The SaaS cut sheet: subscriptions worth questioning
Most small businesses pay for software they barely use, or pay extra for features an AI agent can now handle. This isn't a "cancel everything" list. It's a list of places to look, and what to ask when you do.
How to use it
Pull up last month's credit card statement and find every recurring software charge. Then go through the twelve categories below. For each one, ask three questions:
- Do we use it every week?
- Would an agent doing this work need it?
- Is there a cheaper way to get the same result?
The twelve categories
| Category | Often paid for | What AI changes | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduling and booking add-ons | Premium booking tiers for reminders and reschedules | Agents can send reminders and handle reschedules from your existing calendar | Are we paying for a tier just for reminders? |
| Separate email marketing tools | A second tool beside the CRM | Many CRMs already send email; agents can write and segment | Does our CRM already do this? |
| Social media schedulers | Per-seat scheduler plans | Agents draft and schedule in bulk with native or cheaper schedulers | How many seats do we actually use? |
| Survey and form builders | Paid form tools for a handful of forms | Basic forms are free or built into your site; agents process the answers | How many forms are active? |
| Transcription and meeting notes | Several overlapping note-taker subscriptions | One tool plus an agent that turns notes into actions | How many note-takers are we paying for? |
| Reporting and dashboard tools | Per-connector dashboard fees | Agents can pull the numbers and write the summary | Does anyone read this dashboard weekly? |
| Lead databases | Annual seats for occasional list pulls | Agents build lists from public sources on demand | How many lists did we pull last quarter? |
| Proposal and quote software | Per-user proposal tools | Agents draft proposals from your template in your existing docs | Is the template the valuable part, or the software? |
| Chat widgets and basic chatbots | Scripted chat tools | Modern AI agents answer from your own content | Does our chatbot actually answer questions? |
| Duplicate cloud storage | Two or three storage providers | One home for files, with agents organizing it | Why do we have two drives? |
| Single-purpose AI tools | AI writing tools, AI image tools, AI note tools, each billed separately | One or two general AI tools cover most of it | Could one AI subscription replace three? |
| Unused seats | Logins for people who left or never used it | An agent can audit last-login dates for you | Who hasn't logged in for 60 days? |
What not to cut
Some subscriptions earn their keep even if nobody opens them weekly. Keep your accounting software, your password manager, your backups and anything security-related. Before you cancel a tool, export its data, and check whether another tool or automation depends on it. A cheap subscription that quietly feeds your CRM is worth more than it looks.
For the longer version of this argument, read Unused software subscriptions: do the funeral math and SaaS costs for small business: the number nobody adds up.
Every subscription you cut is real money every month.
Auditing them is item #50 on my 50 tasks list, and it's a good first job for the agents. Book a call if you want help running yours.