Part 1

How Inventaris thinks

These five sections explain the basics. Anyone who knows the three terms and the seven roles will quickly find their way around the rest of the manual.

1.1 What Inventaris is for

Inventaris answers two questions at any time, without you having to ask anyone:

• What do we have? Every device individually, with its own inventory number, location, acquisition value and current value.
• Who has it right now? With name, date and due date. Plus a reminder before the due date runs out.

All other functions build on these two questions. The reservation answers them for the coming week. The damage report shows why a device is not available right now, and the report shows what the stock is worth.

1.2 Product, unit, loan: the three terms

Anyone who keeps these three terms apart will find their way around the whole application easily.

This way you maintain manuals, purchase price, warranty period and useful life once on the product instead of fifty times on every iPad. The unit only holds what differs from device to device: location, serial number, condition.

Three kinds of product

• Single device. The normal case, for example a projector or a notebook.
• Set. Several units that are handed out together and share a common set code. For example, a class set of tablets in a case: one scan books all twenty devices.
• Consumables. Material that doesn't come back, such as batteries, markers or cables. Here the stock counts instead of the individual number.

1.3 Who may do what: the seven roles

Each account has exactly one role. It determines what appears in the menu: what someone isn't allowed to do isn't shown to them. In addition, Inventaris checks the permission again every time something is submitted.

The seven roles at a glance

What each role is allowed to do in detail

Because the first four roles build on one another, one detail per task is enough: from which role it is allowed. Whoever is higher up may do it too. The tasks that come up daily at the counter are at the top, and those that affect the whole organisation are at the bottom.

Borrowers and students don't appear in this table, because none of these tasks belong to their role. Borrowers see their own loans, reserve devices and report what they notice; students see the library and their own loans. More on this in Part 6. The kiosk account may only use the tasks in the first row.

What each role sees in the menu

The menu follows the same permissions. A group with no permitted menu items is hidden, which is why a kiosk account sees only Operations.

The borrower has their own menu with the same headings: under Operations are Overview, My loans and My reservations, and with self-service switched on also Borrow device and Withdraw material. Under Cases are Damage reports, Requests, Tickets and Archive, and under Add-ons whatever has been booked: Library, Teaching materials, Swyron AI. Students only see Overview, My loans and the Library, plus Swyron AI if it is switched on for them. More on this in 6.1.

Responsibilities: what someone looks after

On the account, under Responsibilities, you set what a person looks after: loans and reservations, inventory, network and IT documentation, consumables, damage reports, tickets, requests, invoice control, projects, library and teaching materials. Only these areas appear on their overview and in the menu, and they only receive notifications for them, by email, in Teams and in the app. By default every role has its usual areas. For managers and staff, a removed area is also closed by address; they then only see tickets, damage reports and requests they created themselves or that are assigned to them. Staff can be given individual tasks without changing their role. For the owner and admins the ticks only arrange the overview and notifications; they keep full access (see 2.8).

1.4 Signing in and signing out

Signing in happens in two steps. First there's only the question for the email address; as soon as you've entered it, the password field appears.

Sign out

Your name is at the bottom left. You sign out using the small symbol to the right of it, an arrow pointing out of a door. After 15 minutes without activity the application signs you out by itself. On your next click you land back on the sign-in screen.

Forgotten password

The sign-in screen shows Forgotten your password?. You enter your address and get an email with a link through which you set a new password. The link is valid for one hour and can only be used once.

1.5 The layout of the screen

The menu on the left is divided into six groups, ordered from daily work to what is rarely needed:

1. Operations

   What is needed daily: overview, loans, return, reservations.

2. Personal

   What concerns you yourself, even if you manage the whole organisation: My loans, My reservations.

3. Inventory

   Everything concerning stock: products, units, consumables, inventory control, documentation, software, contracts, device management, values, reports.

4. Cases

   What comes up alongside loans: projects, damage reports, requests, tickets, archive.

5. Add-ons

   What your organisation has booked on top: library, teaching materials, Swyron AI. The group appears as soon as a module is booked.

6. Administration

   What you rarely need: master data, import data, export data, settings.

Part 2

Set up

For owners and administrators. From the empty application to the first loan, in an order that gets you there quickly.

2.1 The first day: nine steps

It's best to work in this order, because each step uses what the previous one created. If the rooms are already recorded, for example, you can pick the location straight away when creating the units.

1. Organisation details

   Name, address, contact. Appears on every email the application sends. → 2.2

2. Choose features

   Switch off whatever your organisation doesn't need. Then it appears in no menu. → 2.3

3. Create rooms

   Room, workshop, store. You'll need the rooms later to set the location. → 2.4

4. Fill the selection lists

   Categories, suppliers, storage locations. When recording, you then choose from the list, and each term is spelled the same everywhere. → 2.5

5. Record staff

   Everyone allowed to borrow something. With an employee number for scanning. → 2.7

6. Invite accounts

   Only for those who should sign in themselves. → 2.8

7. Create products

   One entry per model, not per device. → 2.9

8. Create units

   Now the individual devices, with an inventory number. → 2.10
   Already have an Excel list? Then import it instead of typing it out. → 2.17

9. Book the first loan

   As a test, with any device, and take it straight back. → 3.1

2.2 Organisation details

Where: Settings → Organisation

2.3 Switching features on and off

Where: Settings → Features

Not every organisation needs everything. A club with thirty trestle benches doesn't need requests with an approval chain. What you switch off here disappears from the menu for everyone, including the borrowers.

