Manage the software register

The Register is the operational inventory of software the workspace owns or reviews. Accurate owners, costs and dates make renewal alerts and portfolio reporting useful, while a link to the vendor directory carries verified supplier identity into future assessments.

Before you start

• Collect the current contract, annual and one-off costs, responsible contacts, start and end dates, notice period and auto-renewal status.

• Search the vendor directory before creating a manual supplier so the asset can reuse the correct vendor name, website, category and master record.

Step by step

1. Add the software asset

Choose Add software. Select a directory vendor to prefill identity where possible, or enter a manual product and supplier. Add department or process area and choose Active, Under review, Being replaced or Retired to reflect the current lifecycle.

2. Record costs clearly

Enter annual licence, annual maintenance and one-off implementation costs with currency. Add licence count or unit and internal notes where they make the spend understandable. Workspace totals convert currencies for reporting, but the original contract currency remains important.

3. Set contract and notice dates

Add start and end dates, billing frequency, auto-renewal and a notice period between 7 and 365 days. The end date drives renewal alerts and calendar placement, so do not substitute an invoice date.

4. Add responsible contacts

Open the asset and add named contacts with email and role. Keep business owner, procurement or supplier contacts current, and remove a contact from the asset when responsibility changes without deleting unrelated stakeholder history.

5. Edit and monitor the inventory

Use Register search and status filters to find an asset, then Edit for corrected identity, ownership, spend or dates. Expired and next-90-day contracts are highlighted; switch to the renewal calendar to review contracts grouped by quarter and spend at risk.

6. Record a renewal

Use Renew on the asset and choose the agreed future end date. The suggested date extends from the later of today or the current end date, but confirm it against the signed renewal before saving.

7. Reassess instead of auto-renewing

Choose Start assessment when value, price, capability, support or integration should be tested. The new assessment is prefilled from the asset and keeps the current software as the incumbent; review the seeded brief before continuing.

What happens next

• Use the renewal calendar routinely and assign an owner for contracts approaching their notice deadline.

• If a selected project created the asset automatically, verify its contacts, notice period and operational owner after delivery.

Troubleshooting

An asset is missing from the renewal calendar

Confirm it has a valid contract end date and is not filtered out. Calendar grouping depends on that end date, not the start date or a free-text note.

Renew proposes an unexpected date

The suggestion extends from the later of today and the recorded end date. Replace it with the executed renewal date before saving if the agreement differs.

Starting an assessment creates weak project context

Launch from the correct asset and confirm its product, vendor and process area are current. Edit the prefilled reasons and brief before creating the project.

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