Free hardware inventory software — which hardware, whose shelf?

The key facts

• Two searches share this keyword: IT hardware asset registers (laptops, servers, switches) and hardware-store/workshop stock (parts, tools, consumables).
• The free tier of truth: spreadsheets are genuinely enough for a small, stable register; open-source IT asset trackers exist; freemium tiers gate the useful bits.
• BSimple's fit: assets as non-depleting stock records with locations and history — a partial yes for hardware stock, not an IT-discovery or network-scanning tool.
• No free BSimple tier: $180/month AUD upward with a full-product trial; this page lists the genuinely free routes without pretending we are one.
• Where it fits: this page is one branch of the inventory management guide.

Reading 1: IT hardware inventory (laptops, servers, switches)

IT hardware registers have a shape of their own: devices discovered from the network, ownership and warranty dates, licence and specification details, and a check-out trail as kit moves between staff. Purpose-built IT asset tools — including capable open-source ones — cover the discovery and lifecycle sides; the IT-inventory angle and the network-discovery flavour cover that category in detail.

BSimple is not that tool: no network scanning, no automated device discovery, no software-licence tracking. It can hold hardware as asset records — items that do not deplete, with locations, custody changes and history — which suits small registers where the truth of who has what matters more than automated discovery. For a fifty-laptop fleet with warranty tracking, a purpose-built IT tool is the honest answer.

Reading 2: hardware stock (parts, tools, consumables)

Workshops, maintenance sheds and hardware businesses track hardware that moves: bolts by the box, blades by the single, tools that leave with a technician. This is flowing stock, and it is where a real inventory record earns its keep — quantities per location, reorder levels, supplier reconciliation, and a transaction history that answers where a box went. The hardware-shop page covers the retail version; the parts-and-automotive angle the mobile-van version.

The free question resolves the same way it does everywhere: a spreadsheet genuinely works for one person and slow volumes; the ceiling arrives with shared truth and counter-speed answers. The totally-free dissection prices each "free" — spreadsheet, open source, freemium, trial — without pretending any is a free forever product.

BSimple's position, plainly

We build BSimple, so weigh that. For hardware stock, BSimple is a real option: live quantities across locations, multi-level units, purchasing from demand, and invoices that push to Xero or MYOB (US integrations rolling out) — from $180/month AUD. For hardware assets, it is a partial fit: non-depleting records with locations and full transaction history, but no IT-style automated discovery — register entries, not scans of your network. The asset-management mechanics and the IT-inventory boundary explain both halves, and the trial shows either on your real items.