Headsets are the equipment nobody budgets attention for: cheap enough per unit that tracking feels like fuss, numerous enough that replacements quietly become a real line in the budget. They live on heads, in drawers and at the bottom of leavers’ boxes, and in a call centre or support team they outnumber every other device on the floor. Most are never seen again after issue - not because anyone steals them, but because nobody wrote down who got which one.
What you will learn
- The most-replaced device in the building
- Personal issue or shared pool?
- What to record for every headset
- Labelling headsets, dongles and stands
- Returns, hygiene and reissue
- Tools that make this easier
- FAQ
The most-replaced device in the building
- They break in undignified ways. Boom mics snap, cables fray at the USB plug, headbands give out, ear cushions wear through. None of it is dramatic; all of it becomes a replacement order.
- Wireless multiplies the parts. A wireless headset is really three losable items: the headset, the USB dongle and the charging stand - and the dongle is the one that vanishes.
- The spend hides in small orders. Replacements arrive two and three at a time, so no single purchase looks like a problem. A register is what turns the trickle into a visible annual figure.
- Leavers’ headsets rarely come back. Not out of malice - they are simply never asked for, because no record says the leaver had one.
Personal issue or shared pool?
Personal issue is the default for headsets, and hygiene is the reason: a headset is closer to a toothbrush than to a monitor. One unit, one name, kept until it fails or the person leaves. Shared pools only make sense where shifts overlap on the same desks - and even then, each pooled unit should carry its own ID and get fresh ear cushions between users. The register treats both the same way: personal issue is a checkout to a person; a pool is an assignment to a team or location with the spare count visible to whoever runs the shift.
What to record for every headset
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Asset ID | Tells ten identical black headsets apart |
| Make + model | Determines which ear cushions, batteries and dongles fit as spares |
| Wired or wireless | Wireless units have batteries that age and dongles that disappear |
| Serial number | Present on most business headsets - the serial number is the warranty hook |
| Assigned person (or pool) | The answer at offboarding, and the end of “whose is this?” |
| Status | In use, spare, in repair, retired - keeps the shelf count real |
| Purchase date + price | Turns “headsets are cheap” into an actual yearly figure |
| Included parts | Dongle, stand, case - the pieces that go missing separately |
Labelling headsets, dongles and stands
The right spot is the underside of the headband: a small asset label there is invisible when the headset is worn and findable in two seconds when it is not. QR labels print small enough for this, and a phone scan answers “whose is this?” from the middle of a meeting-room table. Charging stands get a label carrying the headset’s asset ID. USB dongles are too small to label at all - record each dongle as part of the headset’s entry instead, and note where it lives. In practice the dongle stays plugged into the laptop, which means at offboarding it comes back with the laptop, not the headset; writing that down once saves an annoyed search later. Never label replaceable parts - ear cushions and mic foams are consumables, not assets.
Returns, hygiene and reissue
Every returned headset needs a quick condition decision:
- Reissue: working units go back on the shelf and out again - with fresh ear cushions fitted. A cheap replaceable part is the difference between a used headset feeling acceptable and feeling like someone else’s.
- Repair or retire: frayed cables and snapped booms are usually a retire; wireless units with worn batteries almost always are. Either way, set the status so the shelf count stays true.
- The offboarding prompt: the open checkout list is what reminds anyone to ask for the headset at all. Without it, the unit leaves in the leaver’s box by default.
Tip: keep a small stock of ear cushions and mic foams next to the headset shelf and treat them as consumables with a reorder point. The cushions decide whether a returned headset is reusable or binned - never run out of the cheap part.
Tools that make this easier
Headsets fall off spreadsheets first. They are the lowest-value rows on the sheet, so they are the first rows nobody maintains - and a sheet that undercounts the fleet produces reorders based on guesswork. Worse, a spreadsheet cannot answer the one question headset tracking exists for: who has one and who needs one. The same pattern sinks most peripheral tracking; the IT asset inventory checklist covers the full set worth keeping on top of.
AMPthilly makes the small stuff trackable without ceremony. Each headset is a register entry with model, serial and photos; a checkout puts a name on every unit and the return captures who, when and condition; a QR label scanned with any phone camera opens the record in the browser; and statuses keep the spare shelf honest. Consumable spares like ear cushions can be tracked with reorder points alongside the hardware. The free plan (3 users, 25 assets) covers a small team’s headsets and webcams outright, with no card required.
FAQ
How do I keep track of headsets issued to staff? Asset ID under the headband, model and serial on record, every unit checked out to a name, returns logged with condition. The open checkout list does the offboarding remembering.
Should headsets be shared or personally assigned? Personally assigned, for hygiene. Pools only suit shift work, with per-unit IDs and fresh ear cushions between users.
Is it worth tracking inexpensive headsets? Yes, lightly - the aggregate spend is real, the wireless units are genuinely expensive, and untracked units leave with leavers.
How do you put an asset label on a headset? Small durable label under the headband, the headset’s ID on the charging stand, nothing on replaceable cushions, dongles recorded rather than tagged.
How do I stop losing USB dongles and charging stands? Record them as parts of the headset’s entry, note that the dongle returns with the laptop, and check included parts at every return.
The takeaway
Headsets earn their disposable reputation by being untracked, not by being worthless. Give each one an ID and a name, label headbands and stands, treat dongles as part of the laptop’s return, and reissue returned units with fresh cushions. The payoff is small but constant: fewer surprise orders, faster starts for new hires, and an honest answer to what headsets actually cost in a year.