The switches for students and for Swyron AI only appear when the library or Swyron AI respectively has been booked.

2.4 Creating rooms

Where: Master data → Rooms

1. Enter the name

   Just as it appears on the door: «B12», «Aula», «Werkhalle Nord».

2. Press Add

   The room appears immediately in the list above and is available from then on in every selection list.

2.5 Filling the selection lists

Where: Settings → Selection lists

These are the suggestions that appear under a field when recording: categories, suppliers, warehouses, storage locations, conditions, cost centres, departments. They are suggestions: you can also write something in each of these fields that is not in the list.

2.6 Custom fields

Where: Settings → Custom fields

What your organisation additionally keeps track of: leasing contract, funding number, fixed-asset accounting account, inspection sticker. You can create up to twenty fields per area, separately for units, products and people.

The six field types

2.7 Recording staff

Where: Master data → Staff

Here are all those who are allowed to borrow something, with or without an account. That is the difference from user management: staff borrow, an account signs in.

The same number is on the virtual card that everyone with an account opens in the application. If the staff sheet has no number yet, the application assigns one the first time the card is opened. What the card looks like and how it gets into the wallet is described in 6.10.

2.8 User accounts and roles

Where: Settings → Users

1. Enter address and role

   The roles are set out in 1.3. When in doubt, the smaller one: you can always raise it later.

2. Press Invite

   The person gets an email with a link. The link is valid for seven days.

3. The person sets their own password

   You never see it and never have to pass it on. The list shows invited until they've done so.

Setting responsibilities

When editing an existing account, the Responsibilities block sits at the bottom: one tick per area, and below it that area’s notifications, which can be switched off one by one. Ticket assignments and approval requests always arrive. The details are in 1.3.

Withdrawing an invitation

Next to an open invitation is Withdraw. The link in the email already sent no longer works afterwards.

Blocking an account

A blocked account can no longer sign in. Its loans and reports remain and can still be attributed. Deleting is intended for accounts that were created by mistake.

When you set a password

If you set a new password for someone, that person gets an e-mail with the time and your name. That way they are kept informed of every such change. Only the owner can change the role and password of an administrator account.

In the change log, Inventaris also records who changed a role, a block or responsibilities, set a password for someone or invited someone, who changed the organisation’s details or the features (with what applied before and after) and who exported data as a CSV file.

2.9 Creating products

Where: Products → Add product

Acquisition details on the product

Further down there is a block with price, purchase date, warranty, supplier, cost centre and useful life. If you tick Keep acquisition data on the product here, these details apply to all units of this product.

Who is allowed to collect it themselves

At the very bottom is the tick Borrowers may reserve this product themselves. It is set when you create the product, because that is the usual case: projectors, cables, charging trolleys.

Take it away and the product disappears from the selection a borrower sees when reserving. They can't reserve it even if they know the inventory number, and they get the note to report at the counter. Nothing changes at the counter: whoever is allowed to book can still book every device. The tick only governs self-service.

Individual devices can be exempted from this. How is described in 2.10.

2.10 Creating units

Where: Units → Add unit

The most important fields

An exception to the product's rule

Whether borrowers may reserve themselves is set on the product (2.9) and applies to all its units. For thirty identical iPads, a single rule is enough.

Sometimes a single device differs: of five cameras, only the old one may be borrowed by self-service, or a notebook is intended as a spare device and should stay at the counter. That's what the Self-service box on the unit's sheet is for. Without a tick the unit follows the product, and that's the default. With a tick, choose for this one unit Borrowers may reserve it themselves or Only via the counter.

Print labels

In the list of units, press Multiple selection, select the desired lines on the left (the tick at the very top selects all on the page) and then press Print labels. For a single device it is quicker: on its page, Print label.

2.11 Manuals and questions on the device

Where: Products → open a product → Manuals

The place for the answer to “How does this work again?”. What you store here appears on the sheet of every unit of this model. That way it's found by whoever is holding the device.

1. Choose the type

   Manual for 'How to connect the beamer', Question for 'Why is the picture blue?'.

2. Write the title and text

   Blank lines separate paragraphs. Short sentences, one step per paragraph.

3. Attach a link optional

   For example to the manufacturer's manual. Only http and https are accepted.

4. Visible to borrowers?

   The tick decides whether borrowers can see the entry too. Without the tick, only staff can see it. This is suitable for tasks that only staff carry out.

2.12 Consumables

Where: Consumables

• Stock: how much is there right now.
• Minimum stock: from when a warning is given. Set it to what you need until the reorder arrives.
• Unit: piece, pack, metre.

You book issue and receipt via Withdrawal and Receipt directly in the list. Every booking is recorded with person and time, so that at the end of the year it can be traced where the forty markers have gone.

2.13 Signing in via Microsoft 365

Where: Settings → Integrations → Microsoft 365   optional

If your organisation uses Microsoft 365, no one needs a second password. Signing in runs through the same accounts as everywhere else. Anyone who leaves the organisation loses access automatically.

Create these groups first. In Microsoft 365 under Entra ID → Groups → New group, group type Security, then add the people as members. The names must end as shown here so the application finds them by itself when connecting.

You don't need all six. Whoever only wants to manage staff creates just the first one; whoever lets no one sign in leaves out the five role groups. The group SiGR-Inventaris-SuS is only needed with the Library add-on.

1. Press Connect

   You land at Microsoft. Sign in with an account that is administrator in the directory.

