Recurring-charge review for clients: one-off or scheduled?

A one-off subscription audit tells a client what they paid for up to the day you ran it. A scheduled review reads the whole book again on a set cadence, so new charges, changed amounts and coming renewals show up while there is still time to act. For a bookkeeping firm that already closes the books each month, the scheduled version fits the work you already do.

This post covers what "whole book" means, how to set the cadence, what the client gets, and how to work out the cost against doing it by hand.

Why a one-off audit goes stale

Recurring charges change after the audit. A trial converts. A vendor changes its price. A tool gets bought on a second card. An annual plan renews. The report from March says nothing about any of it.

A one-off audit is still useful as a first pass. It just needs a next step, or the client hears about the next change from their bank statement.

What "whole book" means

Whole book means every account in the ledger where software and other recurring charges get paid. That covers each card, each bank account, bill pay and ACH, not only the company card a card platform sees. It also means the expense accounts where software lands, plus Uncategorized Expense and any holding account the firm uses.

If one card account is missing from the file, the review misses everything paid on it. Check the account list before the first run.

Set the cadence to match close

Monthly is the natural rhythm for a firm that closes monthly. Run the review after the bank and card accounts are reconciled, so the charges it reads are the ones you stand behind.

Renewals need more lead time than a monthly glance. Keep a list of annual charges with the date each one last posted. An annual charge that posted in November will likely post again next November, and the client may have a notice deadline before that.

What the client gets each time

Keep the deliverable the same every cycle so the client knows how to read it:

A short list of new recurring charges since the last review.
Amounts that changed, with the old and new amount and the month it changed.
Renewals coming up in the next 90 days.
Open questions from last time and the client's answers.

You build items 1 and 4 by setting this cycle's list next to last cycle's. Each item says what was paid and asks a question. The client makes the decision. The report is a working document for an advisory conversation, not an audit or any form of assurance.

Work out the cost against doing it by hand

There is no standard number for how long a manual review takes. It depends on the file. Use your own figures:

By hand, per month: (minutes per client to read and list recurring charges) x (number of clients reviewed) / 60 x (your loaded hourly cost).

With ShadowLedger Firm, per month: $15 x (number of clients), with a minimum of $60 a month for 4 clients. A firm with 10 clients would pay $150 a month at that rate.

Then add back the review time that stays with you either way. Someone at the firm still checks the findings and leads the client conversation. Time one client by hand this month, put your numbers in both lines, and compare.

How ShadowLedger runs the scheduled version

ShadowLedger does a first pass 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.

On the Firm plan you connect QuickBooks Online or Xero directly, and connected clients are re-scanned weekly (on the Pro plan too). Past scans are kept for 13 months, so last month's report is there when you prepare this month's. The findings report carries your firm's name and goes to the client as a revocable share link, or you print it with the report's Print / save as PDF button.

Built from payments in the ledger, no seat or login data needed.

Start small

Pick one client whose books are reconciled and where software shows up across more than one account. Run the free CSV audit on that company's export. It needs no card. If the report is useful, start the Firm trial for a first batch of four clients. The trial runs 14 days. See which clients to review first for how to pick them, and packaging it as advisory for how to price your fee. Data handling is on the security page and in the DPA.

FAQ

What is a recurring-charge review for a bookkeeping client?

It is a list of the recurring payments in a client's books, such as software, with what each one costs, how often it is charged and why any line is worth a question. The firm prepares it from the ledger and walks the client through it.

How often should a firm review a client's recurring charges?

Monthly works for most firms that close monthly. Run it after reconciliation. Keep a separate list of annual charges so renewals get flagged with enough lead time.

How much does ShadowLedger cost for a firm?

The Firm plan is $15 per client per month, with a 4-client minimum ($60 a month). The Firm trial runs 14 days.

How do I compare the cost with doing it by hand?

Time one client by hand. Multiply those minutes by the number of clients, divide by 60 and multiply by your loaded hourly cost. Compare that with $15 per client per month, minimum $60. Review time for the findings stays with your firm either way.