ShadowLedger
FirmsYour company
How it worksQuestionsPricingBlog
Sign inStart a 14-day trial
  1. ShadowLedger
  2. Writing
  3. Free CSV audit, no card: prove a Software Spend Review on one export

Writing

Free CSV audit, no card: prove a Software Spend Review on one export

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.

Updated October 6, 2026

WritingSheet 9 of 15

Before a firm puts a new review in front of clients, someone at the firm usually wants to see it work on a real file. The free CSV audit is built for that one job. It takes one company's transactions export, runs it through the findings engine, and gives you a report you can read before you decide anything else.

This piece is about the free path itself: what it includes, what to check, and when to stop using it. How to shape the export so the report is worth reading is covered in CSV-first Software Spend Review. The full firm workflow across many clients is in How to run a Software Spend Review across a client book.

What the free audit includes

The free CSV audit covers one company. You upload a transactions CSV from any source, such as a books export, a bank export, or another ledger, and get a findings report on the recurring software and tool payments in that file. No card is required. Start at /sign-up?intent=free.

  • One company.
  • A transactions CSV from any source: a books export, a bank export, or another ledger. It is not limited to QuickBooks Online or Xero files.
  • No card.
  • A findings report on the recurring software and tool payments in that file.

That is the whole offer. Sign up at /sign-up?intent=free, upload the file, and read the findings.

Pick the right file

The free audit is one company, so choose the file that will tell you the most.

  • Pick a client where software and recurring tools clearly show up in the books.
  • Use a date range long enough to catch annual charges. A full year is a sensible default.
  • Include every account where software gets paid: operating bank, cards, and any account used for direct debits.
  • Use books that are reasonably current and reconciled.

A thin file produces a thin report. If the export only covers two months of one card, the findings will reflect that, and you will be judging the review on the wrong evidence.

What to check in the findings

Read the report the way a client owner would. Each finding should say what was paid and why it was flagged.

  • Charges that repeat on a monthly, quarterly, or annual rhythm.
  • The same vendor under more than one descriptor or more than one account.
  • Amounts that changed across the date range.
  • Annual charges, with the date they landed, so the next one is not a surprise.
  • Descriptors that are unclear and worth a question to the client.

Then ask two things. Would you be comfortable handing this to the client under your firm name? Would it give you a useful 15 minutes in your next conversation with them? If yes, the review has done its job on one file.

What the free audit will not tell you

The audit reads payments only. It does not show seats, logins, or usage, and it does not say which tools a team relies on. It does not give a savings figure, because results depend on the file, the date range, and which accounts are included. A thin file produces a thin report.

The longer explanation is in Software Spend Review reads what was paid, not who logged in.

When to move to the Firm trial

No. They are separate paths. The free CSV audit is one company, no card, and it stays one company. The Firm trial is for your book of clients, lasts 14 days, and requires a card. Use the free audit to prove the review on one file, then start the Firm trial when you are ready.

  • Free CSV audit: one company, no card, any-source CSV, start at /sign-up?intent=free.
  • Firm trial: your book of clients, 14 days, card required, start at /for-bookkeepers.

After the trial, Firm pricing is $15 per client per month with a 4-client minimum, which is $60 per month. Larger books can ask about volume at /contact?topic=volume. Across the book, each report goes out under your firm brand: your logo, prepared by your firm, prepared for each client. The delivery model is in White-labeled Software Spend Review.

Move when one file has convinced you and you want to run the next three or four. Stay on the free audit if you are still deciding whether the findings are useful.

What the free audit is not

  • Not a trial of the Firm plan. It is one company, and it stays one company.
  • Not a seat or login review. A ledger records what was paid, not who logged in.
  • Not limited to QuickBooks Online or Xero exports. Any transactions CSV works.
  • Not a Google Workspace connection. Google Workspace is not available.
  • Not a savings estimate. No averages, no percentages, no invented customers.
  • Not a security certification. We do not have SOC 2. See /security and /dpa.

How to start

Pick one client. Export a full year of transactions from whatever source you already use for them. Run the free audit at /sign-up?intent=free and read the findings as a list of what was paid and why each line was flagged.

If you want to run the review across more clients, the Firm overview and 14-day trial are on /for-bookkeepers. The free audit needs no card. The Firm trial does.

For bookkeeping firms

Keep the books for clients on QuickBooks Online or Xero? Software spend review for bookkeeping firms covers running it across a whole client book, with the report in your firm's name.

ShadowLedger
ProductFor companiesFor bookkeepersPricingLive demoXero auditAI assistant
ResourcesCompareGlossaryBlogFAQ
CompanyAboutSecurityContact
© 2026 ShadowLedger. The software-spend audit for QuickBooks and Xero.
1968 S. Coast Hwy #2257, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
PrivacyTermsDPACookies