2. Give consent

   Microsoft shows what the application would like to read. After you consent you land back in Inventaris.

3. Assign security groups

   Six groups, six roles. The sixth, SiGR-Inventaris-SuS, is only needed with the Library add-on. If your groups are named as suggested, the application assigns them by itself and you only have to confirm.

4. Switch on

   From now on the Sign in with Microsoft button appears on the sign-in screen.

The app in Microsoft Teams

Once Microsoft 365 is connected, the Microsoft Teams card with the app package appears on the same settings page. Uploaded once, Inventaris appears on the left in Teams for everyone, and the whole application runs inside it: every page opens in the tab, with the same rights as in the browser. On phones and tablets, a camera icon appears next to every number field; scanning uses the Teams scanner. Microsoft rolls out apps and setup policies with a delay. In larger tenants it takes up to 72 hours for the app to appear for everyone.

The app has one tab, Inventaris: the whole application, with “My loans” and “My reservations” in the menu under “Personal”. On phones and tablets the camera scans directly in Teams. Under “Activity”, in addition to the e-mail, you get reminders and notices, news on tickets (received, assigned, reply, done) and the new status of your own damage report. Tapping a notification opens exactly that loan, ticket or report, without the menu around it; every link in it leads into the “Inventaris” tab. A case appears only once in the feed: the new notification replaces the previous one. This needs the “TeamsActivity.Send” permission, added via Request permissions again.

1. In the Teams admin center, under Teams apps → Manage apps, click Upload and choose the file.
2. Under Teams apps → Setup policies, pin the app so it appears on the left for everyone. Or each person adds it under Apps. It can take a while for the app to appear for everyone: Microsoft rolls out apps and setup policies with a delay, up to 72 hours in larger tenants.
3. Sign-in uses the Microsoft 365 account. The tab is available to anyone with an Inventaris account.

Error codes for sign-in with Microsoft 365

If sign-in fails, the sign-in page shows a short sentence with an error code. Here is what it means and what helps. Microsoft’s technical text is in the back office, under the organisation’s last error.

2.14 Device management: Intune, Jamf, Mosyle

Where: Settings → Integrations → Device management   optional

If you already manage your devices with Microsoft Intune, Jamf Pro or Mosyle, then that system already knows which devices exist and what serial number they carry, who uses them and when they last checked in. Inventaris takes over these details, so you don't type them in a second time.

What you have to prepare in the respective system

1. Create a connection

   Choose the system, give it a name («iPads (Jamf)»), enter the credentials, save.

2. Press Check

   The application only fetches a token. A green message confirms the credentials, a red one says what is missing.

3. Press Sync now

   The stock is now fetched. Depending on the number, that takes a few seconds to two minutes.

4. View the list

   Inventory → Device management. The most important tab is Unassigned.

Overnight on its own

The sync also runs every night, as soon as your administrator has set up the corresponding job. You can tell from the date in the Last column whether it's running.

What is recorded on an individual device

Open a unit that comes from the MDM, find the Device management tab at the top with four sub-tabs:

• Taken over. What the nightly sync has saved: device name, model, system, signed-in person, last report. Appears immediately.
• Device. Hardware in detail: storage used and free, encryption, supervision, IP and MAC address, battery level, enrolment date.
• Apps. What is installed on the device, with the version.
• Profiles. Which configuration profiles apply and whether they take effect. A red “error” or “conflict” shows why an iPad behaves differently from the rest.

2.15 Two-step sign-in

Where: Settings → My account → Two-step sign-in

In addition to the password, a six-digit code from an app on your phone. For owner accounts this is mandatory, for everyone else it is optional.

1. Open an authenticator app

   Microsoft Authenticator, Google Authenticator, 1Password, Bitwarden: any app that generates time-based codes will do.

2. Scan the displayed code

   There is a QR code on the page. Anyone who cannot scan types the string beneath it into the app by hand.

3. Enter and confirm the first code

   Only then is setup complete. If the code doesn't match, check the time on your phone.

4. Print out the ten backup codes

   They're shown exactly once. Print them out and keep them somewhere you can reach without a phone. You use them to sign in when you don't have your phone to hand.

Keeping an eye on your sign-ins

Where: Settings → My account → Security. It lists the devices you are currently signed in on (you sign out an unknown one with Sign out), and your sign-ins over the last 90 days, successful and failed. A wrong current password when changing your password or switching off two-step sign-in also counts as a failed attempt; after several failed attempts, entry is blocked for a while. Owners and administrators also see the sign-ins of the whole organisation. If failed attempts pile up on one account, this points to someone trying to guess the password.

2.16 Subscription and invoices

Where: Settings → Subscription  ·  Settings → Invoices

Under Invoices you'll find all previous invoices. A click opens the invoice as an A4 sheet.

2.17 Importing existing lists

Where: Administration → Import data

Every organisation that introduces Inventaris already has a list, usually in Excel, grown over the years and with its own column names. You import this list here instead of typing it out.

1. Download the template if you don't have a file yet

   It contains three filled-in example rows. They show you, for example, how to write the date and the price. You delete the examples before uploading it again.

2. Save your file as CSV

   In Excel: File → Save As → CSV. Whether separated by semicolon, comma or tab: all three are recognised. Save an .xlsx file as CSV first; the application points this out to you with the step to take.

3. Upload and view

   Nothing is written yet. You get a preview.

4. Reading the preview

   Three figures at the top: how many units will be newly created, how many existing ones will be supplemented, how many rows have an error.

