It doesn’t matter if you are a small company looking to grow or a well-established enterprise servicing multiple clients in different locations, (MSPs) of all sizes face challenges organizing the credentials and related documentation of their clients. Software licensing expiration dates and renewal anniversaries can become a headache if you fail to organize them.

Although it might not be at the top of your list when thinking of the severity of the issues it might cause, the implications of missing these important dates can be catastrophic to the operation of a digitized company.

In this list, you will learn four essential practices to improve your Software Licensing Management, and how SyncMonkey can help you automate the process of sending alerts and notifications, helping you avoid any disruption in your client’s platforms.

What is Software License Management?

Sounds straightforward, right? Well… Not so fast.
Although the term encompasses the tools and procedures an organization uses to document and manage their software licenses, assuring that you can actively monitor them is a whole different story.

How SyncMonkey can help you?

SyncMonkey is a secure, versatile, and easy-to-use documentation management platform designed by industry experts to simplify your MSP’s operations.

Aside from being a SOC2 secure database of your client information and files (think contact names and addresses, phone numbers, websites, network diagrams, checklists, corporate information, and anything in between), SyncMonkey automatically notifies you when your clients’ software, SaaS services and other subscriptions are about to expire so you can rest easy knowing your client data is safe and automated. Since there are multiple software license types, SyncMonkey also identify just the ones your business is using.

Here are the best practices you need to implement to keep your client’s Software Licensing Management in top shape

1. Centralize the software licenses & related documents

Make a list of all the software licenses, types, and tools your company currently uses. You now have visibility of factors like license entitlement, the number of licenses for each software (All desktop apps and SaaS cloud-based services too), and which employees are assigned to which platform. This is an opportunity to keep track of the costs and service fees you are paying and remove unnecessary users or services that are no longer useful to your business. Now that you have compiled the list, you need to provide the docs to support your entitlement to use the software. Proof of acquisition/subscription may come in many forms, and you should not trust your email inbox as the only repository for that information. In case the company is audited, you will need more than that. SyncMonkey can help you to create a secure cloud-based directory in which you can save and track all the licenses and collaterals to prove you and your customers can use the software anytime, anywhere.

2. Actively monitor your software costs.

Managing your licenses is complicated enough, let alone keeping track of all your client’s documentation in addition. Proactively monitoring costs help you and your customers avoid spending more than you need on provisioning licenses. Many companies forget to think about software budgets while aiming for growth, leading to some roadblocks. When you break down your software expenditure, you get a clear picture of how you previously spent and how you intend to spend in the future. This can be a labour-intensive task, but a platform like SyncMonkey can help you collect and organize this information by centralizing client software licenses.

3. Set Notifications.

If you feel like you don’t have enough hours on your day or the bandwidth to handle all the tasks ahead, you are not alone. Research by Willis Towers Watson HR recently found out that Stress and Burnout are issues for 87% of employers, so tasks can easily be left behind or forgotten by you and the team. To help you automate tasks that would otherwise require you to step in, create reminders like alerts on your calendar or organizational platform for licenses renewals and expiry dates. This gives you the peace of mind of knowing you have enough time to act once notified. SyncMonkey can help you by setting those alarms and displaying the status of subscriptions about to expire directly on your dashboard.

 4. Prioritize. 

To finish things off, especially if you are a Managed Service Provider (MSP), Software License Management should be a top priority. By making sure all the employees understand the grade of importance, you are not only assuring your client’s information will be safely stored but preparing your company for growth and possible audits. Assign the process to the IT department and ensure all the managers follow up on the steps listed above. If done right, you won’t have to worry about licenses anymore. Now, you can head to your margarita-sipping day off with peace of mind, knowing the software licenses under your supervision are not causing any troubles while you’re out.

To sum up:

Now that you learned the best practices to organize and manage your software licensing process, it is time to take action.

SyncMonkey offers you a 15-day trial to test the platform and manage all documentation and credential needs of your clients. If you are unhappy with your current solution, SyncMonkey provides easy ways to migrate your data. Don’t worry about compatibility or deployment timeframes. We got you covered 😉.

If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch or schedule a demo with our friendly team

SyncMonkey. Way more than software licensing.

With SOC2 secure certification, SyncMonkey is a versatile and easy-to-use document management platform designed by industry experts to simplify your MSP operations. With automatic notifications when your client’s software, SaaS services and other subscriptions are about to expire, you can have peace of mind to focus on the core of the services you provide.

Customers call us the “Exactly what I needed!” platform. But we also go by “The secure database of your client’s documentation and credentials covering everything from contact names and addresses, phone numbers, websites, network diagrams, checklists, passwords and everything in between.