Is your tech spend working for you?
One of the most overlooked expenses for many businesses is their monthly spend on tech tools.
Driven by remote/hybrid work, tool proliferation and the rise of AI, it almost seems like you need to spend more to keep up with technology itself. We’ve seen businesses’ tech spend double or triple, without anyone making a deliberate decision about it, and that means it’s definitely worth a closer look.
Our Director, Jason Robinson, recently shared his tips in the HR Challenges Guide for Leaders Doing It All. It’s a free guide on tackling exactly this problem, and you can catch his key tips below.
Why Do Tech Stack Costs Creep Up?
Tech stack costs creep up on businesses for one main reason – not enough oversight and review. Here are the most common traps we see, which can really add to your monthly bill:
- Duplicate functionality e.g. paying for Slack and Teams because different teams chose different platforms
- Annual lock-in contracts that auto-renew on tools no one is using
- Free trials that quietly convert to paid
- Existing tools adding AI features (and costs) that your team won’t use
How Can You Get Better ROI From Your Tech Tools?
Like most things, getting more from your tech tools means paying closer attention to them. Here are some practical ways to do that regularly:
- Do a subscription audit at least twice a year
- Do a tool audit to check for double ups (here’s a tool for that!)
- Only add new tools if you know existing ones can’t do what you need
- Assign an owner to every tool so that someone is responsible for its use (or disuse)
- Watch per-user pricing as you scale: $10/user/month feels cheap at five people, but at 50 it’s $6,000 a year for one tool
- Subscriptions are usually fully tax deductible business expenses, but make sure they’re coded correctly in your accounting software
- If you’re buying more substantial software licences, the instant asset write-off (currently $20,000 for small businesses) might apply
- If you’re developing or significantly customising technology, talk to your accountant about the R&D Tax Incentive
Get Expert Advice on Your Tech Spend
For tailored advice on tech expenditure, tax offsets, budgeting or financial planning, please reach out to our team. We’re always happy to discuss your individual needs and point you in the right direction.