5. Take over

   Only here is anything written.

Three rules

Spellings

• Date: 31.12.2026 or 2026-12-31. The American notation is not read, because with 03/04/2026 it would be unclear whether March or April is meant. That way dates such as the end of the warranty are reliably correct.
• Price: 1'250.00, 1250,50, CHF 980.–. All three notations are recognised.
• Status: «Available», «Defective», «Under repair» or also «free», «broken», «workshop».

Part 3

Day-to-day work at the counter

This part describes the daily work at the counter. Print it out for the computer at the issue point.

3.1 Lending out a device

Where: Loans → New loan

The form is divided into three numbered blocks, and you work through them from top to bottom. With a scanner, a loan takes about ten seconds.

1. Scan the employee number

   The cursor is already in the right field. Scan the badge or type in the number and press Apply.

   What happens: photo, name, function, class or department, email and phone are taken from the master data. On the right, the list of devices this person already has appears. In block 3 these details are then locked, because they are maintained on the staff record.

   Without a scanner: below the field is Choose from the list without a scanner. A click opens the list of staff. The result is the same as after a scan.

   Without any staff record at all: leave the field empty and enter the name by hand further down in block 3. Then the fields there are open.

2. Scan the items

   Inventory number, serial number or set code: the application recognises on its own what is meant. After each scan the line appears in the list below.

   For a set: One scan of the set code takes up all units of that set at once.

   Without a scanner: Below the field is Choose from the list without a scanner. A click opens a selection list in which the devices are grouped: first those permanently assigned to this person, then their own loans, then all the rest.

   Scanned the wrong thing: On the right of each line is a remove button.

3. Book

   Check the return date, booking type and, if necessary, the room. Then press Book loan.

The booking types

3.2 Taking a device back

Where: Return

1. Scan the item

   Inventory number or serial number. The cursor is already in the field.

2. Check the condition

   If the product has accessories on file, a checklist appears: remote control, cable, bag.

3. Press Take back

Something came back broken

Take the device back in the normal way and then report a damage (4.1). That keeps the history clear: the loan is closed, and the damage continues as a case of its own.

3.3 Fixed assignments

A work phone, a personal notebook, the permanently mounted projector in room B12: devices that stay permanently with a person or in a room.

You book it like an ordinary loan. For a person, choose the booking type Fixed to employee in step 3. For a room, tick Assign to a room in step 1; the booking type then becomes Fixed to room, and you choose the room in step 3. Then:

• There's no due date: the loan never becomes overdue.
• No reminder goes out.
• In the overview these devices count in their own tile ('Fixed to employee', 'Fixed to room') and not among the ordinary loans.

Returning is still possible at any time via the ordinary return, for example when someone leaves the organisation.

3.4 Reservations

Where: Reservations

A reservation secures a device for a day or a few days; it isn't on loan yet as a result. No one else can reserve the same device for the same period.

The catalogue makes it easier: under “Reservations → Reserve device” every product is shown with a picture, a short description, where it is kept and how many are free. You tick what you need, several at once if you like, and then choose the days. Inventaris picks the exact device for you.

3.5 The daily overview

The overview is built so that in the morning you can read from top to bottom and afterwards know what's coming up.

The overview and the counters in the menu update by themselves as long as the tab is open: if a new request, a reservation or a booking comes in, or a ticket changes, it appears here without you reloading the page.

Sending a notice manually

Every overdue loan has Send notice: on the loan itself and in the “Overdue loans” list on the overview and under Loans. In the window you set a final deadline (one week by default, tomorrow at the earliest) and send the notice. It goes by email in the borrower’s language, and also in Teams for Microsoft accounts. The loan stays overdue until it is returned or extended.

3.6 What the coloured markers mean

The colours are the same throughout the application. That way you can see at a glance in every list how things stand.

Part 4

When something comes up

Three kinds of case, all built to the same pattern: what it's about, which device, what's wrong, how urgent, what happens next.

4.1 Reporting damage

Where: Damage reports → Report damage

1. Subject

   A sentence that is clear in a list, for example “Beamer B12 shows blue stripes”.

2. Choose the device

   Scan or choose from the list. Your own devices are at the top.

3. Description

   What exactly is happening, since when, and what you have already tried.

4. Attach a photo recommended

   A picture often saves a follow-up question. Photos from the phone are reduced in size automatically on upload.

5. Submit

4.2 Handling a damage report

Where: Damage reports → open a report

4.3 Tickets

Where: Tickets

For anything that is neither a damage report nor a request: «network outlet in B14 dead», «order projector lamp», «mount wall bracket». The structure is the same as for a damage report, plus a priority (low, normal, high, urgent) and a category.

Every ticket has a number

When it is submitted, a ticket gets a number like TIC-2026-0042. It appears on the ticket and in the subject line of every message about it. That way you can sort by it in your inbox, and on the phone the number is enough. The counter runs per organisation and per year.

Reply or internal note

You can write under every ticket. Anyone allowed to work on it has a tick Internal note: with it, the text goes only to those working on it. The person who reported it sees it neither on the page nor by email.

That way agreements such as “The lamp has already been defective twice, this time replace it instead of repairing it” stay in the ticket, and the teacher who reported the projector only gets the reply intended for them.

Whoever answers takes over

If a ticket belongs to no one yet and someone with edit rights writes into it, it is assigned to that person. That way it's clear straight away who is working on it. A ticket that already belongs to someone stays with that person, even if others ask questions in it.

