
Why full audits fail, how continuous sampling works, how the sample is chosen, and what the accuracy figure is used for.
- 05
What a good register tells you
What an accurate register enables: replacement forecasting, faster claims, and finding equipment that is not being used.
- 06
What the asset register keeper costs
About $2 a month. One Bedrock read per asset is the only line that grows; the queue, the table, the mail and the storage are rounding errors. Plus the three ways the bill could surprise you.
- 07
Engineering reference: the asset register keeper architecture
Same system, drawn purely for engineers. Service names, region, Lambda inventory, IAM scopes, the schemas and the exact model id.
Frequently asked questions
- What is an asset register keeper?
- A small serverless system that records what a business owns, tracks where it is, handles disposals properly, and verifies itself through periodic sampling.
- Why do asset registers go wrong?
- Because things are added and never removed. Acquisition has a natural trigger — an invoice — and disposal has none, so the register grows away from reality in one direction.
- What is the register for?
- Four things that want different data: insurance, accounting, replacement planning and knowing where things are. The post on this argues for deciding which before designing anything.
- Do you need a full annual audit?
- No, and it is usually what kills the register. Sampling a portion each month produces better information and actually happens.
- What does it cost to run?
- A couple of dollars a month. See part six.