SaaS application inventory template for mid-sized companies

A SaaS application inventory for a licensing review adds start year, archive status, system owner and export admin to the usual IT columns. Those fields show whether a mid-sized client holds long-history systems, without anyone opening or describing a single record. MSPs keep it at metadata level.

What belongs in a SaaS inventory for a licensing review?

A standard IT inventory lists each application, its owner and its cost. For a data licensing review you add three columns: the year the company started using it, whether an archive exists, and who can run an export. Those columns show at a glance whether a client has long-history systems worth a conversation.

This template is for managed service providers who already keep application lists for clients. It stays at the metadata level: nothing in it describes the contents of any record, and the MSP never exports or copies client data.

The template

Copy the table into a spreadsheet and add one row per application.

Application	Category	Vendor plan	Start year	Still active (Y/N)	Archive exists (Y/N)	System owner	Admin who can export	Export tested (Y/N)	Notes
{app_name}	CRM, finance, helpdesk, chat, code, other	{plan_tier}	{yyyy}	{y_or_n}	{y_or_n}	{role}	{role}	{y_or_n}	{short_note}

Use roles, not personal details. A row for a finance tool might read: category finance, started 2014, still active, archive exists, owner controller, admin IT manager. Illustrative only, with no real vendor or client.

What do the extra columns tell you?

Column	What it shows	Why a licensing review cares
Start year	How long the company has used the tool	Years of history make records more useful
Still active	Whether the tool is live or retired	Retired tools often hold archives that need to be located
Archive exists	Whether older data survives	Archived systems lengthen the usable history
System owner	The business person responsible	Someone must answer rights questions
Admin who can export	The technical contact	Exports need a named person
Export tested	Whether the company has ever tried	An untested export is a risk, not a fact

The exportability checklist goes deeper on testing exports, and the archived systems checklist helps find retired tools.

How do you spot a client worth raising this with?

Count what the sheet shows, then apply a simple three-signal rule.

Ten or more active applications, including finance, CRM, support and collaboration tools.
At least a few applications with five or more years of history, or archives from retired tools.
A named owner and a named export admin for the main systems.

Strong companies often run 10 to 15 or more systems. If the sheet shows two or three tools and little history, do not raise licensing. The baseline in who qualifies also requires 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), rights to license the data and an authorized sponsor.

Common gaps in a SaaS inventory

Gap	Why it hurts	Fix
Only paid tools listed	Free-tier and shadow tools are missed	Cross-check single sign-on and expense reports
Start year missing	History cannot be judged	Ask the owner or check the vendor account page
No record of retired tools	Archives are invisible	Add a section for decommissioned systems
Owner is the vendor	No one at the client is responsible	Assign a role at the client
Export never tested	The plan may not work in practice	Ask the admin to confirm what export exists, without running it on production records
Personal accounts in use	Rights and retention are unclear	Flag for the client's sponsor

When to raise the topic with a client

Raise it during moments you are already in the room: a quarterly business review, a migration plan, a contract renewal or a tool retirement. Use the data inventory interview questions to talk to department heads, and a mutual NDA if the client requires one before any conversation. The client decides; you do not.

The introduction email builder helps prepare an owner-approved version, and the commercial banker templates and year-end client email template show how other professions word the same step. For a metadata-only inventory of one tool, see the Zendesk inventory template.

What does the MSP never do?

Export, copy or open client records to describe them.
Share the client's application list outside the client without permission.
Promise that the client will qualify or be paid. Nothing is binding until the company agrees price and terms and signs.
Type a reward amount. Partners earn 25% of eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects, capped at $100,000 per referred company, only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee; no reward is guaranteed.

Check your client agreements and your own firm's policies on referral income and conflicts, and read the page for managed service providers.

Next step

Add the three columns to the inventory you already keep for one client and see how many rows show five or more years of history. If the client fits and agrees, register as a partner and make the introduction.

Step 1Share your linkSend your personal link to a company you know.
Step 2Company appliesThe company applies itself at /apply.
Step 3Buyer selects and paysThe buyer selects and pays for the data and SourceX receives its fee.
Step 4You get your rewardYour share of SourceX fees becomes payable.

Common questions

How is this different from a standard SaaS management spreadsheet?

A standard sheet tracks cost, renewal dates and licenses for budgeting. This version adds start year, archive status, system owner and export admin, which show how long a client has kept records and who can retrieve them. The additions are metadata only and contain no record contents.

Do I need the client's permission to share their inventory?

Yes. The list belongs to the client, and sharing it with anyone outside the engagement, including SourceX, needs the client's agreement. Partners give basic fit information only. The client completes its own inventory with SourceX after it decides to proceed.

How many applications make a client interesting?

There is no minimum on tool count, but strong companies often run 10 to 15 or more systems across email, chat, shared drives, CRM, finance, support, engineering and operations. Years of history and archives matter as much as the count. Also check headcount and rights.

What if a client uses mostly consumer or health data tools?

That is a red flag. Data that is mainly consumer personal data with no licensing basis, or mainly protected health information without proper authorization or de-identification, is a poor fit. Mention it to the client's sponsor and do not proceed unless that is resolved.

Can I run exports to see how much history exists?

Do not run exports on client records for this purpose. Ask the administrator to confirm whether an export exists and how far back it goes. The company handles any later export itself, after an executed agreement and with its own authorization.

Free resources

Days sales outstanding calculator — How many days customers take to pay.
Business succession planning assessment — Ten questions on successor, transition and documentation.
NPV calculator — Net present value with a discounted cash flow table.
All free tools · MCP resource center

By SourceX Partnerships Team · Published 2026-10-09 · Updated 2026-10-09

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