IT Asset Inventory for Small Business: Laptops, Licences, Logins

Why a small business needs an IT asset register

Most SMEs have IT spread across a few laptops, a router, a Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace tenant, an accounting app and a dozen other subscriptions. An asset register turns that into something you can manage.

• Leavers: you know which laptop, phone and accounts to collect or close. See our employee offboarding IT checklist.
• Costs: licences for people who left, duplicate tools and forgotten trials show up on one page.
• Security: you cannot protect, patch or encrypt a device you do not know about.
• Insurance and audits: cyber insurers, customers and tenders increasingly ask what you have and how it is protected.
• Lost or stolen devices: with a serial number and owner on file, you can lock, wipe and report the right device quickly.

IT asset inventory template: the columns to use

A spreadsheet is enough for up to about 50 staff. Use one tab per asset type and keep the columns short.

Add a 'status' column (in use, spare, retired, lost) rather than deleting rows. When a laptop is retired, record the date and how its drive was wiped. Staff-owned phones that access company email belong on the list too; our BYOD policy and MDM guide explains how to handle them.

Devices: what to record and why

For each laptop, desktop, tablet and phone, a few fields carry most of the value.

1. 1

   Give it an owner

   Every device has one named person. 'Shared' devices get an owner who is responsible for them, such as the office manager.

2. 2

   Record the serial number

   Serial numbers prove ownership for insurance, warranty claims and police reports, and match devices in the MDM console.

3. 3

   Note encryption status

   BitLocker on Windows and FileVault on Mac should be on. A lost encrypted laptop is an inconvenience; an unencrypted one may be a data breach.

4. 4

   Track OS version and support

   Windows 10 reached end of support on 14 October 2025, according to Microsoft's lifecycle page. Flag devices that can no longer get updates.

5. 5

   Set the warranty and replacement date

   Plan replacements in the budget rather than when a laptop dies before a deadline.

Licences and admin accounts: the costly blind spots

Software is where SMEs lose most money. A monthly review of seats bought against seats used usually pays for the time it takes. Pull the numbers from each admin centre: Microsoft 365 admin centre under Billing, Google Admin console under Billing, and each SaaS tool's settings.

Admin accounts are the highest-risk assets you own. For each service, list who has admin rights, whether they use MFA, and whether a shared login is in use. Remove admin rights from people who do not need them, and keep at least two named admins so one person leaving does not lock you out.

Let MDM fill in the device inventory for you

Typing serial numbers by hand works for five laptops. Beyond that, a mobile device management (MDM) tool collects most of the device data automatically once each device is enrolled.

• Microsoft Intune: Microsoft's device inventory article lists the hardware, operating system, network and storage details Intune collects, including the serial number and last check-in. Hardware and software inventory refreshes every seven days.
• Google endpoint management: Google's Admin console lets admins review the devices your organisation manages, searchable by keyword or serial number.
• Export to your sheet: export the device list monthly and paste it into the Devices tab, or link the MDM report directly.

Intune is included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium. MDM also lets you enforce encryption and wipe a lost device, which turns the inventory from a list into a control.

How CSA Cyber Essentials uses your inventory

CSA's Cyber Essentials mark groups its measures into five areas: Assets, Secure/Protect, Update, Backup and Respond. The Assets area covers people, hardware and software, and data. In practice the assessor will want to see an up-to-date list of devices and software with owners, evidence that unsupported items are removed or replaced, and a view of where important data is kept.

A spreadsheet built from this guide is usually enough evidence for a small business. Our Cyber Essentials mark checklist covers the other four areas.

Do it yourself or get help?

A small office can build the first version of the sheet in an afternoon. The hard part is keeping it current; tie updates to joiner, leaver and purchase steps so it never drifts far.

If you want devices enrolled so the inventory fills itself, our Device Encryption & Management (S$490) sets up MDM, encryption and remote wipe. For regular checks of who has access to what, the Access Review & Leaver Tool (from S$1,200) builds a review and leaver workflow around your accounts.