The Ultimate Guide to Managing SaaS and Subscription Spend

Modern companies run on software. From project management tools to analytics dashboards, subscription services keep teams productive and customers engaged. But while SaaS makes operations faster, the bills can quietly grow until they threaten budgets. Missed renewals, unused licences, and hidden purchases – known as shadow IT – create financial and security risks that many finance and IT leaders only discover after the damage is done.

What is SaaS subscription sprawl and why it’s problematic

SaaS sprawl occurs when a company accumulates dozens or even hundreds of software subscriptions without a central record or strategy in place. Each department buys its own tools, trials new platforms, or upgrades licences without informing finance. Over time, the organisation ends up paying for overlapping services, unused accounts, and price increases that go unnoticed.

Shadow IT compounds the problem. Employees sign up for free trials using their company email addresses, later converting them into paid plans on corporate credit cards. Finance teams may not become aware of these costs until statements arrive, and IT departments may remain unaware of potential security risks.

The consequences are significant:

• Wasted money from redundant tools and unused licences.
• Failed renewals that interrupt service and disrupt operations.
• Compliance risks associated with storing data in unmanaged apps.
• Vendor lock-in if teams forget to cancel auto-renewing contracts.

Research from SaaS management platforms reveals that large organisations overspend by tens of thousands of pounds each year due to unmonitored renewals and duplicate tools. Even small businesses can lose a significant share of their marketing budget to forgotten subscriptions.

Key challenges in SaaS and subscription spend management

Understanding the challenges helps set realistic priorities:

1. Lack of visibility. Finance teams often rely on credit-card statements or manual spreadsheets to identify active subscriptions. This provides an incomplete and delayed view of spending.
2. Decentralised purchasing. Departments buy tools independently, making it difficult to negotiate better pricing or consolidate licences.
3. Failed or missed renewals. Cards expire, payment methods fail, or renewal emails go unnoticed, causing service interruptions.
4. Licence waste. Companies often purchase more seats than they actually use. Without usage analytics, these costs remain hidden.
5. Multiple billing cycles. Monthly, annual, and multi-year plans create a complex calendar of charges that requires constant monitoring.

A successful strategy must address all of these issues while remaining easy for employees to follow. Overly restrictive policies can backfire, driving staff to use personal cards or free tools outside company oversight.

How virtual cards and tokenised payments help

Virtual cards are digital payment cards that can be issued instantly, assigned to a specific vendor or subscription, and configured with spending limits or expiry dates. Instead of sharing a single corporate card across dozens of SaaS vendors, finance teams create one card per subscription. Each card generates its own transaction history, making it simple to track charges and identify unexpected increases.

Tokenised payments add another layer of security. A token replaces the actual card number when making a payment. Even if a vendor’s database is compromised, the token cannot be used elsewhere. For recurring payments, tokenisation ensures that renewals continue smoothly even if the underlying card expires.

Practical benefits include:

• Clear attribution of spend to a specific tool, team, or project.
• Easy cancellation – closing the virtual card stops future charges immediately.
• Automatic spending limits to prevent unauthorised upgrades.
• Safer transactions when dealing with smaller or unfamiliar vendors.

Finance departments using virtual cards report faster reconciliations and fewer disputes. For marketers running multiple digital advertising campaigns, assigning a card to each platform, such as Google Ads, Facebook, and LinkedIn provides the same clarity.

Further Reading: The Best Corporate Cards in the UK for 2025

Governance, ownership, tagging and renewals

Technology alone cannot solve SaaS sprawl. Strong governance is equally important.

• Assign an owner for every subscription. Each tool should have a named person or team responsible for usage, renewals, and budget approval.
• Tag subscriptions by team or project. Modern spend management platforms enable the tagging of cards and vendors, providing a holistic view of costs by department.
• Create a renewal calendar. Automatic reminders 30-60 days before expiry give teams time to evaluate whether to renew, renegotiate, or cancel.
• Balance automation with oversight. Automatic renewals prevent service disruption but can hide price increases. Owners should review every contract at least annually.

Clear ownership encourages accountability. When departments see the true cost of their software stack, they are more likely to cancel unused tools or downgrade unnecessary licences.

