Warranty tracker in SharePoint: end dates and receipts in one list

Short answer: a warranty tracker is one list with one row per item you bought. Each row holds the item name, the purchase date, the warranty end date and a link to the receipt. Add a status choice and one view that shows only warranties ending soon. Then when something breaks, you open one list and see whether it is still covered, instead of digging through email and a spreadsheet.

This guide builds that list in Microsoft 365 with no code. It covers the columns, the views, a simple way to handle the receipt file and what to avoid. If your equipment list also needs a register of who owns each item, see "How to set up an asset register in SharePoint". If your warranty dates sit in a spreadsheet today, see "Replace a spreadsheet tracker with a SharePoint list" first.

What a warranty tracker is for

A warranty tracker answers three questions fast:

Is this item still covered?
When does cover end?
Where is the proof of purchase?

The cost of not knowing is simple. A printer fails, someone searches old email for the receipt, and nobody is sure whether cover ended last month or next month. A list puts the answers on one screen.

Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: keep the tracker to facts you need to act on. The terms of each warranty (what it covers, what voids it) belong in the document you got from the maker. The tracker points to that document. It does not replace it.

Step 1. Create the list

Go to https://www.microsoft365.com and log in with your work or school account.
Click the app launcher in the top left, pick Apps, and find Lists. The search box works too.
Choose New list, then Blank list.
Type "Warranty Tracker" as the name and click Create.

If your screen differs from these labels, Microsoft's page on creating a list from the Lists app, linked in the sources, shows the current layout.

Step 2. Add the columns

Each column is one fact about the item. To add one, choose Add column, select the type, name it and save. Microsoft lists every type on its column types page, which is where the quoted lines below come from.

Column: Item. Reuse the Title column that every new list ships with. Microsoft's page on creating a list says: "A blank list opens with a standard "Title" column on the left." Rename it "Item". The Title column is required by default, so every row needs an item name. Rename it, or turn off Require in its settings. Sample values: "Espresso machine 02" or "Pallet jack".

Column: Vendor. Type: Single line of text. Sample value: "Vendor 12". It records who sold it or built it. Switch to Choice later if you want a fixed pick list.

Column: Purchase date. Type: Date and time. Microsoft says this type is "Used to store calendar dates, or both dates and times." A true date type sorts oldest to newest, which plain text will not do.

Column: Warranty end. Type: Date and time. Everything else leans on this one, because it is the day protection stops.

Column: Status. Type: Choice. Enter the values with number prefixes so they hold your order: 1 In warranty, 2 Claim open, 3 Expired, 4 Retired. Microsoft says a Choice column can "Automatically select a specific value when someone adds a new item, while also allowing people to choose a different value if they need to do so." Set the default value to 1 In warranty. A blank status hides a row from any view that filters on Status, so do not leave the default empty.

Column: Receipt. Type: Hyperlink. Microsoft says this type is "Used to store a hyperlink to a webpage, graphic, or other resource." Step 3 explains where the receipt file itself goes.

Column: Responsible. Type: Person or Group. Microsoft says this type is "Used to provide a searchable list of people and groups from which people can choose when they add or edit an item." Pick whoever would call the maker about a fault.

Column: Notes. Type: Multiple lines of text. Sample value: "Claim ref 4471, called Tuesday." Use it for serial numbers and claim history.

Optional: Cost. Type: Number. Add it only if you want it in this list.

That is eight columns. One way to start is with Item, Purchase date, Warranty end, Status and Receipt. Add the rest when someone asks for them.

Make required columns required

Microsoft says "you can specify that the column is required and that people cannot add an item without entering the information." Consider this for Warranty end and Status. A row with no end date cannot appear in an "ending soon" view, so it would never be seen. The exact place for this setting may differ by column type.

Step 3. Decide where the receipt lives

The receipt is a file, such as a PDF or a photo. A list row can hold attachments, but that is not the only choice.

Option A, attach it to the row. Simple, and the file travels with the row. For where attachments are stored and when a library is better, see "Where SharePoint list attachments are stored, and when to use a library".
Option B, store the file in a document library and paste its link into the Receipt column. Better when several people need the file or when you want folders by year.

Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: pick one option and use it for every row. A tracker where half the receipts are attachments and half are links is hard to trust. If you use a link, long links can be a problem; see "Link will not save: hyperlink column limited to 255 characters".

Step 4. Run a claim drill

Test the list with a claim, not a data entry exercise. The scenario: a printer fails today. Find the end date and the receipt from the list in under a minute.

Add one row for a real printer in your starting category, or for any item with paperwork nearby. Fill Item, Purchase date, Warranty end, Status and Receipt.
Close the list, then open it again from the site menu as if you had never seen it.
Open the All by item view once you have built it in Step 6, or scroll the default view, and find the printer.
Read the Warranty end value aloud, then click the Receipt link. If the file opens, the drill passes.
If you stalled on anything, such as a missing date or a link that did not open, fix that column today.

