Before you begin managing hardware assets

The following table contains a summary of what you need to set up before you can perform hardware asset management.

Step	Description
1. Create Organizations, Cost Centers, and Locations.	Although these can be added individually, and even reorganized subsequently, it is helpful to normalize and standardize these in advance.
2. Create Warranty, Hardware Maintenance and Support, and Lease Agreements.	Although these can be added individually, and even reorganized subsequently, it is helpful to normalize and standardize these in advance.
3. Create a hardware catalog.	The hardware catalog provides model, type, manufacturer, and supplier information for hardware assets.
4. Create hardware assets.	If necessary, link each hardware asset to a CI—usually a Windows computer CI—through the serial number and/or asset tag.
5. Add agreements to the hardware assets.	Relate agreements to hardware assets so you can keep track of when an asset’s agreement needs to be renewed.
6. Add owners, locations, and financial information.	Add this information to your assets so you can easily find the location, person responsible, and identify its cost center.
7. Assign software to your assets.	Assign software titles to the hardware asset, either from the hardware asset form or from the software title form. Assigning software titles to hardware assets does not impact your software licensing position, but it does help you track hardware asset assigned software, non-discovered software, and high cost software.