Check-out vs. Custody

When organizing and tracking your gear in Cheqroom, understanding how an item leaves your inventory shelf is key to maintaining data accuracy. Cheqroom separates equipment tracking into two distinct item states based on usage: Check-outs and Custody.

Choosing the right workflow ensures your availability calendars remain clean and your asset utilization reports remain precise. Here is a breakdown of the differences between the two.

Check-outs

The Use Case:  date restricted/date based  loans, daily gear bookings, or project-based field use.

A standard Check-out represents a traditional lending workflow. It is highly time-sensitive and revolves entirely around concrete schedules and deadlines.

• Strict Timelines: Every date restricted/date based check-out requires a definitive From / To date and time.
• Reservations & Check-outs: Because these items are expected back soon, they interact directly with Cheqroom’s booking calendar. Users can place a Reservation on an item for next week, and the system automatically calculates its availability based on when  date restricted/date based check-outs are due back.
• Overdue Alerts: If a user fails to return the gear by the designated deadline, the check-out transitions to an Overdue status, triggering automated system alerts and notifications to prompt a check-in.
• Extendable Check-out window: If a user needs to keep equipment longer than originally planned, they have the flexibility to easily extend the return deadline directly from the active check-out screen. 
• Custom Field Tracking: Beyond standard logistics, you can capture and track tailored information—such as project codes, client names, or job numbers—by adding custom fields directly to your check-out documents. 
• Best For: Camera gear kits checked out for a weekend shoot, a laptop borrowed for a single afternoon presentation, or equipment assigned to a contractor for a three-day project.

Long-Term Custody

The Use Case: Assets assigned to an individual employee for an indefinite period.

Custody moves an item out of the active daily pool and transfers continuous responsibility to a single person indefinitely.

• No Due Date/Check-in Date: Unlike standard check-outs, long-term custody items do not require an active "Return Date" or time. The asset is assigned to the contact indefinitely until a formal Custody Transfer or check-in occurs.
• Removed from General Availability: Because custody signifies long-term possession, the item is removed from the active reservation pool. It will not show up as "available" for standard daily bookings.
• Audit-Based Tracking: Instead of relying on daily "Check-ins," custody items are tracked through system audits like Spotchecks. This allows admins to periodically verify that the person assigned custody still physically holds the equipment.
• Best For: Company laptops assigned to full-time remote employees, smartphones distributed to on-site technicians, or specialized measurement tools kept long-term by lab managers.

Summary Comparison

Which one should you choose?

Ask yourself: Is this asset coming back to the main storage shelf by a specific date so someone else can use it?

• If Yes, use the Check-out workflow.
• If No (it will be living in the user's possession or remote desk for months at a time), assign it to their Custody.