---
title: "Deploying Inventory to a Customer"
url: "https://help.psarev.io/en/article/deploying-inventory-to-a-customer"
language: "en"
last_updated: "2026-10-19T18:32:23.223Z"
---

# Deploying Inventory to a Customer

Deploying inventory places a serialized item at a customer’s site while you keep ownership of it. The item stays in your inventory valuation, but it also appears as an asset on the customer’s account, so you can create tickets for it to handle service and maintenance. This is useful for rentals and leases. Deploying is different from selling an item, because a sold item leaves your inventory. You deploy items from the **Serial Numbers** tab on the Inventory Management screen.

| **NOTE:** Only serial numbers with an **Available** status can be deployed. Serial numbers with a **Reserved** status cannot be deployed. |
| --- |

Follow these steps to start a deployment.

-   Click **Inventory** in the sidebar menu, select **Inventory Management**, and click the **Serial Numbers** tab.
-   Find the serial number you want to deploy by selecting a column from the dropdown and entering text in the **Search** field, or by clicking the **Filters** button and filtering by **Status**, **Location**, **Type**, **Category**, or **Subcategory**.
-   Click the checkbox at the start of the row for a serial number with an **Available** status. The **Deploy Inventory** button becomes available once you check an available serial number. There is no option to select multiples, so deploy one serial number at a time.
-   Click the **Deploy Inventory** button to open the **Deploy Inventory** window.

![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/b7ab1195-7584-4939-94d1-e987410e652d)

The **Deploy Inventory** window walks you through three steps. On the **Select Customer** step, choose where the item is going.

-   Search for and select the customer in the **Customer** field. The **Deploying** summary shows the serial number you are deploying.
-   Click the **Next** button.

![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/9f02cacc-3252-4ef2-9e70-197289960b75)

On the **Create or Link Asset** step, choose whether to create a new asset or link the item to an asset the customer already has.

-   Create a new asset by selecting **Create new asset**, entering an **Asset Name**, and selecting an **Asset Type**. The asset type determines which additional fields you can track for the asset.
-   Link the item to an asset the customer already has by selecting **Link to existing asset** and selecting the asset in the **Existing Asset Name** field. Only assets for the customer you selected are searched. This is helpful when a remote monitoring tool has already created an asset for the item.
-   Enter optional details about the deployment in the **Notes** field.
-   Click the **Next** button to continue, or click **Back** to change the customer.

![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/6dbb544f-c6c3-482f-8268-797abb9aaebe)  ![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/0fce92a4-8ab8-4a7e-b0b8-a30c99de9b01)

On the **Confirm** step, review the deployment details before you finish.

-   Review the summary of the deployment, including the status change from **Available** to **Deployed**.
-   Complete the deployment by clicking the **Deploy** button.
-   Click **Back** to change your choices, or click **Cancel** to close the window without deploying.

![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/1b38e463-bd2f-4d17-b3a9-4399159e05a7) ![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/68bd1d40-eee0-4b30-b21a-229a690b85b7)

After you click **Deploy**, the serial number’s **Status** changes to **Deployed**, its **Location** is blank, and its **Customer**, **Asset**, and **Deployed Date** show the deployment details. The item stays in your inventory valuation because you still own it. The deployment is also listed on the asset’s **Deployment History** tab. See the [View Asset: History Tab](https://help.psarev.io/en/article/view-asset-history-tab) article for more information. 

Each field in the **Deploy Inventory** window is defined below.

| **Label** | **Definition** |
| --- | --- |
| **Customer** | *Customer the item is being deployed to.* |
| **Serial Number** | *Serial number of the item being deployed.* |
| **Product** | *Name of the product the serial number belongs to.* |
| **Product Type** | *Type for the product.* |
| **Specific Cost** | *Cost recorded for the serial number.* |
| **Asset Name** | *Name for the new asset. The serial number, product, and cost fill in automatically from the inventory record. This field is required when you create a new asset.* |
| **Asset Type** | *Type for the new asset. This field is required when you create a new asset.* |
| **Existing Asset Name** | *Asset the customer already has that you want to link the item to.* |
| **Notes** | *Optional notes about the deployment.* |
| **Source Location** | *Location the item is being deployed from.* |
| **Ownership** | *Shows that your company still owns the deployed item, which is why it stays in your inventory valuation.* |

For more information about inventory and assets, see the related articles.

[Inventory Views: Serial Numbers](https://help.psarev.io/en/article/inventory-views-serial-numbers)  
[View Asset: Details](https://help.psarev.io/en/article/view-asset-details)  
[View Asset: History Tab](https://help.psarev.io/en/article/view-asset-history-tab)  
[Inventory Views: Stock Levels](https://help.psarev.io/en/article/inventory-views-stock-levels)