Help With Admin
National Savings Day:
Stop Paying for Subscriptions You Don't Need
National Savings Day: Stop Paying for Subscriptions You Don’t Need
National Savings Day is a great reminder to look at where your money is going – and that includes your business subscriptions.
It is easy to sign up for a software package, online service or membership because it seems useful at the time. But months later, you may have forgotten about it, stopped using it or found a better alternative.
The problem? The subscription keeps renewing and taking money from your business account.
That £10 a month AI program you have stopped using is costing you £120 per year.
That £12.99 magazine subscription you have not read is going to renew at £49.99 this year,
That £500 subscription with your networking group is going to keep going for another year if you do not cancel it in time.
Here are three simple ways to stop unwanted subscriptions from eating into your profits.
- Set calendar alerts
When you sign up for a subscription, don’t just make a note of the price.
Put the renewal date in your calendar. Don’t leave it and think I’ll remember that.
Set an alert a couple of weeks before the renewal date, so you have time to decide whether you still need the service.
For annual subscriptions especially, this can be really useful. A payment that only happens once a year is much easier to forget about than a monthly direct debit.
Your calendar can become your early-warning system.
- Turn off auto-renew early
If you know you don’t want a subscription to continue, don’t wait until the last minute to cancel it.
Turn off auto-renew as soon as you know you won’t need it.
Some services allow you to cancel auto-renew while continuing to use the service until your existing subscription expires. This means you don’t necessarily lose the time you’ve already paid for.
Just make sure you understand what happens when you cancel before doing so. Some freeze the account and you can see what you purchased before the deadline whilst others delete everything when the date comes.
Do you need to backup anything before the subscription ends?
- Read the terms
When signing up, take a few minutes to check the terms and conditions.
Look for:
- When does the subscription renew? How much will you pay at renewal? Does the price increase after an introductory offer?
That cheap introductory offer might look attractive, but if the price jumps significantly at renewal, you need to know before committing.
- How much notice do you need to give to cancel? Will the subscription automatically renew?
Some notice dates are earlier than you think. My Chamber of Commerce has a cut-off date of 3 months before the renewal date.
Make subscription checks part of your regular admin
Why not schedule a quarterly subscription review?
Go through your bank statements and list every recurring business payment. Ask yourself:
Do I still use it?
Does it save me time or money?
Could I get the same service elsewhere for less?
Cancel anything that is no longer providing value.
This National Savings Day, take 30 minutes to review your subscriptions. You might be surprised at how much you could save.
Making money in business isn't always about finding more customers or increasing your prices. Sometimes it's simply about stopping money from unnecessarily leaving your bank account.
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