Have you ever considered conducting a software audit in your business? If not, I’m going to encourage you to make time in your schedule to do one. This is so important for a variety of reasons.
If you’ve been in the online world, or even if you’re in the brick-and-mortar world, you know how quickly the amount of tech you use can build up. So it shouldn’t be a surprise when you all of a sudden have a long list of usernames and passwords that you possibly haven’t used in awhile.
Do you really need all of them? That’s the question you’ll answer when you conduct a software audit.
Why You Need To Conduct A Regular Software Audit
Do you ever hear about a new software and sign up thinking it will be the next best thing?
We’ve all been there and done that. After all, we are all looking for ways to save time or make something easier. But, before we know it, we’ve lost track of the number of software we’ve signed up for and maybe aren’t even using anymore.
When we operate with clutter around us, our productivity levels go down. Having a list of useful software is as important as having an organized Google Drive or project management tool. You will be so much more productive if you don’t have a mess to wade through.
While conducting your software audit, you may find you have software that doesn’t really serve the purpose you need it to anymore. This may be the case because your business has shifted and you have new needs. Or you discover that something you are currently using has been upgraded and now does the job of two that you’ve been using.
Not only will conducting a software audit remove clutter from your business, it could also save you money. Once you stop using a software program, it’s important to cancel your subscription. Like many of us, though, you may have gotten busy and forgotten to cancel your subscription. Won’t it be nice to have that money back once you conduct your audit?
How To Conduct A Software Audit
If you are ready to conduct a software audit, set aside some uninterrupted time. You will need to be able to do some research and make some decisions.
Using ClickUp, my project management tool, I record and make notes while I conduct the audit. I store this information in my Executive Dashboard where I keep important information about my business. I have a task card title Software. Inside the task card, I list each software I use as a subtask. Keep in mind these aren’t really tasks. It’s simply a way for me to organize information.
Inside each subtask I list the link to my account for that software, how often I make the payment, how much the payment is, and how I use it in my business. Each time I do an audit, I update this information which helps me make informed decisions.
To make things easier on my clients, especially if they don’t already have an Executive Dashboard, I give them my Software Audit spreadsheet. We use this to get us started and eventually move everything to their PM tool. The goal is to eventually have this information all in one place so it’s easy to conduct a software audit on a regular basis.
Next, look for any software charges on your monthly bank or credit card statements. For now, list the name of the software and the amount of the charge. If you look at several months, you will be able to determine if this is a monthly charge or not. You may also be able to look at your current or past emails to help you list the software you’ve signed up with.
If you use any other software programs, list those next. Try to have a comprehensive list of software you use.
Once you have everything listed, evaluate each software by asking the following questions.
- How many times you use it in one month?
- Is it helping you grow your business?
- Can you replace the software or do without it?
Once you’ve answered these questions, you can decide if the software is something you need to keep or something you can unsubscribe from.
What’s Next?
Once you decide what you need to keep and what to get rid of, start to actually close out your accounts. If you have a team, this is a job that one of your team members could do for you. They could even add your current list of software and other important information like cost, when and how often payments are due, and links to your PM tool.
If you have a place in your project management tool for recurring tasks, be sure to list this as a task to do in 6-12 months. When you have a current list and are on a recurring schedule to evaluate your software, the task will be easy to complete. If you don’t already have a designated area for recurring tasks, set that up now also.
One More Thing
This brings me to another point. Do you have a place where you record all the software you are signed up for and details for each one? If not, you need to create one. I keep all of this information in the Executive Dashboard of my project management tool, ClickUp. This makes it easy to find links, general information about the software, and payment information.
Whether or not you have ClickUp, you need a way to organize all of your information. Check out my ClickUp for Business Template if you already have a ClickUp account or plan to sign up in the future. It will help you get your ClickUp account organized with all the information it’s important to have close at hand.
Have fun conducting your software audit!
P.S. This article contains affiliate links to products I recommend. If you purchase something from this page, I may receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you.