A reply to a resolved ticket reopens it. This only applies to public replies; an internal note doesn't reopen it. How often a ticket was reopened is counted. That way you can recognise problems that keep coming back.

The device is right next to it

If a ticket is attached to a device, its details appear to the right: inventory number, model, serial number, condition, location, acquisition, warranty and dealer. Below that, three figures that help with the reply: who currently has the device on loan, how many damage reports are open and how many other tickets there are for this device. Together these details show whether a repair is still worthwhile.

Replying with Swyron AI

If the Swyron AI add-on is booked and the switch Swyron AI suggests ticket replies is on (off by default), Revise with Swyron AI and Suggest a reply with Swyron AI appear below the comment field. The suggestion appears in the comment field; you check it and send it yourself. More in 5.11.

Who gets a message

Inventaris sends emails for every ticket to the person who reported it and to those working on it, depending on what happens:

This is set up by management: under Settings → Users, each person shows which of these messages they receive. That way new reports reliably reach those working on tickets. Messages about your own ticket always come through.

With Microsoft 365 and the Teams app, the same messages also arrive under “Activity” in Teams, as long as the switch Post tickets and damage reports in Teams is on (on by default). A ticket appears there only once: the new notification replaces the previous one.

4.4 Requests and approval

Where: Requests → Submit request

A request is a wish to acquire something, with a justification: "We need a second document-camera trolley." It runs through a chain from submission to invoice check.

The path of a request

4.5 Projects

Where: in the menu under “Cases”, item “Projects”. Only in the Pro subscription and only for owner, administrator and manager.

A project bundles what is already there: devices, tickets, requests and damage. For example a device rollout, the summer maintenance or the move of a specialist room: undertakings that run over weeks and connect several cases.

Every project has six tabs: the overview with progress and budget, the plan with phases and tasks, the schedule as a bar chart, the budget with cost items, the links to devices and cases, and the communication with those involved and the history.

Part 5

Control and reporting

What you need for the annual check and when someone wants figures on the stock from you.

5.1 Inventory check

Where: Inventory control

1. Create a control

   A name and optionally the restriction to a room or a category.

2. Walk through the premises with the phone

   Scan every device. It is immediately ticked off as seen.

3. Review the miss list

   At the end is what wasn't scanned. If a device is currently on loan, that's shown alongside.

4. Finish

   The check is recorded with a date and can be called up again later.

5.2 Values and current value

Where: Values

5.3 Reports

Where: Reports

5.4 Archive

Where: Archive

What is completed moves here by itself after seven days: returned loans, resolved damage reports, closed tickets, completed requests and expired reservations. During these seven days a case stays in the active list in case it is taken up again.

Nothing is deleted. Via Restore a case comes back into the active list, should it turn out that it wasn't finished after all.

5.5 IT documentation

Where: Documentation

A dedicated area for the question of what depends on what:

Outlet in the room  ──►  patch panel port  ──►  switch port

• Locations and cabinets: with rack units and counting direction.
• Devices in the cabinet. When they are installed, the ports are created automatically from the form factor. Existing ports are kept along with their connections.
• Outlets: per room, with labelling.
• Connections. A cable has two ends, and each end can only be assigned once.
• Networks: VLANs with address range and purpose.
• Documents: instructions, procedures and training slides as files that Swyron AI may read during the conversation (just below).

Documents

Where: Documentation → Documents

This is the place for what doesn’t fit into fields and already exists as a file: operating instructions, emergency procedures, concepts, training slides. With the Swyron AI add-on (5.11), Swyron AI searches them during the conversation and so helps to solve problems. Anyone who may manage the inventory can upload, change and delete; anyone who sees the documentation sees the list. Like all of the IT documentation, this needs Pro.

• Upload: title, optionally category and short description, plus the file: Word (.docx), PowerPoint (.pptx), Excel (.xlsx), PDF or text, at most 25 MB. Save older formats (.doc, .ppt) as .docx or .pptx first. Inventaris reads the text from the file; the file itself can be downloaded via its title.
• For whom: Staff (default) or Everyone. Borrowers and students never see the list; with Everyone, Swyron AI can still help them from the document, for example with the instructions for the projector in the hall.
• Swyron AI may read this document: on by default. Without the tick, the document remains an ordinary file and the list shows Not released.

The Swyron AI column shows whether the text could be read:

• Reads along: the text has been read, Swyron AI finds things in it.
• No text found: the file contains no readable text, usually it's a scanned PDF. In this case, upload a version with text, for example saved as PDF from Word.
• Being read …: the text will be read in the background within the next few minutes.
• Not readable: the file could not be opened. Save it again (for example as .docx or PDF) and upload it once more. When editing, Read text again reads a file once more.

5.6 Software and licences

Where: Inventory → Software

The overview of which software is in use and licensed: Microsoft 365, the school administration software, the learning program. With licence type, seats, term, costs and the documents that go with it. Anyone who sees the inventory can view it; only managers, administrators and owners can change it, assign seats and see the licence key. Software is part of the IT documentation and requires Pro.

