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When was the last time you did a review of all of your business tools to determine if they are still the right fit for your company? Have you ever been on auto-renew, and when that $400 receipt came through, you cringed because you weren't even using that product, and you just paid for it for another year? It's time to do a systems tool audit.
I recommend having a business tool audit yearly to determine if it's still the right product at the right price. At Rader Co., it's an annual task with all support staff involved. We have a task in ClickUp with the complete list and its subscription cost so that people know the expense incurred. I'm transparent about fees because team members need to know that it costs one masterclass to pay for the Podia platform every year. I can't add everyone to our Google platform with an email address because it's $12 per month. If they don't use it, it's a waste of $60 a year, which adds up.
I regularly did this before and added questions based on the Run Like Clockwork course.
Questions for your Systems Tool Audit
Trash
- Do we need this?
- Does it help our clients?
- Does it save us time?
- Who currently uses it?
Trim
- Do we need to upgrade or downgrade the tool?
- Can we use the features in this subscription better?
Transfer
Does it overlap or do the same thing as something else that we can pay for a single tool? Is there a different tool that does this better/cheaper? (Remember, cheaper isn't always better if you have to employ workarounds and it doesn't give you what you need).
What tools do we need to add that we don't have yet?
Beyond just tools, do you have multiple website domains that you don't use and need to let expire?
Take the time once per year for a systems tool audit, whether personal or professional. My husband and I use Evernote to share documents, and we pay for the premium access. Every year we ask if it's worth it to keep paying, and it is based on all the historical records we have stored.
Assign your team to review your tools to streamline, possibly save money, and get rid of the digital systems clutter in your next systems tool audit.