Checklist

Where Is Your Tech Budget Leaking?

A 10-Point Checklist for Business Owners

Set aside your last three months of software invoices, a list of active users, and one person who knows how the work actually gets done. For each item, write down an owner, the evidence, an estimated monthly cost and the next review date.

1. 1. Unused software seats

   Compare paid seats with active users. Look for former employees, seasonal staff and test accounts. Move files and record ownership before you remove access.

   Record: Tool, paid seats, active seats, monthly cost of unused seats.

2. 2. Tools that do the same job

   List overlapping features across subscriptions. Ask staff which tool they actually use and why. Check contract terms and export options before you cancel anything.

   Record: Overlapping tools, feature you need, renewal date, who cancels.

3. 3. Copying data between systems

   Watch one task from start to finish. Count the manual transfers and corrections. Monthly cost is minutes per task, times tasks per month, divided by 60, times the loaded hourly rate. Time saved is capacity, not cash, until you use it.

   Record: Source system, destination, frequency, minutes per task, error rate.

4. 4. Reports nobody uses

   List recurring reports and who reads them. Ask what decision each one supports. Pause one unused report, with its owner's agreement, before you automate it.

   Record: Report, decision it supports, hours to prepare, who needs it.

5. 5. Missed follow-ups

   Sample recent inquiries, quotes, invoices and renewal reminders. Find where follow-ups stop. Start with a clear owner and a reminder before you buy a new CRM.

   Record: Workflow, missed items, delay, accountable owner.

6. 6. Cloud resources left running

   Review idle servers, duplicate storage, test environments and recurring usage fees. Check dependencies, retention rules and backups before you delete anything.

   Record: Resource, business owner, monthly cost, safe shutdown plan.

7. 7. Integration upkeep

   Count the hours spent fixing broken imports, scripts and connections, including vendor changes and expired access. A cheap integration can be expensive to keep running.

   Record: Integration, incidents, repair hours, impact when it fails.

8. 8. AI spend without a measured result

   Tie each AI subscription or API bill to a task. Measure useful output, review time, failures and cost per finished task. Keep a person approving anything that touches customers, money or confidential data.

   Record: Task, usage cost, review time, accepted outputs, cost of failures.

9. 9. Downtime and recovery gaps

   Ask who can restore the systems you depend on. Look at the date of the last restore test, not just the backup status. Do not cut security or backups to lower a bill.

   Record: Critical system, recovery owner, last test date, acceptable downtime.

10. 10. Projects with no stop rule

    For each planned change, write down the full build and running costs, a measurable result and a review date. Include migration, training, support, security and human review. Agree in advance when to stop if the result does not show up.

    Record: Project, baseline, target, full cost, review date, stop rule.

Choose one next step

Pick one recurring cost or slow task with evidence behind it. Give it an owner and measure a baseline before you change anything. Do not add overlapping savings together, and do not treat estimates as guaranteed returns.

Worksheet

Workflow or expense

Current monthly cost and evidence

Proposed change

One-time cost

Expected monthly running cost

Time freed up (separate from cash saved)

Risks and dependencies

Owner and review date