The custodian is whoever has day-to-day possession of and responsibility for an asset: the employee with the laptop, the site manager responsible for the generator, the store that holds the spare kit. Custody can be permanent (assigned equipment) or temporary (a check-out).
Custodian vs owner
The asset owner is accountable for the asset's value and decisions about it — typically a department or budget holder. The custodian is responsible for its physical care and whereabouts. On a small team they can be the same person; in larger organizations they rarely are.
Why it matters
Assets without a named custodian are the ones that go missing. Clear custody makes audits faster ("ask the custodian"), gives leavers a checklist of what to return and makes accountability real.
In Asetavo
Every asset can have a custodian and department, changed by assignment or check-out and recorded in its history.