Subscription Overload? Follow These 5-Steps to Audit Your Business Expenses Like a Pro – Ep. 207

As we kick off 2025, it's time to align our business goals with our spending. Remember when we all canceled cable to save money but ended up with ten streaming services? Yeah, subscriptions can add up, both personally and professionally!

In today's episode, reformed corporate CFO and founder of Kickstart Accounting, Inc., Danielle Hayden, tackles a sneaky area of your budget: business subscriptions. They may seem small, but they can snowball into big costs, and possibly outgrow their usefulness. With this 5-step plan, let's audit those expenses and make sure every dollar spent supports your goals.

Key Takeaways:

• Start with Intention: Set your 2025 intentions before diving in. Clarity on your goals is essential before evaluating expenses!

• Step 1 - Audit Your Subscriptions:

• Pull all recurring expenses using your accounting software. Include monthly, quarterly, and annual subscriptions.

• Organize your data: list vendors, costs, functions, and usage frequency.

• Step 2 - Evaluate by Asking the Big Questions:

• Does this subscription align with your 2025 focus?

• Does it provide ROI, i.e. saving time, generating leads, or improving efficiency?

• Is it still suitable for your current business stage?

• Step 3 - Decision Time:

• Cut: If it no longer serves your goals or offers ROI.

• Keep: If it's essential, but review it mid-year for relevance.

• Optimize: Train your team, use advanced features, and ensure maximum value.

• Step 4 - Present Your Findings: Share what you found with an accountability partner, whether it be your board, team, or bookkeeper.

• Step 5 - Conduct Regular Reviews: Schedule quarterly reviews to ensure your subscriptions are still aligned with your business goals and driving growth.

Pro Tip: Budgets aren't about restrictions; they're about spending intentionally. Create a plan that aligns expenses with your revenue and goals.

Topics Discussed:

Audit Your Subscriptions (00:01:22 – 00:06:35)

Evaluate by Asking the Big Questions (00:06:35 – 00:14:35)

Decide to Cut, Keep, or Optimize (00:14:35 – 00:16:37)

Regular Reviews and Presenting Findings (00:16:37 – 00:17:06)

Budgeting Pro Tip (00:17:30 – 00:17:55)

5-Step Subscription Audit Plan Summary (00:17:55 – 00:18:54)

Resources:

Episode 203 | Ditch New Year's Resolutions and Build Habits for Sustainable Business Growth

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