Lookups (reference data)

Lookups are the reusable building blocks the rest of Wasp Asset relies on. Instead of retyping the same site, vendor, or department every time, you set each one up once as a lookup and then pick it from a list wherever it’s needed — on assets, transactions, purchase orders, and reports. Keeping your lookups tidy keeps the whole system consistent.

You’ll find all of these under the Lookups section of the left menu. Most lookups work the same way: a list grid showing every record, with the ability to add a new one or open an existing one to edit it.

The lookups at a glance

• Site — a building or campus where your assets live.
• Location — a specific place within a site (a room, shelf, or bin).
• Department — an organizational unit that assets can belong to.
• Employee — a person inside your organization (often also a system user) that assets can be checked out to.
• Customer — an external person or party, outside your organization, that assets can be checked out to.
• Vendor — a supplier you buy and order assets from.
• Manufacturer — the company that makes an asset.
• Contract — a contract or lease you want to track against assets.
• Funding — a source of money used to acquire assets.
• Depreciation — a depreciation method used to calculate an asset’s book value.
• Category — a classification for grouping assets.
• Condition — the state of an asset, such as New, Good, or Damaged.
• Dispose Reason — a reason code used when disposing of an asset.
• Recovery Reason — a reason code used when recovering a disposed asset.

Note

Two more lookups — Pay Methods and Shipping Providers — live under the Purchase menu rather than Lookups, because they’re used on purchase orders. See Pay methods & shipping providers.

How lookups work

Whichever lookup you’re working with, the pattern is the same:

1. Open the lookup from the Lookups menu to see its list.
2. Click New to create a new record, or click an existing record to open it.
3. Fill in the details and Save.
4. To remove records you no longer need, select their checkboxes in the list, click Delete, and confirm.

Because these records are shared, editing a lookup updates it everywhere it’s used, and you generally can’t delete a record that’s still attached to assets or transactions.

Tip

Some lookups — like sites, locations, employees, vendors, and contracts — support custom fields your administrator can add, so you can capture information specific to your organization.

Tip

When you’re creating a new record (not editing one), most lookup forms show a Save and add another checkbox next to Save. Check it to jump straight back into a blank form for the next record — handy when you’re entering several values in a row.

Before you begin

Managing lookups is typically an administrator task, so you’ll need a role that grants access to the Lookups menu. A good order to set them up in, since later lookups build on earlier ones:

1. Sites first, then Locations within them — assets can’t be placed until a location exists.
2. Departments, then Employees (an employee can belong to a department).
3. Vendors and Manufacturers before you create purchase orders or record equipment makers.
4. Categories, Conditions, and reason codes whenever you’re ready — these are quick, standalone lists.

Troubleshooting

• I can’t delete a lookup record. Records that are still attached to an asset, transaction, or order are protected from deletion so history stays intact. Detach or reassign what’s using it first, or simply leave it in place.
• A change I made to a lookup showed up everywhere. That’s expected — lookups are shared, so editing one updates every asset, order, and report that references it.
• I don’t see a lookup in the menu. Access to lookups is controlled by your role, and a few lookups only appear in certain editions. Ask your administrator if one you expect is missing.

Related

• Sites & locations
• Departments & employees
• Customers, vendors & manufacturers
• Contracts, funding & depreciation methods
• Categories, conditions & reasons
• Pay methods & shipping providers