This guide sets up tool checkout from scratch: register your tools, give each one a home, and give your workers a home screen with only the buttons they need. The admin does the setup once, after that the whole routine for the workers is scan, tap, done.

Note that this guide shows the setup for users who only need to borrow, return and move tools. Everything else has been removed to keep it as simple as possible for that kind of user. As an admin you can easily adjust what each user can do and see. Check our other guides or get in touch if you cannot find what you need. The system is as advanced or as simple as you need it to be.

This is how simple the workday is for your workers:

Tap the Tool · Take out / return button on the home screen.
Scan the QR code or barcode on the tool.
Tap Take yourself, done. Returning? Same button, same scan, then Give back.

For the user · everyday use

Borrowing a tool

The mobile app set up as simply as possible, with a single favourite button. Scan, tap, done. That is the whole routine.

Tap the Tool · Take out / return button.
Scan the QR code or the barcode on the tool.
Tap Take yourself, and the tool is registered to you.

Optional: enter a planned Return date, so everyone can see when you intend to bring the tool back.

Returning a tool

Same button, same scan. Tap Give back on the tool card. If the tool group has a checklist, you confirm the points as you return it. The checklist is set up per tool group and can be switched off entirely.

Moving a tool to another location

With a QR code posted at the location, a tool can be moved there with a single scan.

Scan the tool and tap Who has it now on the tool card.
The Tool owner screen opens. Scan the location's QR code, or pick the location from the list.
Confirm, and the tool is now at the new location.

Everything below is one-time admin setup, your users never see any of it. Note that some of this setup can be done in more than one way.

For the admin · one-time setup

Create a new tool in the web app

Here we show how to add one tool at a time. Adding many at once is also possible, we cover that in a separate guide.

Left menu → Tools, then press + (Create Tool).
Fill in Basic. Only Name is required, everything else can be filled in later.
Add a photo with Add Image if you like, and press Confirm.

Only «Name» is required. We still recommend filling in Home, the tool's main location, so everyone knows where to find it, and Tool Category, so you can filter the list later.

Tips for naming locations: «A 1.1» for room A, shelf 1, level 1. «Workshop» for a fixed spot indoors. «Van 3» for a fitter's service van. Use the same pattern everywhere, then everyone finds the tool with a quick look in the app.

The item number is created automatically. If you leave «Home» empty, the tool ends up in a location called «?».

Additional information: the fields explained

Everything on this tab is optional. Fill in what you will use, the rest can stay empty.

Manufacturer Number — the manufacturer's own article number. Useful when you need to order the same tool again or find spare parts.
Manufacturer Name — who made the tool. Makes it easier to search and sort the list by brand.
Barcode — the barcode already on the tool. Enter it here and you avoid printing a new QR code.
Blecode — the ID of a Bluetooth (BLE) tag, if you use those on your tools. If you use QR codes, leave it empty.
Purchasing Price — what the tool cost. It makes the total value of all your tools easy to work out, and gives you documentation if something is lost or damaged.
Purchasing Date — when it was bought. Useful for warranty, and for seeing how old the equipment is.
Usable Until — the date the tool is approved until. Suits ladders, harnesses and measuring instruments that need regular inspection, or equipment with an expiry date.
Permission Group — limits which users have access to the tool, for example equipment only certified fitters should use.

The two last tabs in the same dialog: Note for free text about the tool, and Custom Fields if you need fields the app does not already have.

Create a new tool in the mobile app

Tap the favourite button Tool · Create, or the Lists tab → tool list → +.
Fill in Name and Home. Home can be typed, picked from the list, or scanned from the location's QR code.
Switch on Show all Fields to add more. This is where Barcode sits, so you can scan a QR code or barcode the tool already has instead of printing a new one.
Tap the save icon in the top right, done.

Tip when you are adding many tools: create all the tools in the web app first. Then walk the round with the phone, open one tool at a time, take a photo and scan any barcode.

A new QR code, or the code the tool already has?

For the tool to be scannable you have two options, and both work equally well.

Use the QR code the system creates

The system creates a QR code for every tool automatically, you do not need to do anything extra.
Print it as a label and attach it to the tool.

Use the code already on the tool

While creating it (mobile): tap the scan button in the Barcode field and scan the code.
On a tool that already exists: open it in the mobile app → Details → Add barcode.
In the web app: paste the code into the Barcode field under Additional.

Create a label template

Done once. You decide the size of the label and what information goes on it.

Left menu → Company → Label Templates, and press + in the Tools section.
Pick a label size from the list. The preview on the right shows how the label will look.
Give the template a name and press Confirm.

You can create several templates in different sizes, for example a small one for hand tools and a larger one for boxes and trolleys. The template also decides which fields appear on the label, such as name and location.

Print QR labels for tools

The label template above has to exist first, it is the one you pick when you print.

Tick the tools in the tool list and press the label icon, Create Label for Selected Tool.
Pick the template you made, print, and attach the label where it is clearly visible on the tool.

Ordinary A4 label sheets and label printers from Brother and Dymo are supported. If you need a special format, you can define your own measurements in the template.

Create a location and print its QR code

Left menu → Master Data → Locations, press +.
Type the name and press OK.
Tick the location in the list and press the label icon to print. Hang the code on the shelf or the container.

Users: one admin and simple borrow-only users

The admin sets the system up. Everyone else only needs to borrow, return and move tools. Add users under User Administration and give them the borrow-only role. Set the permissions right on the first user, then use Copy Permissions and Settings for the rest. Here is how: copy user permissions to several users at once.

Choose the right favourites based on what each user needs

The admin can have every button on their own home screen, while the rest of the users only see the buttons the admin picked for them.

Web app: User Administration → pick the user → the Favorites tab, and choose the buttons that user should see.
The Mobile settings tab: tick the option that restricts changing favourites, and hide the lists if you like. Then the worker only sees their own buttons.

Recommended minimal setup: Tool · Take out / return covers both checkout and return. Add more buttons later, when the need turns up.

Useful extras

Project tracking — create a project with dates, add tools, take them out at project start and return them at the end.
Checkout history — who had which tool, when and for how long, plus a «days since last checkout» column.
Return date and alerts — email alerts for overdue tools, your own or everyone's.
Faults and damage — report it while scanning, book the tool automatically to a separate location, and mark it repaired when it is fixed.
Reservations and calendar — reserve tools ahead of time, with a setting that prevents double booking.
Tasks on tools — service and inspection with a due date, and expiry dates for certificates.

Keys work exactly like tools: same checkout and return mechanics, same barcode flow.

Admin setup and tips

Three settings worth knowing about, all of them in the web app.

Email reminder — you and others in the company get an email if a tool is not returned on time.
Left menu → Company → User Administration → Open → email settings
The checklist can be changed per tool group, and can be switched off entirely.
Left menu → Master Data → tool groups → return checklist
The note on the tool can be shown permanently in the mobile app, useful when a message always needs to be visible.
Left menu → Company → Application Settings → the Mobile App Settings tab → Tool: Always show Note on Info Page

That is tool checkout up and running: the tools are registered, the workers have a home screen with only the buttons they need, and every checkout and return is one scan and one tap. Try Lagerdrift free for 30 days, or get in touch if you would like help with the setup.