Software spend guides for bookkeeping firms
Client software spend review checklist for bookkeepers
Start with at least 12 months of transactions and every bank and card account in the file. Clear charges recorded twice, then build one row per product with how it is paid, the cadence and the current amount. Check each row for double payments, overlapping tools, price steps, renewals coming up and charges that stopped. Bring the findings to the client as questions, and repeat the check monthly as part of close.
A client software spend review is a pass over the client's books that lists every tool the client pays for on a schedule, how it is paid, and what changed. This checklist is for a bookkeeper or accountant doing that review from the ledger. Work through it in order. Each step depends on the one before it.
The books show what was paid, when and how. They do not show who uses a tool. Every item below is something you can check from the ledger, and every finding goes to the client as a question.
Before you start
- Pull at least 12 months of transactions, so annual charges show up.
- Confirm that every bank and card account the client uses is in the file.
- List the accounts where software lands: the software or dues and subscriptions account, Uncategorized Expense, and any holding account the firm uses.
- Note who at the client can answer questions about tools.
Step 1: clean the file first
- Clear charges recorded twice. In QuickBooks Online, see duplicate subscriptions in QuickBooks Online. In Xero, see duplicate bills and repeat software charges in Xero.
- Compare each recurring or repeating template with what the bank or card shows.
- Merge vendor or contact records that are one supplier under two names.
Step 2: build the vendor list
- Group processor descriptors such as "PAYPAL *" or "SQ *" under the real product.
- Make one row per product, with how it is paid: card, bill, ACH or bank transfer.
- Note the cadence of each row: monthly, quarterly or annual.
- Note the current amount and the month of the last charge.
Step 3: check each row
- The same product paid twice, often on two payment methods.
- Two paid tools that do one job.
- An amount that stepped up and stayed up. Write down the old amount, the new amount and the first month at the new amount. See software price increases in a client's books.
- An annual charge due in the next 90 days, based on the date of last year's charge.
- A charge that stopped. Ask whether the tool was cancelled or moved to a card that is not in the file.
Step 4: bring it to the client
- Keep it to a short list, one line per question.
- Write what the ledger shows. Do not write a verdict.
- Leave each decision with the client.
- Note each answer in the client file, so the next review starts from it.
Step 5: set the next review
- Repeat the check monthly as part of close, on the same accounts.
- Compare each month with the vendor list from the last review, not from scratch.
- See a scheduled recurring-charge review across a client book.
What this checklist cannot tell you
It cannot tell you whether anyone uses a tool. The ledger has no seat or login data. A paid tool with no obvious owner is a question for the client, not a finding that it is unused.
A shorter first pass
ShadowLedger does a first pass of this work from the payments. It takes a QuickBooks Online or Xero export, or a CSV from other books, and flags charges that repeat, possible duplicate vendors, amounts that changed, and renewals you can see from the charges. In the report, fixed rules calculate every figure. AI only suggests vendor names, flagged for review.
Built from payments in the ledger, no seat or login data needed.
To try it on one client, run the free CSV audit on one company's export. It needs no card. For a book of clients, the Firm plan is $15 per client per month with a 4-client minimum ($60 a month), and the Firm trial runs 14 days. See security and the DPA for data handling.
Related reading: software spend review for bookkeeping firms, which clients to review first and raising software spend at year-end.
FAQ
What should a client software spend review include?
A list of every tool the client pays on a schedule, with the product, how it is paid, the cadence and the current amount. Then check each row for double payments, overlapping tools, price steps, renewals coming up and charges that stopped. Bring the findings to the client as questions.
How often should a bookkeeper review client software spend?
Monthly, as part of close, on the same accounts each time. The first review takes the longest because you build the vendor list. Later reviews compare each month with that list.
Can a ledger review show unused software?
No. The ledger shows what was paid, when and how. It has no seat or login data. Ask the client who uses each tool.
What period should the review cover?
At least 12 months, so annual charges and renewals show up next to monthly ones.