The questions that come up first

Most teams ask the same handful of questions the first time they face tool sprawl. This roundup answers them plainly, with the honest limits stated up front.

What is a SaaS spend audit, really?

It is a structured review of every subscription your team pays for, what it costs, and whether you still need it. The output is not just a list — it is a set of flags: duplicate categories, forgotten tools, and a suggested savings estimate. The list tells you what you bought; the flags tell you what to question.

How does SaaSpend estimate savings?

You paste your tools (one per line with monthly cost) and your team size. SaaSpend groups them by function, flags duplicate categories, marks likely-forgotten tools, and calculates a suggested savings figure from consolidating each duplicate category to one tool.

The number is an estimate from the list you enter — not a guaranteed saving. It assumes you actually consolidate, and it cannot see your real contract terms in the Free tier.

Does it connect to my billing?

In the Free tier, no. You supply the list, and the audit reflects exactly what you provide. Pro adds alerts on new subscriptions and export; Enterprise supports BYOK for higher caps. If continuous billing connection matters to you, that is the direction the paid tiers move.

How often should we run it?

At least quarterly, and again after any major hire, department change, or renewal wave. Because the flags are deterministic, re-running lets you compare this quarter's output to last quarter's and see exactly what changed.

What does the Free tier cover?

One spend audit run per day and a watermarked export. That is enough to learn the format and audit a small stack. Paid Pro ($19/mo) adds 300 runs per month, alerts, and a clean export; Enterprise is custom with BYOK and multi-department rulesets.

The one thing to remember

No audit — manual or tool-assisted — guarantees a dollar saving. The value is in making overlap and forgotten tools visible and repeatable, so the decisions stop hiding in a stale spreadsheet.