Why a true-up is when reclamation evidence goes missing
A true-up is the moment old reclamation decisions get re-read: why was this license kept, why was that one removed, and does the count reconcile with the contract? It is also when the evidence behind those decisions is most likely to be found gone, because the most detailed evidence has the shortest life.
Microsoft documents that Entra audit and sign-in logs are kept for seven days on the Free tier and 30 days on P1 and P2, and that longer retention requires routing logs to storage or Log Analytics. The signInActivity fields that most reclamation rules read keep only the latest value: lastSignInDateTime shows the last interactive attempt and can include failures, while lastNonInteractiveSignInDateTime and lastSuccessfulSignInDateTime are separate fields, and there is no built-in inactive-users report. So the sign-in detail behind last year's decision often survives only if someone pasted it into a ticket or saved an export at the time.
Exceptions are where that detail mattered most. Shared devices are the classic case: Microsoft's shared computer activation gives each user on one computer a separate licensing token valid for 30 days that renews while the user is signed in and using the apps, so usage on a shared workstation can look nothing like a single person's pattern. An approver who kept such a license usually wrote down why. That note is the record a true-up needs.
The record classes to inventory
These are the classes a software asset consultant can ask about without touching any data. The last column is the question that turns the inventory into a deadline.
| Record class | Where it usually lives | Coverage to note | Owner | Access deadline to ask about |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment history | Asset manager, identity system group membership | Years of assign and remove events | IT asset management | Audit log window in the identity system |
| Usage evidence | Identity system sign-in fields, app usage reports | Which signals were captured, and from when | Identity team | 7 or 30 days for raw sign-in logs unless exported |
| Reclamation candidates | Asset manager candidate table | Rule versions and candidate counts | IT asset management | Purge settings for closed candidates |
| Objections and approvals | Service desk tickets, email approvals | Share of candidates with a written decision | Service desk and business approvers | Ticket retention policy |
| True-up worksheets | Spreadsheets, procurement folders | One per year or contract term | Procurement or finance | Document retention schedule |
Candidate records deserve a specific question. ServiceNow, for example, documents that a scheduled job creates software removal candidates when a reclamation rule's conditions, such as its last-used filter, are met, and stores them in a reclamation candidates table. Ask how long closed candidates stay there and whether the rule's settings at the time are recorded alongside them.
ServiceNowOrder the inventory by what expires first
A useful inventory is sorted by urgency, not by system. Work down this order with the asset management head:
- Raw sign-in and audit logs. Days, not years, unless they are already routed to storage. Ask whether they are, and since when.
- Reclamation candidate records. Governed by the asset manager's purge settings. Ask what the setting is and who can see it.
- Objection and approval tickets. Governed by the service desk's retention policy; usually years. Ask what share of candidates has a written decision at all.
- Assignment history. Often long-lived in the asset manager, shorter in the identity system's audit log.
- True-up worksheets. Governed by the document retention schedule; usually the longest-lived and the easiest to find.
If the top two classes have already expired for past years, say so in the inventory. Gaps are information, and a partner never fills them by asking for exports.
Preserving context without overstepping
Preserve context only with the authority to do so. A partner's role is to ask what exists and when it expires, not to recommend that a company keep data its policies say to delete. These records describe employees and their devices, so retention and any later use are decisions for the company's IT leadership, privacy lead and counsel.
The procurement approvals guide covers a similar approval trail on the buying side, ITSM ticket history explains why the service desk is often where the reasoning lives, and the inactive mailbox guide shows why a license removal for a departed employee is itself a preservation decision. Consultants who run selection projects will find more on the software selection consultant page.
Does the company qualify, and what stays unknown?
The company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license the records, and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English.
Stay at metadata level: what the records are, how many, how long, which system, who owns them. Never request exports, user lists or screenshots. What stays unknown until SourceX reviews it: buyer interest in these records, the rights review result given that they describe employees, the de-identification needed, and any price. Partners sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting introductions. Exception records in other functions follow the same pattern; see freight audit exceptions and the industries hub.
Go deeper on license reclamation exceptions
- License reclamation exceptions referral brief template: a metadata-only brief to fill in before an introduction, with one completed Illustrative example.
- License reclamation exception examples: a hard case worked step by step, from the rule's verdict to the approver's decision and the record each step left.
- License reclamation records across systems: a system map of the asset manager, identity system and service desk, and the keys that join one decision.
- Who can license license reclamation records: a decision tree for who owns these records and who can say yes to a licensing discussion.
Next step
Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000. Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
If a client's asset management head can still show written reasons for the licenses it kept before the true-up begins, register as a partner, confirm the company against who qualifies, and read the program terms before you make the introduction.