Knowledge Base
Everything you need to know about using Shelf — from getting started to advanced features.
Getting Started
9 articles
Add the Shelf App to your Dock, Taskbar, or Homescreen
A guide explaining how to add the Shelf application to your device's dock, taskbar, or homescreen across different platforms and operating systems.
Data Flow Chart
An overview of Shelf's data management architecture, illustrating how user data moves from initial platform interaction through secure database storage.
Getting Started with Shelf
A step-by-step guide for new users setting up their first workspace, from license activation through team management.
How to Change Your Email Address
Learn how to update the email address associated with your Shelf user account through a straightforward verification process.
How to Get in Touch with Support
Learn the different ways to contact Shelf's dedicated support team when you need assistance with your inventory management.
How to Log in to the Shelf Application
Instructions on how to log in to your Shelf account using your username and password or a One Time Password (OTP).
How to Reset Your Password in Shelf
A guide to resetting your password in Shelf, whether you are already logged in or have forgotten your password.
Share Your Feedback or Request New Features on Our GitHub
Learn how to submit feature requests and feedback to help shape future updates and enhancements to Shelf via GitHub.
Shelf Mobile App
Learn how to install Shelf as a progressive web app on iOS, Android, and desktop browsers for quick access to your asset management system.
Assets
20 articles
Adding New Assets
Learn how to manually add new assets to your inventory in Shelf, the core building block representing tangible items requiring tracking and management.
Advanced Asset Index: Complete Guide
The advanced asset index in Shelf provides powerful ways to view, filter, sort, and manage your assets. This guide covers all features and best practices for maximizing your asset management efficiency.
Alternative Barcodes (Barcode, Datamatrix, QR Code)
Learn about Shelf's alternative barcode feature that extends beyond standard QR codes, enabling organizations to integrate multiple barcode formats into their asset tracking systems.
Asset Reminders
Asset reminders help track time-sensitive tasks related to assets in Shelf, ensuring users never miss important deadlines for maintenance, inspections, or contract renewals.
Batch Scanning Actions
Shelf's Batch QR Scanning feature enables users to perform actions on multiple assets simultaneously by scanning their QR codes in succession, significantly improving efficiency when managing groups of assets.
Change Asset Label Information (Show QR ID or Sequential ID)
Learn how to customize QR label displays in Shelf by choosing between unique QR code identifiers or sequential asset numbers (SAM IDs) to match your organization's workflow.
Duplicating Assets in Shelf
Shelf's duplicate feature enables rapid creation of multiple copies from an existing asset. This guide explains proper usage and important considerations regarding custom fields and unique identifiers.
How to Add Assets to Your Inventory
Populate your inventory with assets manually or save time by importing your full inventory via a spreadsheet.
How to Enable Advanced Index
Learn how to activate Shelf's advanced asset index, which provides enhanced capabilities for interacting with asset data within the Shelf platform.
How to Filter, Export and Report on Your Asset Inventory
Shelf's filtering and export capabilities enable users to create customized views of asset inventories and extract data in CSV format, supporting tasks like inventory audits, custodian tracking, and financial reporting.
How to Print Custom Branded QR Code Labels with Shelf
Learn how to design and batch-produce branded QR code labels using Shelf's Unclaimed Codes feature, maintaining complete control over label design while staying synchronized with Shelf's asset database.
Importing Assets to Shelf: CSV Guide
A comprehensive guide on how to prepare and import asset data using CSV files into Shelf, covering file requirements, standard columns, custom fields, barcodes, and troubleshooting.
Scanning an Asset
Learn how scanning assets works in Shelf, including the differences between linked and unlinked codes and methods for interacting with QR codes.
Sequential Asset IDs: Simplifying Asset Identification
Learn how Sequential Asset IDs provide simple, memorable identifiers like SAM-0001 that make asset management intuitive for everyone.
Sublocations: Organize Locations into Hierarchies
Learn how to use sublocations to organize your equipment across multiple sites, buildings, and rooms by establishing parent-child location relationships.
Understanding and Using PDF Agreements for Asset Custody in Shelf
Learn how Shelf's signed custody feature enables administrators to attach PDF documents to custody transfers, creating formal agreements between asset owners and custodians.
Understanding QR Code Swapping and Management in Shelf
QR code swapping gives flexibility in your asset operations. This powerful tool allows you to replace an asset's existing QR code with a new one while maintaining all asset data.
Understanding Sorting in Shelf
Shelf provides comprehensive sorting capabilities to organize and navigate asset inventory efficiently, with support for multiple data types and sorting directions.
Using Batch Actions in Shelf
Shelf's batch actions feature enables performing operations on multiple assets simultaneously, streamlining asset management workflows and saving time when updating inventory at scale.
What to Do After Purchasing Asset Tags
A guide walking you through the steps to maximize your asset tag investment, from receiving your tags to scanning and registering assets within Shelf.
Bookings & Custody
14 articles
Activity Logs for Bookings
The Activity tab in each booking provides a complete timeline of events and notes, helping teams keep track of conversations, updates, and system changes in one central place.
