In this pandemic Covid-19, it was a really good time, as I was forced to find my subscriptions, and I mean all of them. Once I finally worked out all the ones that I had, I decided to run a complete audit on what was needed and what was not. Partly, this was forced because we had to rein in the spending, through these uncertain times. Literally, the world stopped spending and people did exactly what I am talking about to our bill. They decided whether we were necessary or not and thankfully at least 85% decided we were.
Where do you start with finding all your subscriptions?
The best place is your business’s credit card. Just simply look through the statement and check firstly, what is on there. I can guarantee there are things on there that you did not know about and things that you have forgotten about, as they all just tick over month by month at a small amount. The subscription business prays that you just leave it on, and auto-renewal just keeps clicking over. Look over it with a fine-tooth comb and put it into a neat spreadsheet to work out what is there.
How many users do you have for each subscription?
The other thing that you can easily forget about is how many users you have and what access do they all need. Most programs are user-based, so the more users, the more expense. Do they all need access, or can you cut back and only give it to the main users? You can always give free read-only access if that is possible. These things sound like small things, but really, they all add up and it is coming out of your pocket. Remove users that do not need access and sometimes employees that have moved on, are still getting paid for out of your pocket.
What do you need and what don’t you need?
All subscriptions, I sure feel as though they are needed at the time when you are full of optimism about how much time or money it will save the business. Let me guess how it goes. Fearless Leader walks into the office and says, “Look at this new tool and how it works”. Everyone says great and then 1 by 1 they stop using it, but you are still paying for it. Things you need to run the business will be adopted by the team and used on a daily basis. If they have no value, the tool will slowly drift away. However, in most cases the subscription bill does not, so that is why I am saying, do a monthly audit of what is needed and of value.
Besides the tools like a Trust Account Software and a Real Estate CRM, here are some tools that will stay on the keep list forever.
Slack.com – It is the best tool for team communications and kicking off a process.
Trello.com – Checklists matter in any business and Trello makes it easy.
Monday.com – The ultimate tool in team collaboration.
FreshSales – A perfect customizable company CRM, not a real estate CRM.
JotForm – Create forms in minutes that start a process or collect vital information.
Twilio – Cloud telephonic communication including SMS.
Zapier.com – The tool that makes your tools talk to each other.
Reducing expenses is exciting if you think about it!
I really never did get that excited about reducing expenses, until a Business Mentor explained the Cost of Sale. Not turn over, how much it costs to generate that income in the first place, and the amount you keep in your pocket. When you produce income, you are lucky if you keep 30%, and that’s in a good business. When you save $1 you keep the $1. Made sense to me, so I learnt to get excited.
Thanks for taking the time to read this article. I hope you got some value from it and if you did, don’t be scared hit the share, it is like a virtual pat on the back.