• Add software. Name, vendor, category, version and platforms, the licence type, the number of seats (empty means no limit), term and costs.
• Licence keys are stored encrypted and shown only to the administration, with Show. Inventaris does not store passwords: Password is kept in only says where it is, for example in the IT department’s password manager.
• Assign a seat to a person or a device (inventory or serial number, typed or scanned). If more seats are assigned than purchased, the software shows More assigned than licensed.
• Expiry and reminder. If a subscription renews automatically and has a notice period, Inventaris reminds you of the last day to cancel, otherwise of the expiry. The e-mail goes to the person responsible; if nobody is chosen, to owners and administrators. Inventaris moves expired auto-renewing subscriptions on by a month or a year overnight.
• Documents are short instructions and links, such as “Sign-in for teachers”. Each one says whether Swyron AI may read it (Read by Swyron AI, on by default) or whether it stays Internal only. On top come files such as the licence certificate or invoice.
• No longer in use takes software out of the list and out of the costs; documents, files and seats are kept.

5.7 IT contracts

Where: Inventory → Contracts

What IT costs on an ongoing basis and by when you have to cancel: internet connection, telephony, printer leasing, maintenance, hosting, licence agreements, insurance. Only owners, administrators and managers see this area; staff members, borrowers and students never do. Like software, it is part of the IT documentation and requires Pro.

• Add contract. Title, contract partner, contract number, category and service, then start, end, notice period and whether the contract renews automatically, and by how many months. Plus amount and payment.
• Next deadline. If a contract renews automatically and has a notice period, Inventaris works out the last day to cancel; otherwise the end applies. If the deadline is missed, the one for the next term applies. An e-mail reminds you as many days ahead as you set. It goes to the person responsible; if nobody is chosen, to owners and administrators.
• Record cancellation once you have cancelled: the contract no longer renews, and no reminder comes. End contract once it has run out: it no longer counts towards costs. Both can be undone.
• Costs. IT costs per year adds up contracts and software. A licence agreement that you link to a software entry under Belongs to software isn’t counted twice: its costs are shown with the software.
• Files and contact person. Attach the contract, quotes and invoices directly. Only the administration sees the contact person at the partner.

5.8 Exporting data

Where: Administration → Export data

Your data belongs to you. You can get to it at any time, without asking and without anyone having to unlock anything.

What you get

Eleven areas: units, products, consumables, loans, reservations, staff, rooms, damage reports, tickets, requests and user accounts. Each with all columns; statuses are in plain words.

What isn't included

• Uploaded files. Photos and receipts are attached to the respective entries and can be downloaded there individually. If you need everything at once, write to us.
• Passwords. They are not stored in plain text anywhere and are therefore not part of the export. For a migration, what's in the file is enough: name, address and role.

5.9 The network from UniFi

Where: Documentation → Devices (UniFi)   optional

If your organisation uses Ubiquiti UniFi, you don't need to record the cabling by hand. A switch with 48 ports would otherwise be 48 rows whose assignment keeps changing. The controller already knows the ports: which one is up, at what speed, whether PoE is flowing and what is connected to it.

1. Create a local account in UniFi

   Settings → Administration → Administrators, role View only. A local account is required; a Ubiquiti cloud account doesn't work here. A dedicated account also remains valid when a person leaves the organisation.

2. Enter the address and account

   The address at which you open the interface, for example https://192.168.1.1, with no path after it.

3. Check the connection

   Inventaris only checks the sign-in and changes nothing. Afterwards you see which sites the controller knows.

4. Sync now

The principle

Overnight on its own

The sync runs every night at 05:40, device management (2.14) at 05:20. When it last ran and what came of it is shown on the settings page.

5.10 Library and teaching materials

The library and teaching materials are two add-ons. Both work the same way: a title with its details and, below it, the copies, each with its own number for the label. Titles and copies are not part of the device inventory and do not count towards the subscription’s units; the booked tier limits the copies.

Adding a title

Under Add title, scan the ISBN and press Look up: title, author, publisher and cover are filled in, from ISBNdb first, otherwise from the German National Library or Open Library. Check the details, add level and location, choose the number of copies and save. Without an ISBN you enter it by hand. If the title already exists, the lookup takes you straight to it and you add copies there.

Loans, class sets, returns

At the desk, books are scanned like devices and can be on the same loan. For a class set, choose the teacher or class, the number and the due date on the title page: one loan with all copies. Returns work as usual. You set a copy’s condition (damaged, retired, lost) on the title page.

Holds

When all copies are on loan, you can place a hold on a title. First come, first served. When a copy comes back, the return says “Set aside for …” and the person gets an email. The copy waits for them for seven days; otherwise the next person moves up.

Importing an existing list

Under Import, upload a CSV file. A Title or ISBN column is required; number, author, level, location and quantity are optional. Barcodes already stuck on the books are kept as numbers. You see a preview first; nothing is written until Apply. Export delivers the whole holdings in the same format.

5.11 Swyron AI

Where: Add-ons → Swyron AI, or the question field on the overview

Swyron AI is an add-on: questions about your stock in everyday language, answered from your own data. “Which loans are overdue?”, “What are our notebooks worth today?”, “Which devices go out of warranty by the end of the year?”. Depending on the tier booked, your organisation has a fixed number of questions per month.

Asking questions

Type the question into the field and press Enter; Shift+Enter starts a new line. Follow-up questions go in the same conversation: “and of those, only the ones in the workshop?”. If Swyron AI offers several answers to choose from, tap one of them. Clear chat history starts over. Swyron AI answers questions about Inventaris. It doesn’t answer questions on other topics such as writing texts, research or general knowledge, and they don’t count against the quota. If an area isn’t booked by your organisation, Swyron AI tells you so.

Help with a device

If a device isn’t working, give its inventory number: “NB-0012 won’t start”. Swyron AI then knows the model, accessories and the instructions on the product (2.11) and guides you step by step; without a number it asks for one first. Numbered steps can be ticked off as tried, and that goes along with the next message. Staff get help with a software in the same way, from its released documents (5.6).

