What is provisioning and deprovisioning?
When you manage software licenses in Velory, you will see two actions that go beyond simple assignment: Provision and Deprovision. These combine multiple steps into a single action, and can optionally trigger automated access management in the external software.
In this guide
Before you begin
You need Admin access to provision and deprovision licenses.
Provision — assign and activate in one step
Provisioning a license does two things at once:
- Assigns the license to an employee
- Activates the license (sets state to Active)
This is the fastest way to give someone access to a software service. After provisioning, the license is immediately live and linked to the employee.
How to provision a license
- Go to Assets → Software and click on a service.
- Go to the Licenses tab.
- Click the action menu on an unassigned license.
- Select Provision.
- Search for and select the employee.
- Confirm.
The license is now assigned, active, and renamed to include the employee's name (e.g. "Slack - Pro - John Smith").
How is this different from "Assign"?
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Assign | Links the license to an employee but does not change the license state. A pending license stays pending. |
| Provision | Links the license to an employee and activates it. The license state changes to Active and the activation date is set. |
Use Assign when you want to reserve a license for someone without activating it yet. Use Provision when you want the employee to have access right away.
Deprovision — unassign and suspend in one step
Deprovisioning is the reverse of provisioning. It does two things at once:
- Unassigns the license from the employee
- Suspends the license (sets state to Suspended)
This is the recommended way to remove access when an employee no longer needs a service — for example, during offboarding or when reallocating licenses.
How to deprovision a license
- Go to the service detail page and open the Licenses tab.
- Click the action menu on an assigned license.
- Select Deprovision.
- Confirm when prompted — the dialog will remind you that this will unassign and suspend the license.
The license returns to the available pool in a suspended state. It can be provisioned again to another employee later.
How is this different from "Unassign"?
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Unassign | Removes the employee from the license but does not change the license state. An active license stays active. |
| Deprovision | Removes the employee and suspends the license. The license moves to an inactive state. |
Use Unassign when you want to free up a seat but keep the license active (e.g. reassigning it immediately). Use Deprovision when the license should be paused until needed again.
Bulk deprovision
You can deprovision multiple licenses at once:
- Select licenses using the checkboxes in the license table.
- Click Deprovision in the bulk action bar.
All selected licenses will be unassigned and suspended. A summary shows how many succeeded and if any failed.
Automated provisioning (optional)
By default, provisioning and deprovisioning only update the license record in Velory. But you can configure Velory to also grant or revoke access in the external software automatically.
On the service detail page, the Provisioning tab lets you set up one of three methods:
| Method | How it works |
|---|---|
| Direct API | Velory calls the software's API directly to grant or revoke access — fully automatic, no manual steps |
| Custom Workflow | Velory runs a workflow you have built — for provisioning that spans several systems or needs extra steps |
| Manual | Velory creates a task for a person to grant or revoke access in the software — for services with no API |
A service with no connector available yet shows Coming soon rather than Direct API.
When a provisioning method is configured, it runs automatically whenever you provision or deprovision a license. If no method is configured, the license state changes in Velory but access in the external software must be managed separately.
The Provisioning state
Automated provisioning is not instant, so the licence has a state for "being set up". Velory creates the licence in Provisioning first, then dispatches the method:
| Method | What happens to the state |
|---|---|
| Direct API | The grant runs immediately and the licence becomes Active |
| Custom Workflow | The licence stays Provisioning until the workflow finishes and reports back |
| Manual | The licence stays Provisioning until somebody completes the task |
Velory falls back rather than failing. If Direct API is configured but there is no connector for that service, or the connector call fails, provisioning falls back to a manual task — so the request is not lost — it needs a person.
Workflow provisioning needs a finalize step
A provisioning workflow must end with the Finalize License Provisioning action. That action is what moves the licence from Provisioning to Active.
Without it, the workflow runs, access is granted, and the licence sits in Provisioning forever — looking unfinished when it is actually working. Velory warns you on the Provisioning tab when a configured provision workflow is missing that step. Take the warning seriously; it is the most common cause of licences stuck in Provisioning.
Manual provisioning tasks
When the Manual method is configured, or when an automated method falls back to it:
- A task is created for the service's software owners — the people listed as managing that service. If none are set, it goes to administrators.
- The task names the service and access role, and includes any instructions you configured — for example "Add John Smith to the Slack workspace".
- The licence stays in Provisioning until somebody completes the task.
- Completing the task flips the licence to Active.
Tasks appear under My tasks for whoever they are assigned to. Setting software owners per service is what keeps these tasks going to the person who can actually do them, rather than to every administrator.
Good to know
Can I provision a license that is already assigned?
No. You can only provision unassigned licenses. If a license is already assigned to a different employee, unassign it first.
What happens to a deprovisioned license?
It stays in your records in a suspended state, unassigned. You can provision it to a new employee whenever needed. It is not deleted.
Do I need to set up automated provisioning?
No. It is optional. Many teams use Velory to track who has what and manage access in each tool themselves. Automation is worth it when you want less manual work, or faster revocation during offboarding.
A licence has been stuck in Provisioning for days. What is wrong?
Three likely causes, in order:
- A provisioning workflow with no Finalize License Provisioning step. Access was granted but nothing told Velory. Check the Provisioning tab for the warning.
- An outstanding manual task. Somebody needs to complete it. Check who the service's software owners are — if none are set, the task may be sitting where nobody is looking.
- A workflow that failed part-way. Check the workflow's run history.
The state means "setup has not reported completion", not "access is broken" — the person may well have working access already.
Does deprovisioning revoke access in the software?
Only if a provisioning method is configured for the service. Without one, Deprovision updates Velory and nothing else — you must remove access at the vendor yourself.
This is the gap worth closing before an offboarding, not during one.
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