Event Equipment Inventory and Checkout

Who this is for

The sheet that goes out with the van and comes back with it. Count out, count in, and the shortfall on each line is worked out rather than argued about in a car park at midnight.

Event and production crews, AV and hire staff, festival and village hall volunteers — anyone who loads a van with kit that belongs to somebody and has to account for all of it afterwards.

What this helps you track

• What was loaded for the event, and which case or box each item travelled in
• What came back, counted at the point of unloading rather than the next morning
• The shortfall on each line, and the number of items missing overall
• The value of the kit taken out, for insurance and for hire agreements
• Damage found on return, noted against the line it belongs to

How to use it

1. Fill the header with the event, the venue, the dates out and back, and the names of whoever checks the kit out and back in.
2. List the kit by line and write the case, box or flight case it is packed in — that is what you will be looking for on the return count.
3. Count each line as it is loaded and write the figure in the out column. Do not fill this in from a previous event's list.
4. Enter the value per item so the sheet can total what is on the van. Use replacement cost if the kit is insured on that basis.
5. On return, count as you unload and fill the back column. The missing figure, the value out, the totals and the summary are worked out in the browser and the workbook.
6. Chase every line with a missing figure before the crew disperses, and note any damage in the last column while it is still fresh.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Why count on the way out as well as the way back?

Because a shortfall means nothing without a starting figure. A line counted only on return tells you what you have, not what you lost, and the loss is what the hire company or the insurer will ask about.

What if an item comes back damaged rather than missing?

Count it in — it came back — and write the damage in the note column. The missing figure stays honest and the damage is still on the record.

Can this be used as a hire agreement?

It is a count, not a contract. It works well as the schedule attached to whatever hire paperwork you use, since both parties can sign the same counted list.

Does it handle kit going to two events at once?

Use one sheet per event or per van. The header names the event, so several sheets can run in parallel and be reconciled against the full inventory afterwards.