Answers from your organisation’s documents

For questions about operation, procedures or problems, Swyron AI first looks in the documents your organisation has released under Documentation → Documents (5.5), for example “How do I switch on the projector in the hall?”. In the answer it names the title of the document it relied on; if nothing there fits, it says so. Borrowers and students only get help from documents for Everyone.

Ticket or damage report from the conversation

If the help wasn’t enough, Swyron AI suggests a ticket, or a damage report if something is broken, cracked or dangerous. The button opens the usual form, pre-filled with subject, description, what has already been tried and an estimated priority. Check every field and tick I have checked the details and they are correct. Only then is it reported; Swyron AI creates nothing itself.

Replies in the ticket

Whoever handles tickets finds two buttons below the comment field: Revise with Swyron AI takes your draft in the field and polishes it, Suggest a reply with Swyron AI writes a suggestion from the ticket, its history and the instructions. The text lands in the field; it is only sent once you have checked it and send it yourself. Each suggestion counts as one question. The buttons only appear with the switch Swyron AI suggests ticket replies (2.3), off by default, because this sends the ticket texts to Swyron AI.

Who may use Swyron AI

• Owners, administrators, managers and staff members query the stock as far as their role can see it. Swyron AI sees IT contracts only for the administration, and only those released one by one (5.7).
• Borrowers ask about their own loans, reservations and reports and get help with the devices they have or that are fixed in a room. They see neither stock nor values. Switch Swyron AI for borrowers, on by default.
• Students get the same in a simple form, without reservations and without reports. Switch Swyron AI for students, off by default.
• The kiosk account has no access to Swyron AI.

Owners and administrators see how many questions have been asked this month, because the quota applies to the whole organisation. Once it is used up, Swyron AI is available again from the next month, or you book a larger tier under Settings → Subscription.

Part 6

For borrowers

This part is meant for everyone who uses devices, not manages them. It is self-contained: you can print it separately and put it up in the staff room.

6.1 What you see

As a borrower you see only your own things: what you have borrowed, reserved and reported. The administration looks after the rest of the stock, the values and the settings. The same goes for students (role Student) in a shorter form: overview, my loans, library and card.

Your menu has the same headings as the administration’s, just fewer items beneath them: under Operations is what you do every day, that is seeing what you have and getting something. Under Cases is what you report, and what has become of it. Under Add-ons is what your organisation has booked on top: library, teaching materials and Swyron AI.

Your overview

After signing in you land on your overview. At the top are the buttons for the most common tasks: Borrow device (if self-checkout is switched on), Report damage, Open a ticket and, far right, your card (6.10). Below that is the Swyron AI question field, if your organisation has switched it on for you, then the figures: what you have borrowed, what is overdue, when the next return is due and how many of your reports are open. Under Due back soon is what has to go back next, alongside your reservations and, with the library, your holds. Students see the same page without reservations and reports.

6.2 My loans

The page has two cards: at the top On loan, everything with a return date; below it Permanently assigned, what stays with you without a due date. Staff and admins find the page under “Personal” in the menu.

At the top right are Report damage and Open a ticket. If something is broken or missing, it is damage (6.5); if something doesn’t work as expected, a ticket (6.7). The ticket is the more common case and is therefore highlighted in blue.

The information on the right tells you how much time is left:

How to extend

The counter extends the due date. Write a short message to the contact address in your reminder email, or open a ticket (6.7).

6.3 Borrowing a device yourself

Where: Operations → Lend device

1. Specify the device

   Scan the inventory number or choose from the list. The list holds the devices that are released for self-checkout and are currently free. All others are handed out by the administration at the counter.

2. What for (optional)

   A keyword helps if someone is looking for the device: «Class camp», «Assembly hall».

3. Press Book to me

   The device then appears under My loans, with the due date that was announced at the top of the form.

Why a device doesn't work

Take consumables

If self-withdrawal is also switched on, the menu additionally shows Withdraw material: a list of what is in stock, with a quantity field per line. Withdrawals are always made in your name. At the bottom of the page are your recent withdrawals; there you can see whether a booking has come through. Only the administration can add stock.

6.4 Putting a hold on a device

Where: My reservations → Reserve device

Staff and admins see the whole organisation’s under “Reservations”; their own are under Personal → My reservations.

If you need the projector on Thursday, reserve it. Then no one else can reserve it for that day, and on Thursday morning the administration sees that it needs to be ready.

1. Pick

   The catalogue shows every device you can reserve yourself, with a picture, description and location. If the list is long, search and filters help. Tap everything you need.

2. Continue

   The bar at the bottom counts what you have picked. “Continue” takes you to the days, which apply to all the devices you picked.

3. From when to when

   For one day, fill in only the first field. Your organisation decides how many days in a row are possible, usually seven. If you already know what time you will come, enter the pick-up time and everything will be ready.

4. Purpose optional

   «Physics week», «Parents' evening». Helps the counter with getting things ready.

5. Submit

If you already know the inventory number, Reserve by inventory number takes you straight to the short form.

6.5 Reporting damage

Where: Damage reports → Report damage

Something is broken, missing or behaving strangely. Report it straight away: a report takes thirty seconds to record, and the administration can deal with it before the device is needed again.

What belongs in a good report

• Which device: best via the inventory number on the sticker.
• What exactly happens: «the picture flickers after about ten minutes» instead of «doesn't work».
• Since when, and whether it happened before.
• A photo. For visible damage it saves follow-up questions.

