Notes for owners · Industry-Specific Software Guides
How an IT Services Firm Can Set Up a Licence and Warranty Renewal Process
Start with one register of every client asset, licence, subscription, warranty and AMC, each with an end date and an owner. Then set a quote date ahead of each end date, track replies, and count AMC usage before renewal talks. GullySystem builds this register for IT and network firms, with tickets logged against each contract.
Ganesh HS, Strategy and Technology, GullySystem · · 3 min read
Build the register before the calendar
A renewal calendar depends on the list beneath it. In many IT firms, serial numbers and licence keys sit in a sheet on one engineer’s laptop.
Start with each client site. List every device with its serial number and warranty end date. Then list every licence and subscription, from Microsoft 365 to antivirus and the firewall.
Record the distributor and the purchase invoice for each line. A warranty claim then starts from the machine, not from old emails.
- Client, site and device
- Serial number and warranty end date
- Licence or subscription, seats and end date
- Distributor and purchase invoice
- The AMC that covers it, if any
Set a quote date, not just a due date
A due date says when something lapses. A quote date says when to act.
Set the quote date far enough ahead for the client to approve and pay. Firewall and antivirus subscriptions deserve the longest lead, because a lapse is felt on the network at once.
Group renewals by client and month. One quote covering five renewals is easier for an office manager to approve than five separate emails.
Name an owner for every renewal
Renewals slip when everyone assumes someone else has them. Give each client one owner in your office.
The owner sends the quote, follows up and records the decision. A declined renewal is still a recorded decision. It protects you when the client calls after a lapse.
Count AMC usage before the renewal talk
An AMC renewal is a pricing conversation. Without numbers, last year’s rate simply rolls over.
Log every call and WhatsApp request as a ticket against the client’s contract. Note the engineer, the visit and the time spent.
A week before renewal, total the visits and tickets used against what the contract covers. Mark each contract comprehensive or labour only, since that changes what a call costs you.
- Tickets raised and closed in the contract year
- Site visits made against visits covered
- Engineer time by client
- Parts replaced under a comprehensive contract
Keep warranty claims and RMAs in the same register
When a laptop fails, the first question is warranty. The second is where the invoice went.
Log each warranty claim and RMA number against the device. Follow the replacement until it is back on the client’s desk, then update the serial number in the register.
This last step is often skipped. A replaced unit still carrying the old serial breaks the next claim.
Client renewal register template
A sheet listing each licence, subscription, warranty or AMC on its own row, with client, site, item, end date, quote date, owner and status. Sort it by quote date each Monday. Rows with a passed quote date and no status are the week’s calls.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Does the software monitor client machines remotely?
No. Keep your remote monitoring tool for that. The register holds assets, contracts, renewals and tickets, and an alert from that tool can open a ticket here.
Can clients raise tickets on WhatsApp?
Yes. A message creates a ticket, and the client gets one update when it closes. Some office managers will still ring an engineer directly.
Is a spreadsheet enough for a small IT firm?
For a handful of clients, a well-kept sheet with quote dates can work. It gets harder once tickets, warranty claims and several engineers depend on the same records.