Introduction

Managing a small inventory in Excel can be convenient at first—but as the inventory grows, Excel often becomes more of a bottleneck than a solution. I recently decided to shift from an Excel-based approach to a SharePoint List for better flexibility, multi-user access, and integration potential with APIs (like Dell’s warranty service).

In this post, I’ll walk you through:

  1. Why I moved from Excel to SharePoint
  2. How I set up the SharePoint List
  3. Automating warranty checks with the Dell API
  4. Lessons learned and future ideas

1. Why Move Away from Excel?

Excel is great for quick data entry, but it shows its limitations when:

  • Multiple users need to edit data simultaneously without version conflicts.
  • You want to leverage real-time forms or automated processes.
  • You need robust searching, filtering, and indexing across multiple columns.

SharePoint Lists solve these problems by providing a web-based interface, access control via Microsoft 365, and the ability to integrate with tools like Power Automate or Python scripts via the Microsoft Graph API. I might build a PowerApp ontop of the list in the future to appify it further.

2. Setting Up the SharePoint List

I created a list called “Inventory” within a SharePoint site dedicated to IT assets. Each item in the list has fields like:

  • Title: The device name or label
  • ServiceTagSerial: The device’s Dell service tag
  • WarrantyType and WarrantyExpiration: For tracking coverage
  • Status: e.g., “Assigned” or “Available”
  • DeviceType (Laptop, Desktop, etc.)
  • Location, Notes, and others…

This structure immediately gave me:

  • Concurrent editing by multiple team members
  • Easy filtering (e.g., all items with “Status == Assigned”)
  • Built-in version history and user permissions
  • Easy Filters and View. I love views in SPO.

3. Automating Warranty Checks with the Dell API

The inventory that I inherited was a mess. I wanted to progrmatically update it. So I wrote a scrpt to check warranty type and expiration date using Dell’s API. Here’s the high-level flow:

  1. Script Authenticates to SharePoint:
    Using Azure AD (or an OAuth client) to connect to the list programmatically.
  2. Query for “Assigned” Items:
    Grab items where Status == 'Assigned'.
  3. Dell API Call:
    For each item, parse the ServiceTagSerial field, make a request to the Dell Warranty API, and get the latest coverage info.
  4. Update SharePoint:
    Write back the WarrantyType and WarrantyExpiration fields using Python + Microsoft Graph (or the direct SharePoint REST API).

This automation ensures up-to-date warranty data is always visible in the same place where staff track device assignments—no more guesswork or rummaging through spreadsheets.

4. Lessons Learned & Future Plans

  • Index Key Fields: Filtering by fields like Status or ServiceTagSerial is smoother when columns are indexed in SharePoint.
  • Consider Power Automate: If you’re not comfortable with custom scripts, Power Automate can help you schedule daily or weekly updates from Dell’s API.
  • Dynamic Replacement Flags: A small JSON column formatting snippet or a calculated field can highlight which devices are due for replacement each year (e.g., “Replace in 2026”).
  • Secure Your Credentials: Always store API keys or secrets in a secure fashion (e.g., Azure Key Vault, environment variables) rather than plain-text in scripts.

Conclusion

Migrating from an Excel file to a SharePoint List drastically simplified my small inventory management process. Collaboration improved, updates became programmatic, and pulling warranty information from Dell’s API gives real-time insights that Excel just couldn’t offer.

If you’re juggling device assignments and service tags in Excel, consider giving SharePoint + some automation a try—it might be the flexible, scalable solution you’ve been missing.

Thanks for reading! If you have questions or need help integrating your own solution, feel free to reach out or comment below.