QR code vs barcode vs RFID asset tagging

CARO 2020 asks the auditor whether property, plant and equipment have been physically verified by management at reasonable intervals and whether material discrepancies were dealt with in the books. Verification needs a reliable way to say 'this item on the floor is that row in the register'. A serial number can do that for some assets, but serials are often hidden, worn off or missing on furniture and fixtures.

A tag gives every asset a visible, machine-readable identity that matches its record. With tags in place, a verification team scans rather than reads and types, which is faster and far less error-prone. The tag also links the asset to everything else: its maintenance history, its warranty, its custodian and its depreciation.

Linear barcodes

The familiar bars and spaces, read along one line. Symbologies such as Code 128 handle short alphanumeric codes well; EAN-13 is a 13-digit numeric format widely used in retail. Any handheld laser or imager scanner reads them, and USB scanners act like a keyboard, so they work with almost any software.

QR codes and Data Matrix

Two-dimensional codes that store data in a grid of squares. They hold more than a linear barcode in less space and include error correction, so a partly scratched label often still reads. QR codes are readable by phone cameras as well as imager scanners. Data Matrix is very compact and suits small items where a QR code will not fit.

Passive RFID

A chip and antenna in the label (an inlay) answer a radio signal from a reader, without a battery. The identifier written to the chip is usually an EPC (Electronic Product Code). Readers can pick up tags without seeing them and, in suitable conditions, several at once. Metal surfaces and liquids interfere with the signal, so assets made of metal need tags designed for mounting on metal.

In practice, many organisations use a QR code as the default and keep a human-readable code printed next to it, so that an asset can still be found by typing the code if a label cannot be read. RFID is usually added for a subset of assets, such as IT equipment in a large office or tools in a store, rather than for everything at once.

A label that peels off in a year turns your next verification into a hunt. Match the material to where the asset lives.

For RFID, the inlay sits inside the label and the face can be any of the printable materials above. Where the asset is metal, specify an on-metal RFID tag rather than a standard inlay.

A numbering scheme

A common pattern combines a company prefix, a category and a running serial, for example DMPL/IT/0457 or DMPL/PM/0102. Some organisations also add a location segment (company / location / category / serial). That reads well on day one, but assets move: a laptop tagged at Delhi may end up in Mumbai, and the tag then tells the wrong story. If you include location, treat it as the location of first issue and never re-tag just because an asset moved.

Whatever the pattern, keep the tag short, unique and permanent. Retire a tag with its asset and do not reuse it.

Carry an identifier, not values

It is tempting to encode the asset's name, cost and custodian into the QR code so that a phone shows everything. Resist it. Values change, so the label goes out of date the day of the first transfer, and anyone with a phone can read what is printed. A tag should carry only an identifier; the system looks up the current record when the tag is scanned and shows only what that user is permitted to see.

Placement

Put the tag where a person can reach it without moving the asset: the top-right of a monitor's back panel, the inside of a cabinet door, the front plate of a machine away from heat and oil. Use the same position for the same asset type, so teams know where to look. For RFID, avoid placing tags flat against metal or behind other assets that block the signal.

1. Clean the register first. Remove duplicates, fill missing locations and custodians, and agree totals with the books. Tagging a messy register just labels the mess.
2. Choose the technology and materials per asset group, using the comparison above.
3. Fix the numbering scheme and generate tags for every asset that does not have one.
4. Print location labels for rooms and areas as well as asset labels, so counts can start by scanning the room.
5. Tag by area, one room or bay at a time, with a team carrying the list of assets expected there.
6. Confirm each tag with a first scan, which proves the label is readable and on the right asset.
7. Handle exceptions: assets found but not in the register, and register lines with no asset found, go to a list for follow-up rather than being tagged on the spot.

Once every asset carries a tag, a verification campaign becomes a sequence of scans. A typical pattern is to scan the room label first, then each asset in the room. The software already knows what should be in that room, so each scan can be classified immediately: verified, found in a different location, assigned to a different custodian, or not in the register at all. Anything expected but not scanned is a candidate for the missing list.

Count sheets remain useful where scanners are not available. The sheet lists the expected assets per location by tag, the team marks what they find, and the results are imported and checked like a scan. The CARO 2020 physical verification guide covers the programme and documentation an auditor expects, and the CARO 2020 fixed assets checklist gives the evidence list.

To try labels before committing, the QR label generator prints a sheet of QR labels from a list of asset codes in your browser.