diff --git a/common/utils.hpp b/common/utils.hpp
index 358d0d7..bccd929 100644
--- a/common/utils.hpp
+++ b/common/utils.hpp
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 #pragma once
 
+#include "instance_id.hpp"
 #include "types.hpp"
 
 #include <libpldm/base.h>
@@ -20,6 +21,7 @@
 #include <cstdint>
 #include <deque>
 #include <exception>
+#include <expected>
 #include <filesystem>
 #include <iostream>
 #include <map>
@@ -164,6 +166,28 @@
     return bcd;
 }
 
+/**
+ * @brief Unwraps the result of InstanceId allocation and logs errors.
+ *
+ * Logs errors if present, but always returns the original result so the caller
+ * can choose to handle the error (return, throw, etc).
+ *
+ * @tparam T      Instance ID value type.
+ * @param[in] result  The result from InstanceIdDb::next().
+ * @return std::expected<T, InstanceIdError>
+ *     Returns the original result (value or error).
+ */
+template <typename T>
+std::expected<T, pldm::InstanceIdError> getInstanceId(
+    const std::expected<T, pldm::InstanceIdError>& result)
+{
+    if (!result)
+    {
+        std::cerr << result.error().msg() << std::endl;
+    }
+    return result;
+}
+
 struct DBusMapping
 {
     std::string objectPath;   //!< D-Bus object path