IT Asset Management Checklist Template

What the IT Asset Management Checklist Covers

1. 1
   Phase 1

   Phase 1: Reconcile Discovery Against the Register

   6 tasks

   Assign this phase to the asset manager. It produces the exception list the rest of the month works through.

   • Export the register and this month’s discovery, endpoint and SaaS reports — attach them so someone else could repeat the reconciliation
   • List devices seen but not registered — confirm the weekly unauthorised-device process caught them, then register or remove each one
   • List registered devices not seen for 30 days — ask each recorded owner whether the device is in use, in storage, lost or awaiting disposal
   • Report lost or stolen devices through the security incident process — the register records the incident reference, not just a status change
   • Merge duplicate records and correct mismatched serials — one physical device, one record
   • Record the match rate between discovery and the register — the headline accuracy figure for the monthly report
2. 2
   Phase 2

   Phase 2: Procurement, Receipt & Tagging

   4 tasks

   • Match this month’s deliveries to purchase orders — record serials at goods-in, not at first login
   • Tag and register every item before it leaves stores — owner, cost centre, supplier, purchase date, warranty end and order reference
   • File proof of entitlement for software bought this month — licence agreements and order confirmations, not just the invoice
   • Flag purchases made outside the approved route — card-paid SaaS and kit bought on expenses, each with an owner asked to regularise it
3. 3
   Phase 3

   Phase 3: Assignments, Moves & Returns

   5 tasks

   • Reconcile this month’s issues and returns — every issued device has a named user and a recorded acceptance
   • Check this month’s leavers against returned equipment — chase anything outstanding through the line manager
   • Triage returned devices — reissue, repair, hold as a spare, or mark for disposal and hand to the disposal process
   • Check loan equipment is back by its due date — extend or recall, and update the record either way
   • Compare spare stock with supplier lead times — reorder before the service desk runs out, not after
4. 4
   Phase 4

   Phase 4: Software Licence Compliance & Reclaim

   6 tasks

   Tasks 3 and 4 appear only when the review finds unused seats.

   • Compare deployments and assigned seats with entitlements for each key product — record the position as surplus, compliant or short
   • Identify seats unused beyond your threshold, for example 60 or 90 days — list them by product with the monthly cost
   • Confirm reclaim with each user’s manager — then remove the assignment and return the seat to the pool
   • Reduce the licence count at the next renewal — a reclaimed seat that is still billed has saved nothing
   • Review unauthorised and unsupported software — remove it, or record a documented exception with an owner
   • Put any shortfall in front of the budget holder — buy, reduce usage, or accept the audit exposure in writing
5. 5
   Phase 5

   Phase 5: Renewals, Warranties & Leases

   5 tasks

   Tasks 3 and 4 appear only when a lease ends within the next 90 days.

   • List contracts, subscriptions, warranties and leases ending in the next 90 days — each with an owner and a decision date
   • Decide to renew, renegotiate or cancel — using the usage data from Phase 4, before the notice period starts
   • Recall devices on leases that are ending — allow for the lessor’s return window and the replacement lead time
   • Check the lease’s return conditions — condition grading, accessories and the data sanitisation the lessor requires
   • Plan replacements for kit out of warranty or near the end of vendor support — feed the list into next year’s refresh budget
6. 6
   Phase 6

   Phase 6: Report & Sign Off

   4 tasks

   • Report the month’s KPIs — register match rate, assets without an owner, overdue returns, licence spend reclaimed and renewals decided on time
   • Update the exceptions log — carry forward anything unresolved with an owner and a date
   • Send the summary to IT leadership and finance — and attach it to the checklist as the record
   • Sign off the month’s reconciliation — the asset manager’s sign-off is the evidence the register was reviewed
7. 7
   Phase 7 — Quarterly Only

   Phase 7: Quarterly Asset Audit

   5 tasks

   Shown only when the run is marked as a quarter-end review. The other eight months stay short.

   • Run a floor-to-book check — walk a sample of desks, stores and comms rooms and confirm every device found is in the register
   • Run a book-to-floor check — pick a sample of register entries and physically locate each one
   • Review the full hardware and software inventories — CIS Controls v8.1 sets every six months as the minimum
   • Review the risks attached to high-value and high-sensitivity assets — and record that the review took place
   • Report quarterly trends to the ITAM owner — the input to the annual management review