SAM

[abhijee]

Hello Team,

Is there a way in ServiceNow SAM to reclaim software licenses from inactive users, specifically when an employee leaves the organization?

Currently, in the reclamation process, we can define thresholds such as reclaiming licenses if the software has not been used for 1 or 2 months. However, our requirement is different — we want the software license to be reclaimed within 1–2 days once a user becomes inactive or leaves the organization.

Could you please advise if this is achievable using out-of-the-box functionality or through customization?

[Tanushree Maiti]

Check this post , hope it will help you.

https://www.servicenow.com/community/sam-forum/relcaiming-software-assets-associated-with-terminated...

[SAMfluencer]

HI @abhijee ,

OOB SAM Pro reclamation is usage-threshold driven  it looks at last Used Date or Total Usage Time on the software installation/metering record against your configured reclamation threshold. It has no native trigger tied to user lifecycle events (user deactivation, employment status change, etc.).

So your requirement  reclaim within 1–2 days of a user going inactive cannot be met OOB without some configuration or customization.

What might can work but needs to be tested:

Option 1: Business Rule on sys_user 

Trigger a server-side Business Rule when sys_user flips from true to false. The script:

• Queries alm_license where allocated to = deactivated user.
• Either removes the allocation directly or sets the reclamation candidate flag to kick off the standard reclamation workflow.

Option 2: Flow Designer

Same logic as above but built in Flow Designer, which gives you:

• Easier handoff and maintenance
• Ability to add approval steps (e.g., manager confirmation before reclamation)
• Logging and error handling without code

Record Updated → sys_user  → active changes to false  Actions: Look up related alm_license records → Update or create Reclamation Requests.

If this helped - amazing, you're welcome, go click Helpful and Accept as Solution. If it didn't - well, at least you learned what not to do. Either way, we grow. 

Cheers, Abby

ITAM Principal Solution Architect

[MikeW0609686430]

Hey Abby - the OOTB offboarding (asset reclamation) workflow can be configured to create reclamation candidates for SaaS licenses linked to offboarded employees based on x number of days on non-employment. Would this not work for this use case?

[SAMfluencer]

Fair point @MikeW0609686430 , and I should have included this appreciate the call-out.

@abhijee  before going down the Business Rule or Flow Designer route, definitely explore the OOTB Asset Offboarding / Reclamation workflow first. If your offboarding process is set up correctly, this could fulfil your requirement without any customisation which is always the cleaner path.

My earlier options still hold as fallbacks if the OOTB workflow doesn't fit your setup, but start here first.

Attaching screenshot of software reclaimation.

Thanks for jumping in Mike much appreciated.

Regards,

Abby