> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.serval.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Software & Licensing (SAM)

> A database template for software asset management. Track software entitlements, SaaS subscriptions, seats, renewals, spend and compliance in one register.

The Software & Licensing template installs a [database](/sections/documentation/databases/overview) for software asset management (SAM). A SAM database tracks the entitlements you've bought, the SaaS subscriptions you pay for, who's actually using them, and what renews when. It's the register of record for software spend and compliance.

Install it from the template library, or ask Catalyst to "set up a software licensing database." One team gets one Software & Licensing database.

## What it models

The schema models the following tables:

| Table | What it records |
| :- | :- |
| **Software Product** | A product you manage (e.g. Figma, Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365). |
| **Publisher** | The company that makes a product (e.g. Adobe, Microsoft). |
| **License** | The entitlement you hold for a product: its type, the quantity entitled, and the entitlement term. |
| **Software Installation** | An install of a product on a device. |
| **SaaS Subscription** | A paid subscription to a SaaS product: its plan, quantity purchased, billing term, and renewal date. |
| **SaaS Seat** | An individual seat on a subscription: who holds it, whether or not it's assigned and active. |
| **Contract** | The commercial agreement behind a license or subscription, with the document attached. |
| **Reconciliation Result** | The output of a compliance check: entitled vs. consumed, with a verdict (Compliant, Under-licensed, or Over-licensed). |

<Note>
  The **SaaS Subscription** is visible to the help desk agent without a requester link, so that questions like "do we have Figma?" can be answered. All other tables are scoped to the requester.
</Note>

## Use cases

* **License compliance.** Compare what you're entitled to against what's consumed. A **Reconciliation Result** records the variance and its verdict, so over- and under-licensing are queryable.
* **SaaS and seat tracking.** A subscription's purchased quantity, assigned seats, and active seats sit side by side. The difference between assigned and active is the number of units available for reclamation.
* **Renewals.** Renewal dates on subscriptions and contracts drive T-90 / T-60 / T-30 reminder sweeps, so you're aware of all auto-renews.

## Usage tips

### Populate and extend

* **Populate** it from your SaaS-management and IdP sources with [ingestion](/sections/documentation/databases/ingestion), or import a license schedule by [CSV](/sections/documentation/databases/manual-data-entry).
* **Extend** it with your own fields, tables, and [relationships](/sections/documentation/databases/schema-design#relationship-edge-types), and add [validation rules](/sections/documentation/databases/rules). For example, require a contract on any subscription over a spend threshold.

### Reclamation lives in access management

Serval reclaims unused licenses two ways, both outside the database:

* **Policy-based reclamation.** The deterministic, rule-driven path. Define a policy, and Serval flags every seat that crosses it for a reclaim decision. For more information, see [Reclamations](/sections/access-management/reclamations).
* **Proactive reclamation agent.** The flexible, AI-driven path. An installable agent that reads your team's connected apps, gathers context and data for each user and seat, and reasons which licenses are good reclamation candidates. The agent doesn't deprovision on its own. Instead, it presents its findings for your review, and you make the final decision for each item.

You can also see consumption on the **Entitlement Users** tab (**Access → App → Role → Users**), which lists who holds what across your entitlements.

## How it fits with the other templates

Software & Licensing tracks what you're entitled to and who's using it, [Hardware Assets](/sections/documentation/databases/hardware-assets) tracks the devices software installs onto, and the [CMDB](/sections/documentation/databases/cmdb) tracks the services it delivers. A Software Installation joins a device by serial number, so the three databases stay independent but related.


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