One morning the company website will not load and emails are bouncing. After much digging, it turns out the domain has expired because the renewal reminders were going to the address of an employee who left two years ago. Problems like this have nothing to do with complex technology. They come from not having a simple, up-to-date list of your IT assets.
What Should Be Recorded?
IT assets are not just hardware. Consider three main groups.
Equipment: Desktops, laptops, servers, storage, network equipment, printers, UPS units and company phones. For each item:
- Type, brand, model and serial number
- Purchase date, vendor and warranty end date
- Location and the user or department it is assigned to
- Status: in use, in storage, under repair or retired
Software and licenses: Operating systems, Office, antivirus, backup software, accounting and specialized software. For each one, record the license type (perpetual or subscription), the quantity, the expiration or renewal date, and which devices or users it is assigned to.
Services and contracts: Domains, hosting and cloud servers, business email, SSL certificates, internet links and support contracts. For each one, record the renewal date, recurring cost, account number, how to contact the provider, and which account and email address the management panel is registered under.
Register admin accounts for services, such as the domain and hosting panels, with a shared company email address, for example a dedicated IT mailbox, not an employee’s personal email. When that person leaves, control of your services should not leave with them.
Where to Start
- A simple spreadsheet is enough. Create one sheet per group with fixed columns.
- Asset tags: Put a label with a unique number, ideally with a QR code, on every device and record the same number in the list.
- Gather the information: Go through purchase invoices, renewal emails and provider panels to find dates and accounts.
- Specialized tools as you grow: When the number of devices grows, asset management software such as GLPI or Snipe-IT, which have open-source editions, becomes useful; some of these tools collect hardware and software details automatically through an agent installed on computers.
The Asset Lifecycle
Recording an asset on the day of purchase is not enough; every asset has a lifecycle:
- Intake: Add it to the list and attach a tag before handing it to the user.
- Assignment and transfer: Record every move between users or departments with a handover form.
- Employee departure: The list of assets assigned to the employee is the basis for their exit clearance.
- Disposal: Before selling or discarding a device, securely wipe or destroy its disks and record this in the list.
Renewal Reminders
The biggest benefit of the list is preventing surprise expirations. For every renewal date, set a reminder in the team’s shared calendar, ideally a few weeks ahead, so there is enough time to approve the cost and make the payment. Domains, SSL certificates and backup software licenses are among the items whose expiration directly stops work.
Checklist
- Equipment list with serial number, location, user and warranty end date
- License list with quantities and expiration dates
- List of services and contracts with renewal dates and admin accounts
- Asset tags on all devices
- Handover and exit clearance forms for staff
- Renewal reminders in a shared calendar
- A secure disk-wiping process before disposal
ITPlus724 engineers can help build an IT asset inventory for your company and set up recording and renewal processes so nothing slips through the cracks.