Let me guess: you have a whole list of tools, apps, widgets, and plugins that you use in your business. A lot of these are subscription services, and you have NO IDEA how much you’re spending on them or where the logins to those accounts are.
Sound familiar? This blog post is totally for you!
I love helping business owners run their online businesses a little bit more efficiently. For me, efficiency means using your resources wisely. That means not spending any more money or time than you need to.
I’ve already shared a couple of my “time-bending” tips for entrepreneurs in this video. But today I want to share another time-saving hack that will save you hours and potentially hundreds of dollars.
1. Problem: Messy Information
When it comes to all the tools, apps, plugins, widgets, etc. we use in our businesses, things can get a little out of hand. As we keep subscribing to these tools, at a certain point you lose track of what you’re using anymore – especially if you have other team members subscribing to things, too!
Hello, hot mess.
2. Solution: A Simple Spreadsheet
So here’s the fix: I started instituting a spreadsheet where my team and I can keep track of subscriptions.
When we subscribe to something, it goes in the spreadsheet.
When we cancel something, it goes in the spreadsheet.
Exactly how much we’re spending, when we’re spending, and what we’re spending for – yep, it ALL goes in the spreadsheet.
(I got this idea from my super smart friend and mentor Dan Martell of danmartell.com. Dan does this spreadsheet idea on a more complex level. I’ve simplified his process into a spreadsheet that works for me and my team. I’ll attach the link to my template below!)
3. Why it Works: Save Time and Money
As soon as we started putting things in this spreadsheet, my team and I realized we were spending over $8,000 per year on our apps and tools!
Sure, I need some of those apps and tools in order to run my business. Some of them save me time and money in the long run.
But I do NOT want to be wasting money on tools we’re not using!
This spreadsheet helps you see in one quick look
- What tools you’re using
- How much they cost
- When and how often they charge
- Where the subscription login information is (you can use something like Lastpass or 1Password to share logins)
- Which tools are missing – are there tools you need to start subscribing to?
- If you have tools you forgot you had – are these assets you could start using?
Now when I subscribe to something, I forward the confirmation email to my assistant. She knows she doesn’t even need to reply; she just needs to open the spreadsheet and plug in the appropriate information.
Once a quarter or so, she and I go through the spreadsheet. We look at each tool and ask, “Are we still using this?” If the answer is no, and we cancel maybe 3 out of the whole spreadsheet, cool! That’s probably $500 a year we just saved!
Having an at-a-glance overview of your subscriptions means your business will be that much more organized and efficient. And that means both time and money SAVED.
Below is my template for this super-effective spreadsheet I use. Duplicate this, use it for your business, and let us know in the comments below how much you saved!