6.6 Making a request

Where: Requests → Submit request

For acquisition requests: something new, something additional, a replacement for something old.

You can see the progress in your list: from Submitted through Approved and Ordered to Delivered. If it's rejected, the reason is shown alongside.

6.7 Opening a ticket

Where: Tickets → Open ticket

Anything that is neither damage nor a request: 'Please realign the beamer in B12', 'Wi-Fi in the assembly hall keeps dropping', 'Please extend the loan until Friday'.

6.8 Your archive

What is done moves here after seven days. This keeps your active lists short and clear. Everything is kept here, with a date.

6.9 Borrowing and placing holds on books

If your school has booked the library, you’ll find it in the menu. Search by title, author or keyword, open the book and press Borrow: the next available copy is booked to you and appears under My loans. The loan period is shown on the button. Returns are made at the desk.

If no copy is available, press Place hold. As soon as one comes back, you get an email and it waits for you for seven days. You can cancel the hold on the title page at any time.

6.10 Your card

Your employee number also exists as a badge in the application, on your phone and in the wallet. At the desk it is scanned from the screen like the plastic card. The QR code and barcode carry the number that counts at the kiosk: the Inventaris Kiosk No. or, if your organisation chose so, the employee number. Every account has one, except the kiosk account.

• Opening it. On the overview, the last button on the far right is your card. It opens a window with front and back; swipe between them or choose the side below.
• On the phone the card sits at the very top of the overview, at first only its header. One tap folds it open, a second one closes it again.
• The front shows photo, name, function, organisation and, below, the employee number; if the name is too long, the first name is on top and the last name below. The back shows the employee number, the Inventaris Kiosk No., the QR code and the barcode. The codes carry the number that counts at the kiosk and are always on a white background, even in dark mode, so that every scanner can read them.
• Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. If your organisation offers the wallet, a button appears below the card on the smartphone: on the iPhone Add to Apple Wallet, on an Android phone Add to Google Wallet. On computers and tablets these buttons are not available. In the Teams app the button opens the phone’s browser, because Teams cannot open the wallet itself. If there is no button on the phone, use the card in the application; it is just as valid.

6.11 Help from Swyron AI

If your organisation has booked the Swyron AI add-on and switched it on for you, it appears in the menu under Add-ons, and there is a question field on your overview. You ask in everyday language, for example “What have I borrowed at the moment, and until when?” or “The projector shows no picture. What can I do?”.

• Your loans, reservations and reports. Swyron AI sees the same as you: what is yours.
• Help with a device. Give the inventory number from the label, for example “NB-0012 won’t start”; without a number Swyron AI asks for it. Help is available for devices you have borrowed, that are assigned to you permanently or that are fixed in a room. Numbered steps can be ticked off as tried. The same applies to a program your organisation manages in Inventaris if it isn’t working on such a device, for example “Acrobat won’t start on MB-0082”.
• Help from your organisation’s documents. If your organisation has released instructions for everyone, for example for the projector in the hall, Swyron AI helps you from them and names the document. You don’t see the list of documents itself.
• If it doesn’t help, Swyron AI suggests a ticket, or a damage report if something is broken. A button opens the form, pre-filled from the conversation. Check every field and tick I have checked the details and they are correct. Only then is it reported; Swyron AI itself creates nothing.

For borrowers Swyron AI is switched on by default, for students off; when switched on, students get the same help, only without reports. Inventaris pseudonymises names, e-mail addresses and phone numbers before sending. More on this in 5.11.

Part 7

Look up

The tables you look for when you're in the middle of something.

7.1 All states at a glance

Unit

Loan

7.2 Scanner, keyboard, phone

Which scanners work

Any handheld scanner that identifies itself as a keyboard («HID mode»). You need no software and no driver: the scanner simply types the number in and presses Enter. This applies to USB scanners as well as to wireless or Bluetooth ones.

With the keyboard alone

On the phone

The application runs in the phone's browser, without anything needing to be installed. The menu sits behind the button with the three lines at the top right. When recording, you can use the camera instead of a scanner: next to every scan field there's a small camera icon.

On the iPhone, place the application via Share → Add to Home Screen; after that it has its own icon and starts without an address bar.

In the Teams app on iPhone, iPad and Android, Teams does the scanning: a camera icon appears next to every number field, iPhone included. On a computer, Teams offers no camera; use a hand scanner or the keyboard there.

7.3 Common questions

I've forgotten my password.

On the sign-in screen, press Forgotten your password?. You get an email with a link that is valid for one hour.

I was signed out in the middle of my work.

After 15 minutes without use the session ends on its own. Just sign in again. At the issuing counter a Kiosk account is suitable for this (2.8); it stays signed in.

A device can't be borrowed.

There are three reasons for this: it's already on loan, it's marked Defective, or it's reserved for this period. The message gives the reason, and the unit's inventory sheet shows the details.

A scan isn't recognised.

Check whether the cursor is really in the scan field. Then whether the sticker is legible. If the code is damaged, type the number in by hand. That works in every scan field.

We have recorded two devices with the same serial number.

One of the two numbers is wrong. Search the units for the number, compare it with the labels and correct the wrong one. Device management explicitly points out such duplicate numbers.

Can we get our data back out?

Yes, at any time and without asking. Every list has a button to export as a CSV file; it can be opened in any spreadsheet program.

7.4 Terms from A to Z