Tool Tracking App: Know Which Van, Bag or Job Site Every Tool Is In
Published · 3 min read
A tool tracking app tells you where each tool is right now: in the van, in a case on the workshop shelf, or still at last week's job site. Hoardo does that for free. The van, every bag and case, and every job site become numbered boxes, each tool goes into one of them, and one search shows you which box holds the laser level.
Why tools go missing
Tools move all day. From the shelf to the van, from the van to the site, from your van into a colleague's. Memory and a whiteboard can't keep up, and the cost is real: a second drive across town, or buying a drill you already own.
What fixes it is a simple record of where each tool was put down, one you can update in a few seconds with dirty hands.
Set up your van, cases and job sites as boxes
- Make a room for your gear. Call it "Van & workshop", or make one per van if you run more than one.
- Add a box for every container. Pick the type that matches it: van, tote, plastic case, shelf or cardboard box. Give each one a number and a name, like "#2 Drill & driver case".
- Write a place note. "Left side, behind the bulkhead" or "Top shelf, by the door" saves the next person from guessing.
- Add a box for each job site. Tools left on site stay on the list, so nothing gets forgotten when the job ends.
- Set the fullness. You see at a glance which case still has room and which one is packed solid.
Add tools by photo, speech or typing
You won't keep a list you have to type out at the end of a long day. Hoardo gives you three quicker ways in:
- Photo. Open the bag, take one picture, and Hoardo turns it into items, each with its own photo cut from the shot.
- Speech. Say "two 18 volt batteries, impact driver and the laser level" while you load the van.
- Typing. Fastest for a single new tool.
Photos of your gear also help when a tool looks like three others. "The yellow one with the dented case" is easier to spot in a picture than in a name.
Use it as a tool inventory app too
A tool inventory app and a tool tracking app need the same records. Each tool is an item, the box it's in is its location, and the list of everything across all boxes is your inventory. So the setup above already gives you a full list of what you own, with photos, sorted by van, case and site.
That list is handy beyond finding things: when you price a job, when a new hire asks what kit there is, or when you want to show what was in the van after a break-in.
QR labels on every case
Print a QR label for each case, tote and shelf and stick it on. Point your phone camera at it and the box opens in Hoardo, showing what should be inside. Before you leave a site, scan the case and check that everything made it back in.
A two-minute check at the end of the day
- Open the job site's box.
- Move what came back into the van's box.
- Leave what stays on site where it is.
- Search for anything you can't see. Search covers every box at once.
What Hoardo doesn't do
Hoardo is not a GPS tracker and doesn't use Bluetooth tags. It knows where a tool is because you, or whoever you share with, put it there. For most crews that's enough, as long as updating it takes seconds, and that's what Hoardo is built for.
Free, for boxes and tools
Hoardo is free. Boxes and items are included, there is no billing and no paid tier, so a second van or a fifth job site never costs anything. If you're weighing it against paid apps, our roundup of free inventory apps shows where the others put their limits.