Adding Assets and Kits to a Booking
This guide explains how to add equipment to a booking in Shelf, covering the process for adding both individual assets and pre-configured kits to time-based check-outs.
Availability View: Complete Guide
The Availability View is a powerful feature within Shelf's Advanced Asset Index that provides calendar-based visibility into your asset availability, upcoming bookings, and important deadlines.
Bookings: How to Export Booking Information and Assets Checked Out
Shelf's booking export feature allows users to extract comprehensive booking information in CSV format, facilitating equipment usage tracking, cost allocation, reporting, and asset movement documentation.
Configure What Self Service and Base Users Can See
Administrators can customize permission settings in Shelf to control what Self Service and Base users can see regarding custody and booking information for assets, allowing for precise control over team member access.
Custody Feature for Long-Term Equipment Lend-Outs
The custody feature functions like an indefinite checkout system, allowing organizations to track which team members have borrowed assets without specifying return dates or locations.
Early Check-in and Check-out of Bookings
Shelf's booking system allows users to check in or check out assets earlier than originally scheduled, while maintaining records of the original booking period for transparency and analytics purposes.
Extending Booking End Dates in Shelf
This guide explains how to prolong existing bookings in Shelf's asset management system without creating new ones, useful for situations where assets are needed longer than initially planned.
How to Create a Booking
This guide covers the steps needed to reserve and check out assets to a person within your organization using Shelf's booking feature, ensuring equipment availability when needed.
How to Generate a PDF Overview of Your Reserved Assets (Bookings)
The Shelf bookings feature enables users to pre-book assets from inventory and generate printable PDF overviews, which is valuable for event preparation and equipment loan tracking.
Introduction to Bookings
This guide explains the fundamental concepts of Shelf's Bookings feature, which enables users to reserve equipment for specific time periods while preventing double-bookings.
Partial Check-ins: Efficiently Handle Incomplete Returns
Partial check-ins in Shelf allow you to process asset returns flexibly, even when not all items from a booking are returned at once.
Use Case Scenarios Explaining Our Bookings Feature
This article walks through common booking scenarios to clarify the concept and value of using Shelf's booking feature from both self-service user and administrator perspectives.
Working Hours: Set Operating Schedules for Your Workspace
This feature allows workspace administrators to define operational schedules, ensuring bookings occur only during facility hours. The system automatically validates booking requests against configured hours to prevent impossible pickup and return times.
Categories & Tags
2 articles
Using Categories to Organize Your Asset Inventory
You can organize your inventory assets into custom categories based on your specific needs and preferences, making it easier to locate and manage your assets within the system.
What is a Tag in Shelf and What Can They Be Used For?
In Shelf, a tag is a labeled attribute you can attach to assets or bookings, allowing organizations to categorize items with flexible keywords beyond fixed fields like category or location.
Custom Fields
4 articles
Adding Additional Fields to Assets
Customize your workflow by adding custom fields to your assets in Shelf.
Mastering Custom Fields in Shelf: Complete Guide to Asset Information Customization
An overview of field types that can be used as custom fields in Shelf, enabling organizations to customize their asset management systems to match specific workflow requirements.
Linking Custom Fields to Categories
Configure custom fields for your asset categories and start enjoying a more streamlined asset management experience in Shelf.
Understanding and Using Custom Property IDs in Shelf
Shelf offers Custom Property IDs, allowing you to assign unique identifiers to your assets separate from the system-generated Asset ID.
Other
2 articles
Inviting Users via CSV Upload
Shelf allows you to invite multiple users simultaneously by uploading a CSV file containing their information, making it useful for onboarding teams or departments all at once.
Using External Barcode Scanners with Shelf
Shelf supports handheld and wireless barcode scanners on the desktop interface, allowing you to scan QR asset tags using barcode scanning equipment for rapid processing of multiple items.
Team
5 articles
Changing User Roles in Shelf
This guide explains how to change a user's role within your Shelf workspace while maintaining data integrity.
Converting Non-Registered Members (NRMs) to Users
As your team grows and evolves, you may want to give some of your Non-Registered Members (NRMs) direct access to Shelf.
Team Plan Trial
What can you do with a 7 day Team Trial? An overview of Shelf's team asset management trial offering.
Onboarding Your Team Members
How to create non-registered team members, invite users and get them going with Shelf.
User Types / Roles and Their Permissions
A short overview of user roles and their permissions in Shelf, including Owner, Administrator, Self-service, Base, and Non Registered Member roles.
Workspaces
5 articles
Export / Exporting Workspace Data from Shelf
Shelf provides multiple ways to export your asset data, giving you flexibility in managing and analyzing your inventory information.
How to Create Additional Workspaces
Creating additional workspaces in Shelf is a straightforward process. Follow these steps to set up a new workspace.
How to Upgrade to Team
How does upgrading to a team plan look like in Shelf? Find everything you need to know about it here.
Introduction to Workspaces
With Shelf Workspaces, you can link multiple teams or departments and have one Shelf account for your entire organization.
SSO with Google Workspace
Shelf supports single sign-on (SSO) using Google Workspace (formerly known as GSuite). Enterprise or Organization plan only.

