Key Points
- Use a unified tracker so MSPs can centralize license, hardware, and device data, replacing fragmented spreadsheets and tools.
- Unified tracker practices:
- Define core data fields across all resource types.
- Consolidate resource data into a unified tracker.
- Implement governance and review cycles.
- Tie tracker insights to business outcomes.
- Automate tracker maintenance where possible.
- NinjaOne automation can weekly export hardware inventory, pull SaaS license-usage via vendor APIs, merge datasets into Power BI, and flag underutilized licenses or upcoming warranty expirations.
- NinjaOne can help with creating a unified resource tracker by exporting inventory data, storing tracker templates and SOPs, automating compliance and lifecycle reporting, providing coverage dashboards, and generating QBR insights.
Tracking of assets and other items plays a crucial undertaking for MSPs and infrastructures, especially for managing and maintaining an organization’s licenses, hardware, and devices. Many MSPs manage resources using disparate tools like vendor portals or spreadsheets for tracking licenses, asset management systems or procurement lists for tracking hardware assets, and RMM/MDM platforms used for tracking devices.
This approach creates silos and leads to redundant or underutilized licenses, gaps in lifecycle planning for hardware, difficulty producing audit-ready documentation, and poor visibility during QBRs or budget planning. To mitigate this, MSPs should consolidate records by building a unified IT resource tracker for licenses, hardware, and devices.
In this guide, we will walk you through creating a unified resource tracker you can leverage for operational efficiency, compliance evidence, and client-facing governance.
At a glance
| Practice | Value delivered |
| Task 1: Define core data fields across all resource types | Helps create a master field schema for the resource tracker. |
| Task 2: Consolidate resource data into a unified tracker | Gathers data for the unified resource tracker, with all assets viewable in a single dashboard. |
| Task 3: Implement governance and review cycles | Produces a governance calendar embedded in QBR prep. |
| Task 4: Tie tracker insights to business outcomes | Creates QBR-ready visuals that translate tracker data into client-facing outcomes. |
| Task 5: Automate tracker maintenance where possible | Automates update workflow with exception reporting. |
Prerequisites
Before building a resource tracker, here are some prerequisites you should consider:
- A centralized documentation or BI tool: Platforms like NinjaOne Docs, IT Glue, Confluence, and Excel/Power BI can serve as a centralized tool inventory.
- Inventory exports: Extracted data for licenses, hardware, and devices.
- Defined ownership: This is essential for updating and reviewing tracker entries.
- Agreed fields for each category: Examples of fields are cost, owner, renewal, warranty, compliance tag, or any other relevant metadata that needs to be tracked.
Task 1: Build a complete tool inventory
Building a resource tracker requires consistency. Begin the task by ensuring uniformity across licenses, hardware, and devices. This creates a standardized framework and a master field schema for your unified resource tracker that is reliable and accurate. Here are the parameters you can include:
- Licenses:
- Vendor, product
- No. of seats
- Renewal date
- Cost per seat
- Assigned users
- Hardware:
- Asset tag
- Model
- Warranty expiration
- Purchase date
- Owner/department
- Devices:
- Hostname
- OS
- Patch compliance
- MDM enrollment
- Assigned user
Task 2: Consolidate resource data into a unified tracker
After defining critical fields, create a tracker that unifies all data across categories. This will give MSPs an organized information source, where all assets are viewable in a single dashboard. Follow this structure:
- For small environments, you can use spreadsheets (such as Excel or Google Sheets) with filters, pivot tables, and data validation rules.
- For larger MSP environments, utilize Business Intelligence (BI) dashboards that Power BI or Google Data Studio can provide.
- Automate inbound data feeds that you can directly pull from RMM, MDM, and vendor APIs.
Task 3: Implement governance and review cycles
Maintaining accuracy calls for a governance calendar that’s well-kept and regularly audited. Schedule recurring reviews to keep data embedded in QBR prep accurate. Here are the actions you need to take:
- Monthly: Update license usage and patch compliance
- Quarterly: Review warranty expirations and lifecycle planning
- Annually: Reconcile license renewals and hardware decommissioning
Task 4: Tie tracker insights to business outcomes
While a resource tracker can deliver valuable technical data to MSPs, it can also offer QBR-ready visuals that translate tracker data into client-facing outcomes. It can be presented to operations, leadership, or client stakeholders. Here are some items that the tracker can provide insights into:
- Unused licenses that can be reclaimed to cut costs
- Unsupported devices that can be removed to reduce security risk
- Refresh budget forecasts to prove lifecycle maturity
Task 5: Automate tracker maintenance where possible
You can leverage automation to maintain the tracker’s precision while avoiding inaccuracies due to human or manual effort errors. Here are some actions you can automate:
- Pull license usage directly from SaaS vendor APIs
- Sync hardware and device data from RMM and MDM tools
- Automatically flag assets nearing renewal, warranty expiration, or end of life
Best practices summary table
| Practice | Value delivered |
| Define consistent fields | Creates a reliable single source of truth |
| Consolidate into one tracker | Improves visibility across all resource types |
| Governance and review cycles | Keeps data current and audit-ready |
| Tie insights to outcomes | Strengthens client-facing reporting |
| Automate updates | Reduces overhead and human error |
Automation touchpoint example
Aside from the tracker maintenance, you can use automation for the following:
- NinjaOne exports hardware inventory weekly
- License usage pulled from SaaS vendor APIs
- Data combined into a Power BI dashboard
- Dashboard flagging of underutilized licenses or upcoming warranty expirations
NinjaOne integrations
NinjaOne and its tools can help MSPs build a unified resource tracker.
| NinjaOne service | What it is | How it helps in building a unified resource tracker |
| Export device and hardware inventory data | A built-in capability that retrieves up-to-date device and hardware inventory from the platform | Populates the unified tracker with accurate, current asset data |
| Store tracker templates and governance SOPs in Docs | A documentation feature used to store templates, workflows, and reference material | Centralizes tracker structures and governance processes for consistency |
| Automate reporting for patch compliance and lifecycle status | Automated reporting functions that pull compliance and lifecycle metrics | Supplies ongoing data inputs that keep tracker fields fresh and audit-ready |
| Provide dashboards highlighting license/device/hardware coverage | Visualization dashboards showing asset and coverage metrics | Improves visibility into resource status across all tracked categories |
| Generate QBR reports showing tracker outcomes | Reporting tools that produce client-facing summaries | Communicates risk reduction and cost savings driven by tracker insights |
Building a unified resource tracker for licenses, hardware, and devices
A unified resource tracker transforms fragmented, siloed data into a centralized governance tool. This helps MSPs have a centralized database where they can pull critical data such as licenses, hardware, and devices. Additionally. MSPs can present this tracker to clients and stakeholders to highlight important business insights.
Key takeaways:
- Define consistent fields across all resource types
- Consolidate into one unified tracker
- Build review cycles into governance cadence
- Translate tracker insights into business outcomes
With platforms like NinjaOne supplying reliable data inputs, MSPs can maintain an accurate, audit-ready view of every license, device, and hardware asset.
Related topics:
