4 ways to optimise your SaaS spend

It's safe to say SaaS has taken over. From productivity tools to chatbots, it's hard to imagine the world of on-premise software before SaaS. It's also made SaaS overspend a common problem. When it comes to SaaS optimisation, there are plenty of best practices that have been tried and tested. So you don’t have to come up with your own strategies and reinvent the wheel.

Here are 4 simple ways to optimise your SaaS spend and put you back in control.

1. Remove duplicate and overlapping tools

There is a huge market for SaaS solutions. Many businesses leverage tools to increase their productivity and reduce costs. But, with so much software on the market today, it's easy for companies to purchase overlapping products that cause them to spend more than they need and receive less value in return. You can reduce the number of SaaS that your company uses by eliminating redundant software.

Begin by finding out all the tools your company is subscribed to. Engage your stakeholders where needed. Check this against invoices, transactions, and other accounting data. Look for duplicate and overlapping subscriptions. Consolidate tools where appropriate. To spare yourself some time, consider signing up to a software management platform like Hudled.

2. Set basic SaaS spend controls

Setting spending limits will give you greater control of company finances. Set clear precedents with the wider company and have a streamlined software buying process.

Ask employees to send invoices to one email and use company cards for any purchases. Let your team know their spending limits and budgets. Avoid reimbursements and letting employees pay for SaaS tools on their personal cards.

3. Set up software renewal reminders

A large SaaS stack can be a challenge to manage. Without effective SaaS management, you may find that you've missed the notice period for cancelling an agreement and are now stuck paying for another year.

List down renewal dates as soon as you purchase a new subscription. Consider creating a spreadsheet to track renewals. Look through subscription terms to identify auto-renewal clauses. Where possible, create calendar reminders for greater visibility.

4. Look at employee feedback

You can determine which of your SaaS applications are underutilized by surveying employees. Use this opportunity to gather feedback about your company's SaaS, and whether employees find them useful. Once you've identified the SaaS products that are most beneficial to your business, you can optimise costs by eliminating unnecessary tools and improving ROI.

Run periodic surveys with your employees to ask them about the tools they use and the value they receive. Ask them to rate, on a scale of 1-10, how important the tool is to their role and how much they like the tool. Consider cancelling or replacing tools that aren't adding value.

Control your SaaS spend with a platform that fits your needs.

Hudled is a SaaS intelligence platform that helps finance teams in high-growth startups manage the full lifecycle of their SaaS stack. Our data-science approach enables you to leverage data to buy the right tools at the best price while engaging your people to get the most value from SaaS. We automatically find savings to apply in your stack and give you instant visibility into every tool, so you know exactly how much you’re overpaying for software at any given moment.

Sign up for Hudled's 14-day free trial to start gaining visibility over your SaaS spend.