How to Audit Your SaaS Stack in 60 Minutes
A practical checklist for startups. No software required.
Here's the thing about SaaS sprawl. It happens slowly. One tool here. Another there. Someone signs up for a free trial that converts to paid. Someone else expenses a subscription and forgets about it. Before you know it, you're spending thousands on software you don't even know you have.
The fix isn't complicated. You just need to sit down and actually look. This is a 60-minute exercise. Block the time. Do the work. You'll almost certainly find money to save.
of SaaS licenses go unused
Source: Zylo 2025 SaaS Management Index
51% unused. More than half. If you're spending $100K/year on software, roughly $50K is probably going nowhere. Even if your number is half that bad, you're leaving real money on the table.
The 60-Minute Breakdown
Pull Your Payment Data
~15 minutes
You can't audit what you can't see. Start by pulling every software-related charge from the past 12 months.
Where to look:
- Company credit cards — Export statements, search for recurring charges
- Bank accounts — Look for ACH debits and recurring withdrawals
- Expense reports — Check what employees are reimbursing
- Accounts payable — Invoiced subscriptions that aren't on a card
- Personal cards — Ask team leads if they're expensing any tools
Pro tip: Search your credit card statements for common SaaS billing patterns: monthly recurring charges, anything from Stripe, charges from names you don't immediately recognize.
Don't try to be perfect here. You're looking for a complete-enough picture. Missing a $10/month tool isn't the end of the world. Missing a $500/month one is.
Build Your Master List
~15 minutes
Take everything you found and put it in one place. A spreadsheet works fine. For each subscription, capture:
Fields to Track
At this point, you should already be surprised. Most founders are. "Wait, we're paying for that?" is a common reaction.
Need a template? We have a free spreadsheet template you can use. It has the right columns already set up.
Check Actual Usage
~15 minutes
This is where the waste becomes visible. For each tool on your list, answer one question: Is anyone actually using this?
How to check:
- •Admin dashboards — Most SaaS tools show last login dates. Check them.
- •License counts — Paying for 10 seats but only 3 people use it? That's waste.
- •Quick Slack poll — "Who uses [tool]?" takes 30 seconds. Try it.
- •Your gut — If you can't remember the last time anyone mentioned it, probably nobody uses it.
Tag each subscription in your list:
Used regularly, keep it
Light usage, investigate
Unused, cut it
Be ruthless here. If something is "nice to have but nobody actually uses it" — that's a cancel. You can always re-subscribe later if you actually need it.
Find the Contracts
~10 minutes
For anything you want to cancel or renegotiate, you need to know when you can. This means finding the contracts.
For each subscription tagged "Cancel" or "Review":
Find the original contract or terms. Check email (search vendor name + "agreement" or "terms"), DocuSign, or your contracts folder.
Find the renewal date. When does this contract end or auto-renew?
Find the notice period. How much advance notice do you need to cancel? Usually 30-90 days.
Calculate your real deadline. Renewal date minus notice period. That's when you actually need to decide.
If you're past your notice deadline, you're stuck until the next renewal. Still add it to your tracking — just for next year.
For monthly subscriptions, this is easier — you can usually cancel anytime. For annual contracts, the notice period matters a lot. Miss it by a day and you're locked in for another year.
Make Decisions
~5 minutes
You've got the data. Now decide. For each subscription:
Actively used, good value. No action needed.
Using it, but not all features. Switch to a cheaper plan.
Paying for 20 licenses, 8 people use it. Cut to 10.
Good tool, bad price. Start the conversation 120+ days before renewal.
Nobody uses it. Send the cancellation notice.
Now put it on the calendar. Every decision you made has a deadline. "Cancel before October 15th." "Renegotiate in January." "Downgrade at next renewal."
If it's not on the calendar, it won't happen. You'll forget. The auto-renewal will trigger. The waste continues.
Quick Savings Calculator
Add up your "Cancel" subscriptions. That's your immediate savings. Now add the potential savings from downgrades and seat reductions.
Most startups find 15-30% savings on their first audit. On a $150K annual SaaS spend, that's $22K-$45K back in your pocket.
After the Audit: Make It Stick
Here's the uncomfortable truth: without a system, SaaS sprawl comes back. Give it 6 months and you'll be right back where you started. New tools. Forgotten subscriptions. Invisible waste.
To make this audit actually matter:
Schedule a quarterly review. 30 minutes every 3 months. Put it on the calendar now.
Create a purchase approval process. Even informal — "Slack the founder before signing up for anything over $50/month."
Track renewal dates. Not renewal dates — notice deadlines. The date you need to decide, not the date it's too late.
Assign owners. Every subscription needs a human responsible for the renewal decision.
The 60-Minute Audit Checklist
One hour. That's all it takes to get visibility into your SaaS spend. The savings you find will more than pay for the time invested. And once you have the system in place, it only gets easier.
Want to automate this?
PactAlert tracks your contracts and alerts you before notice deadlines. No more manual audits.
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