1. Decide what's worth tagging
Not everything needs a tag. A useful rule: tag an item if losing it would cost more than an hour of someone's time to sort out, or if it needs inspecting. That usually means:
- Anything shared between crews or jobsites — generators, lasers, specialty saws, pipe threaders, recovery machines.
- Anything with an inspection or test date — harnesses and lanyards, fire extinguishers, ladders, lifts, insulating gloves.
- Anything with an hour meter — compressors, lifts, mowers, compaction equipment.
- Anything expensive enough that you'd file a claim if it went missing.
Leave out consumables and the small hand tools each tech owns. You can always add more later; a list of 40 items tagged this week beats 400 planned for next quarter.
2. Pick a numbering scheme before you print
The tag's QR code is unique on its own, but people still need a short number they can say over the phone. Keep it boring:
- A short prefix and a number —
EQ-101,EQ-102— is enough for most companies under a few hundred items. - If you want the number to say something, use the category, not the location:
GEN-04stays right when the generator moves;VAN3-04doesn't. - Never reuse a retired item's number. Archive the old item and give the new one the next number.
- If your gear already carries numbers from an old system or from the rental company, keep them in the record rather than renumbering.
3. Choose labels for where the equipment lives
The label has to survive as long as the item does — or at least until the next tagging day.
| Where it lives | Label that tends to hold up |
|---|---|
| Shop, office, inside cases | Standard paper address labels (Avery 5160 or similar). Cheap; replace when worn. |
| Truck boxes, jobsites, damp basements | Weatherproof polyester or vinyl labels in the same sheet size, printed on a laser printer. |
| Heavy equipment, outdoor, pressure-washed | Laminated or metal asset tags; or a label under a clear protective overlay. |
| Small or curved tools | A label on the case or a tag on a zip tie, rather than wrapped around a handle. |
Whatever you choose, test one first: stick it on, leave it in the truck for a week and scan it again.
4. Put the label where a phone can see it
- Flat, clean and dry. Wipe the spot with alcohol first; labels don't stick to grease or dust.
- Visible without unpacking. On the outside of the case or housing, at the same spot on every item of the same kind.
- Away from wear. Not on handles, grips, skid plates or anywhere a strap rubs.
- Not over the data plate. Inspectors and dealers need the manufacturer's serial plate readable.
- One per item, two for big ones. A lift or trailer can carry a tag on each side so nobody has to walk around it.
5. Run the tagging day
- Get your list into a spreadsheet: name, number, category, serial, where it is now. (FlowNext imports a CSV like that directly.)
- Print the labels in the same order as the list, so one person peels while another reads out the next number.
- Tag one category at a time — all generators, then all ladders — rather than one jobsite at a time.
- Scan each item as you tag it. That proves the label works and records where the item was on day one.
- Keep a few spare sheets in the office for new purchases and torn labels.
Already have barcodes on your gear?
Rental stickers, manufacturer barcodes and old asset tags can often be used instead of a new label. In FlowNext you link the existing code to the item once and scan it from then on — see QR and barcode tags for which formats work and the one catch with other companies' QR codes.
Want to start before choosing any software? The free QR label generator prints a sheet of tags with your own names on them, no account needed.