Measuring spend: visibility and key metrics

Tracking the correct data is essential for effective subscription management. Key metrics include:

• Total SaaS spend – the overall cost of all active subscriptions.
• Spend by vendor or category – highlights areas where consolidation might reduce costs.
• Cost per active user – reveals under-utilised licences.
• Renewal rates – shows which vendors are being retained or dropped.
• Usage metrics – logins, active seats, or project activity help determine whether a tool is delivering value.
• Failed payments – an early warning of cards about to expire or billing errors.

Regular reporting allows finance teams to spot overspending early and redirect money to higher-value investments. Dashboards that combine finance data with usage analytics give decision-makers a complete picture rather than relying on vendor invoices alone.

Steps and best practices you can implement immediately

A structured approach helps companies regain control quickly. Start with these practical steps:

• Audit the current stack. List every subscription, its owner, renewal date, cost, and number of users. Include free trials that may convert into paid plans.
• Identify redundant tools. Check where multiple teams pay for overlapping features (for example, several different project management apps). Consolidate to a single solution where possible.
• Negotiate vendor contracts. Once you know your true usage, you can request discounts or rightsizing of licences. Vendors often agree to better terms when presented with precise data.
• Introduce purchase policies. Require approval before any new subscription is added. Keep the process simple to avoid driving employees toward shadow IT.
• Deploy virtual cards and tokenised payments. Assign a unique card to each subscription, set spending limits, and schedule automatic renewals with renewal alerts.
• Implement role-based ownership. Make every department responsible for reviewing the tools they use, including cost and continued need.
• Review usage regularly. Monthly or quarterly checks of login data and seat counts reveal under-utilised licences early.

These practices combine technology with transparent governance, allowing businesses to control budgets while still enabling teams to choose the tools they need.

Further Reading: How Virtual Cards Simplify Corporate Expense Tracking

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Even with strong processes, some traps can undermine SaaS spend management:

• Over-restrictive policies. If approvals are too slow or rigid, staff may bypass controls and use their personal cards.
• Ignoring small charges. Low-cost tools may seem harmless, but can accumulate into a significant share of the marketing budget over time.
• Automatic price increases. Many vendors raise prices at renewal. Always review contracts before accepting automatic renewals.
• Weak integration between finance and IT. Without shared dashboards, finance may see the spend but not the usage data, leading to poor decisions.

Regular communication between finance, IT, and procurement prevents these issues and keeps everyone accountable.

Tool and platform comparison

Several SaaS management platforms help companies tackle subscription sprawl. Here is a brief look at leading solutions:

• Productiv – Strong analytics and usage tracking, ideal for large enterprises that need deep data to negotiate contracts.
• Torii – User-friendly dashboards and automated discovery of shadow IT, making it easy to identify unapproved tools.
• Zylo – Excellent reporting and benchmarking, suitable for finance teams focused on vendor negotiations and budget allocation.
• Ramp/Volopay – Combine spend management with virtual cards, perfect for companies that want payment controls and subscription tracking in one platform.

Each platform differs in pricing and depth of features, so organisations should compare integration capabilities, analytics quality, and the ease of issuing virtual cards before making a decision.

Further Reading: How to Implement Virtual Cards in Your Company

Wallester Business: total spend control

One platform that directly addresses these challenges is Wallester Business, which pairs virtual cards with a full set of expense management tools.

With Wallester Business, finance teams can:

• Issue unlimited virtual or physical cards in seconds and assign each to a specific SaaS subscription or team.
• Set individual spending limits and expiry dates to prevent overspending or forgotten renewals.
• Track real-time transactions across all subscriptions and receive instant notifications of any unexpected charges.
• Automatically capture receipts and export detailed reports to accounting software such as Xero or QuickBooks.
• Use multi-currency support and 3D Secure protection for international vendors.

These features provide companies with complete visibility over every subscription, ensuring that marketing budgets, IT spend, and departmental costs stay under control.

Conclusion

SaaS and subscription services are essential for modern businesses, but without active management, they can drain budgets and create security risks. By auditing the software stack, enforcing ownership, tracking key metrics, and using tools such as virtual cards and tokenised payments, companies can cut wasted spend and avoid failed renewals. A well-implemented strategy does more than save money – it gives decision-makers a clear view of how every subscription supports business goals.