SaaS License Harvesting That Saves Real Money

At the start of the year, I check who's actually using our apps, especially Slack and Notion. There are always inactive accounts. We recently cut three unused Figma licenses after noticing a dip in activity, saving us $200 a month. Other founders I know confirmed this works for them too. It's a simple way to cut costs. Just do a quick permissions check before your annual renewals.

I was digging through our Google Workspace reports and found a clear waste of money. Several shared inboxes had paid licenses they didn't need. We switched everyone else to view-only access, keeping licenses only for the active editors. That one change saved us about $120 a month. Now I run this same check after every hiring round. It's the best way to stop costs from adding up without anyone noticing.

I was checking our first quarter software bills and found something strange with Tutorbase. I logged into the Google Workspace admin page and saw a bunch of premium accounts just sitting there, left over from some old partnership. We downgraded almost everyone to the basic plan, and now we're saving $300 a month. The lesson is simple: before renewing anything, ask the team if they actually use those fancy features. You'll usually find they don't.

My audit process is anchored to the business rhythm, especially hiring velocity. When recruiting slows, SaaS sprawl becomes very visible. I start by identifying which tools were added specifically to support growth phases and whether they still match current hiring intensity.

From there, I look at per-user engagement reports and workflow completion metrics. The most telling signal is not just login frequency, but whether teams are using premium features they're paying for. Often they're not, and that's where tier downgrades become easy wins.

I also cross-check integrations. If a tool isn't connected to the ATS or CRM anymore, it usually means it's not part of daily operations. That's a red flag and usually leads to either consolidation or cancellation.

One clear example was a sourcing automation platform. Great during aggressive hiring, but once inbound candidates became stronger, the tool became redundant. We cancelled it entirely and relied more on organic applicant flow and referrals. The result was about $900 in monthly savings, plus less operational complexity for the hiring team.

First Question: We conduct a "shadow IT" sweep across all client activity (i.e., accounting ledger against SSO dashboard) and identify any app that has been acquired and used without our knowledge (i.e., app is not listed on the approved list from the central purchasing department). For teams with 20-100 users, we identify all seats that have been inactive for more than 30 days and re-establish access to those licensed applications immediately. We do this mid-quarter rather than waiting until the annual license renewal allows for reclaiming licensed applications as soon as they become available to avoid "seat creep" associated with hiring cycles.

Second Question: The last activity report available in the admin console has been the best way for us to identify the majority of wasted resources. Our internal audits have reaffirmed the findings of the industry reports, for example, Flexera's report, which was published in 2024, states approximately 36% of the annual SaaS spend is wasted because of underutilized resources. By pinpointing that our users have not logged in for the entire billing period, we are then able to separate out which tools are critical and identify which subscriptions are "nice-to-have" after being used once during a project.

Third Question: Recently, we streamlined a project management solution that we discovered was providing Enterprise features to an entire 75-member team-the majority of whom did not need or utilize the Enterprise-specific features. By downgrading the remainder of the team to a standard version of the product and deleting 14 inactive accounts from the system, we saved $520. This small change can prevent a great deal of wasted annual SaaS expense.

At this level of SaaS management, we focus more on cleaning up the user experience than negotiating prices with our vendors. If you do not audit on a quarterly basis, you will end up paying the "forgetfulness tax" to your vendors, which grows more significant as your team expands.

At Dynares, we were spending a lot on Sales Navigator each month, but when I checked user activity, I noticed our BDRs weren't logging in. I messaged the inactive users, and they all said they didn't need it. So we cut 40 percent of the licenses, saving us $450 a month. My rule now is to always talk to your team before cutting anything. The reports only tell you part of the story.

I start each quarter by matching our apps to the current HR roster. One audit showed 30% of our Slack seats belonged to people who'd already left. We made these reviews a habit and ended up cutting an analytics suite we barely used, saving over $600 a month. My advice: always check with team leads first so you don't accidentally cut something someone actually needs.

Every January I pull the last login date for every user across every SaaS tool we pay for. Most platforms bury this in the admin console under user management or activity logs. That single report surfaces 80% of the waste.
Last Q1 we found 14 active Figma seats. Only 6 people had logged in within 90 days. We dropped to a 10 seat plan and saved $840 a month.
The bigger discovery was Notion. We were paying for a 47 person workspace. 31 accounts belonged to former employees or contractors whose offboarding never included license revocation. Nobody owned that process. Now it lives in our termination checklist with IT sign-off required before final payroll runs.

Here's my routine each quarter. I dig into the admin reports to see who's actually using what, then I look at our recent projects and team changes. The waste is always the same: tools that grew beyond their original purpose. Those Zoho CRM reporting seats nobody touched? Cutting them saved $260 a month instantly. Honestly, after a few years of this, I've learned you need a dashboard to keep an eye on things before they get expensive.

At PressBeat, I used to spend hours with a spreadsheet tracking our software. Then we just looked at our Slack user export. Turns out we had 10 paid seats for people who hadn't logged in for at least three months. We cut those seats and saved about $120 a month. Honestly, sometimes it just takes 30 minutes to look at the user list.

Reflecting on my recent SaaS spend audit and license management process is like unraveling a mystery—every tool we use is a part of a larger story about efficiency and value. Our team, about 65 strong, dove into the Q1 audit with a mindset of discovery. I've always believed that every piece of software should justify its place not just in cost, but in contribution.

The aha moment came when we closely examined our CRM tool. Despite having been a staple for years, a deeper dive into usage reports revealed a classic case of under-utilization. After analyzing the detailed user activity logs and feature engagement reports—a practice we've incorporated for continuous improvement—I found that nearly 30% of our licenses were dormant. It was a reminder that tools that were crucial at one time may not forever retain their value.

By rolling back these unused licenses, we freed up a significant chunk of our budget—roughly translating to about $4,500 monthly savings. It was more than just cost-saving; it was about alignment with our core operations, and directing resources towards tools that genuinely foster innovation and productivity.

In choosing to right-size or cancel subscriptions, the decision isn't just about numbers but about strategic fit. Each service must seamlessly integrate into our workflow, much like how we approach software architecture—where each part must not only function but enhance the whole.

The experience reminded me of architecting the technical direction at our firm, where every architectural decision I make should uphold long-term clarity and impact. As with engineering projects where we strive to elevate performance while reducing redundancies, the SaaS audit was about striking the perfect balance between utility and expense.

Ultimately, it's about nurturing a mindset that celebrates value creation, whether through code, collaborations, or resource management. Our team's approach to these audits parallels how we view our own growth—it's not about elimination, but evolution, and embracing changes that propel us to greater organizational health.

SaaS License Harvesting That Saves Real Money

SaaS License Harvesting That Saves Real Money

Prune Idle Figma Seats

Downgrade Unneeded Shared Inboxes

Switch Tutorbase Off Premium

Cancel Redundant Talent Automation

Reclaim Access Via Activity Reports

Trim Sales Navigator Licenses After Check

Align Apps With HR Roster

Improve Exit Process For Notion

Retire Unused Zoho Accounts

Audit Slack Export Remove Stragglers

Roll Back Dormant Entitlements

SaaS License Harvesting That Saves Real Money

SaaS License Harvesting That Saves Real Money

Prune Idle Figma Seats

Downgrade Unneeded Shared Inboxes

Switch Tutorbase Off Premium

Cancel Redundant Talent Automation

Reclaim Access Via Activity Reports

Trim Sales Navigator Licenses After Check

Align Apps With HR Roster

Improve Exit Process For Notion

Retire Unused Zoho Accounts

Audit Slack Export Remove Stragglers

Roll Back Dormant Entitlements

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