Resources
Working notes on finding software spend in an accounting ledger. Each one answers a single question, and says where the answer stops.
Because a card platform's data is its own authorization stream, and a charge that never crosses its card produces no record for it to read. Software paid by ACH transfer, paper check, or annual invoice through anything other than that platform is invisible to it by construction rather than by oversight.
Start from the general ledger rather than the card statement, because the ledger is the only record that contains every payment regardless of how it was made. Pull at least twelve months, group by vendor, and look for charges that repeat on a steady cadence.
Not as a list, no. QuickBooks holds every subscription payment you have made, because it holds every payment, but it has no built-in view that groups vendors into subscriptions and tells you which ones recur. The data is there; the report is not.
From the general ledger, the same way it finds any other recurring vendor. AI tools bill on a cadence like everything else, and the ledger holds every payment however it was made. What makes AI spend different is where it lands: split across a company card, a reimbursed personal card, and an annual invoice paid by bill pay, so any one of those views shows a fraction of it.
Use the books you already hold. Start from a CSV or a live QuickBooks Online or Xero connect, brand a PDF or a revocable share link, and keep the client out of another login.
A transactions CSV from any source lets the firm prove the review on one client without OAuth and without asking the client to adopt a new app. You get the same findings engine and a white-labeled PDF or revocable share link. Move to live QBO or Xero only when you want recurring sync across the book.
Use the books you already hold. Start from a transactions CSV from any source, or connect live QuickBooks Online or Xero when you want recurring sync. Brand the report with your logo, prepared by your firm and prepared for that client, and deliver a PDF or a revocable share link. The client never needs a ShadowLedger account.
No. It reads the transactions in the books, so it shows what was paid: charges that repeat, duplicate vendors, amounts that changed, and renewal dates you can see from the charges. That includes ACH, checks, invoices, and direct debits, not only card lines. It does not show seats, logins, or usage. Start from a transactions CSV from any source, or connect live QuickBooks Online or Xero.
The free CSV audit runs one company's transactions export, from any source, through the findings engine. No card is needed. You get a findings report on charges that repeat, possible duplicate vendors, amounts that changed, and annual charges. The Firm trial is a separate path for working across your book of clients: 14 days, card required, then $15 per client per month with a 4-client minimum ($60 per month). Start with the free audit if you want to see the report on a real file first.
Because software gets paid more than one way. A card-only tool sees charges on its own card, and sometimes payments through its own bill pay. ACH payments, checks, annual invoices paid from the bank, direct debits, and charges on other cards still post to the ledger when the books are kept. A review that starts from the books reads those posted payments in one place. It still reads payments only, not seats or logins.
QuickBooks Online and Xero, over OAuth. That is the full list. Any other ledger, bank, or books source comes in as a CSV export, and the findings engine is the same either way. Google Workspace is not available. Live connect reads accounting transactions, the same data a CSV would carry. It does not read app admin consoles, identity providers, seats, or logins.
Start with clients where software already shows up clearly in the books: several vendors charged on a regular rhythm, annual charges, payments across more than one account or card, or descriptors nobody can explain. Prefer recent, reconciled books and a client where an advisory conversation fits soon. Do not rank clients by guessed savings or guessed usage. Pick from what the ledger shows, run one review, and let the findings shape the next round.
Treat it as a defined advisory deliverable: a findings report on recurring software payments in the client's books, under your firm brand, plus a short review conversation. Scope it by company file and date range. Price it as a fixed fee or fold it into an advisory package, at a rate your firm sets. Do not promise savings, seat reclaim, or usage findings. The client never logs into ShadowLedger. Your cost on the Firm plan is $15 per client per month with a 4-client minimum.
Transaction Detail by Account works well. Run it for 12 months, filter to software, subscription, and uncategorized expense accounts, and export it. Then sort by vendor and date.
The year-end review is a good time, because 12 months of charges are already in the books. For clients on monthly advisory, a month-end close works too, with one or two items at a time.