We're currently tracking roughly 150 assets in Google Sheets, but maintaining it is becoming difficult. Since our team is comfortable with technical setup and self-hosting, we're considering an open-source inventory platform. We'd especially like to hear which tools people have found practical and enjoyable for asset assignments, lifecycle tracking, licensing, imports, and possible automation. What has worked well for you?
4 Answers
Snipe-IT would be my first choice at this size. It’s focused on hardware asset management, check-in/check-out, assignments, licensing, and lifecycle history without forcing you into a full IT service-management platform. Importing existing spreadsheet data is fairly painless, and it has a useful API if you want to automate updates later.
Before migrating, define what problem the spreadsheet is causing. For only 150 items, a sheet may still be perfectly adequate if you mainly need a simple list. A dedicated tool becomes more worthwhile when you need assignment history, audit trails, permissions, reminders, purchasing details, or reliable integrations. I’d start with Snipe-IT if those needs apply, while avoiding building a custom system unless your requirements are genuinely unusual.
GLPI is another strong option, especially if you want inventory alongside help desk, contracts, tickets, and other IT operations features. It’s more expansive than Snipe-IT, so it may feel like more system than you need for 150 assets, but it makes sense if you expect your requirements to grow.
I’d choose GLPI if help desk and broader ITSM features matter. For straightforward hardware tracking, Snipe-IT is probably easier to keep focused.
If a significant portion of the inventory is network equipment, servers, IP addresses, or configuration data, take a look at NetBox instead. It’s designed around infrastructure and network modeling rather than employee asset check-in/check-out. Some teams populate it automatically from tools such as endpoint-management systems or configuration automation.
It does require some manual setup initially, but the API is well documented and comprehensive enough to automate a lot of the ongoing work.