A second sample row, for equipment in a warehouse:
Item: Pallet jack 07
Vendor: Vendor 12
Status: 1 In warranty
Responsible: choose the person who owns the warehouse
Notes: Hydraulic seal covered for the full term.

One row is cheap to change, and fifty rows are not.

Step 5. Make the "ending soon" view

This is the view that earns the list its keep. It shows only warranties that are still active and end within the next 60 days.

A view is a saved way of showing the list. The contents of the list do not change when you change a view. Microsoft says "[Today]" works in view filters: "The [Today] keyword works on date-based columns." Microsoft also says "If you want to have more detailed control over your view, you can instead modify your view by using the classic view editor." The [Today] and [Me] filters need the classic view editor.

In the list, select the view menu and choose Edit current view, or create a new view named "Ending soon".
Scroll down to the Filters section and select "Show items only when the following is true."
Set the first rule: Status is equal to 1 In warranty. Use the choice text exactly, with its number prefix.
Set the second rule, with And: Warranty end is less than [Today]+60.
Set the third rule, with And: Warranty end is greater than or equal to [Today].
Select OK. Under sort, choose Warranty end, ascending, so the soonest is on top.

The status rule is what removes old rows. Date rules alone are not enough. A row whose date has passed drops out because of rule 5, but a replaced or retired item should leave the view too. Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: when an item is retired, set its Status to 4 Retired the same day.

Do not use a calculated column to hold today's date for this. Formulas in calculated columns cannot use [Today], so the filter in the view is the right place.

Step 6. Add two more views

Expired. Filter in the classic view editor: Status is equal to 3 Expired. Use this to see what you already lost cover on.
All by item. No filter, sorted by Item. This is the full register for searching.

Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: set blank and "is not equal to" filters in the classic view editor too.

Step 7. Get a nudge before cover ends

A view only helps if someone opens it. A scheduled Power Automate flow can send a message about rows in the "ending soon" range. Microsoft's page on scheduled flows says a scheduled cloud flow can run "Once a day, an hour, or a minute," and that you set the Interval and Frequency, for example "Interval = 1 and Frequency = Week" for once a week. Sign in at https://make.powerautomate.com to build it.

For the full setup of a reminder flow, see "Send a reminder before a due date in a SharePoint list". In that flow, Microsoft says of Get items: "The default item limit is 100". It also says you "can increase this limit up to the list view threshold limit of 5,000." Set Top Count and turn Pagination on if your list is larger. Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: send one summary message per week, not one message per item.

Who can see and edit

A view is not security. Anyone who can open the list can switch to the "All by item" view. If cost or vendor terms should stay private, do not rely on hiding them in a view. Put the sensitive list on a site with its own members, or check with your admin.

By default the list uses the site's permissions. For a small team that may be enough: let the owner and a backup edit and give everyone else read access.

What to avoid

Do not store dates as text. They will not sort or filter as dates.
Do not leave Status blank. Blank rows hide from status views.
Do not enter every item you own on day one. Start with one category and add more after the list works.
Do not skip the owner. A list with no owner has nobody to keep it current.
Do not treat the list as the warranty. Keep the maker's document and link to it.
Do not rely on the date alone. A row can show a future end date for an item that was already replaced.

Honest limits

A list holds the dates. It does not know the terms of your warranty, whether a claim will be accepted, or whether the maker still honors a warranty after the item has moved or been repaired. Those questions go to the maker or the vendor. Also, a list only helps if rows are added when items are bought. Make "add a row" a step in the buying process.

When to get help

You can build all of this yourself in Microsoft 365. If you would rather have it built and tested for your team, I do that. A tracker like this is a fixed price: $5,000 for one, built in 2 weeks. See "What a SharePoint tracker costs to build". Bring one example of the problem to a free call.

Tell me what's still manual

I am Al Davies. I run 250 High Street LLC and build SharePoint trackers and Power Automate flows for operations teams. I work remotely. The first call is free, and I will not try to sell you anything.

See trackers I built: Tools I built

FAQ

How do I see warranties that end this month?

In the classic view editor, filter Warranty end with a range: greater than or equal to the first day of the month and less than the first day of next month. For a rolling window, use [Today] and [Today]+30 as in Step 5.

Can I keep the receipt as an attachment instead of a link?

Yes. A list row can hold attachments. Pick one method and use it for every row so you always know where to look.

Should the status change on its own when the end date passes?

A view can hide past dates, but the Status column does not change by itself. Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: change Status to 3 Expired by hand, or build a small scheduled flow that does it.

Can I move my spreadsheet rows into the list?

Yes. See "Add Excel rows to a SharePoint list you already have" if the list already exists, or the spreadsheet guide linked at the top.

Is a tracker enough for a company with hundreds of devices?

It works for a list you can keep current by hand. For hundreds of devices with automatic discovery, the data may come from a device management system, and the list is a place to record the dates. Check with your admin what your company already has.