Blog Post - RenewGuard

Does it feel like your software budget is leaking money, but you can't quite see where?

You aren't imagining it. In our experience running multiple small businesses, we found that subscriptions have a way of multiplying when we aren't looking.

Many startups face a silent drain on their budgets without even realizing it. A recent study shows organizations waste an average of $135,000 each year on software subscriptions they do not use.

Forgotten SaaS tools often hide in plain sight within small teams as projects wrap up and accounts remain open but untouched. These overlooked platforms lead to overspending and also create risks for efficiency, security, and compliance.

As owners running several businesses with multiple small teams, we track every dollar spent on service subscriptions. It is surprising how easy it is to lose track of orphaned tools and old accounts that linger long after their usefulness ends.

Finding practical ways to stop this waste can save your team thousands—keep reading to see how you can make a difference.

Key Takeaways

Startups with 20 people can lose an average of $135,000 per year on unused SaaS subscriptions, according to a Torii report from 2023.
Recent 2025 industry data indicates that the average SaaS spend per employee has risen to over $4,800 annually, with nearly 51% of licenses going unused.
Forgotten or “Zombie SaaS” tools remain active after employees leave or projects end, causing financial waste and exposing sensitive data to security risks.
Teams using between 5 to 12 overlapping intelligence platforms face redundant research efforts, workflow confusion, and losses up to $320,000 per year for every 100 R&D professionals.
Regular audits and offboarding checklists can cut software spending by 15%–30%, uncover dormant accounts (such as $2,100/year in unused project management subscriptions), and improve compliance with regulations like GDPR.
Centralized SaaS management platforms like Josys help detect shadow IT automatically across hundreds of apps, strengthen account controls, optimize costs, and prevent recurring losses due to forgotten tools.

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Understanding the Problem: Forgotten SaaS Tools

A messy workspace with multiple laptops and an attentive individual.

Many startups sign up for software tools to solve urgent problems, but later neglect their usage. These forgotten subscriptions continue charging monthly fees, draining budgets without adding value.

What is "Zombie SaaS"?

"Zombie SaaS" describes software subscriptions that we continue to pay for but no longer use. In our experience, these forgotten tools quietly drain our budget each month, creating financial waste without delivering any real value to the team.

Startups like ours often lose track of old project management platforms or legacy productivity tools after pivoting strategies or seeing staff changes.

This issue is compounding in 2025 with the rise of AI tools. It is common for a single employee to test ChatGPT Plus, then try Claude Pro, and finally sign up for Jasper, leaving the first two accounts active but abandoned.

A report from Torii in 2023 found that small businesses waste thousands each year on unused licenses and redundant software. This happens because tracking every subscription can get lost in the shuffle of fast-paced growth and resource allocation pressures.

Without regular software auditing and clear accountability measures, our stack fills up with "zombie" services, turning simple subscription management into a hidden startup expense.

Examples of forgotten tools used by startups

Startups often overlook software tools that linger after they no longer serve a clear purpose. These unused subscriptions can remain active for months or even years, quietly draining resources and increasing risk.

A Salesforce account sometimes stays active long after an employee leaves the company, usually because of poor offboarding processes; this oversight poses both financial and security concerns.
Project management software like Trello or Notion may continue operating for completed projects, keeping user access open and adding to redundant software licenses.
Trial accounts for discontinued services, such as Slack or HubSpot, often transition into paid subscriptions without anyone noticing; this creates unnecessary ongoing costs.
Teams in small businesses can use between 5 to 12 intelligence platforms simultaneously, which results in duplicate research efforts and workflow confusion due to tool redundancy.
Creative tools are a major culprit; we often see teams paying for Adobe Creative Cloud licenses for staff members who only need basic features available in free tools like Canva.
Orphaned accounts frequently occur after mergers or acquisitions since some staff inherit outdated logins or permissions from previous organizations, making account management complicated.
Decentralized systems allow various departments or individuals to adopt SaaS tools independently; unmanaged expansion increases the likelihood of unused software and operational inefficiencies.
Software audits rarely happen on a regular schedule, causing forgotten subscriptions to persist unnoticed within SaaS environments.
Offboarding processes that lack thorough checks often leave user access active across several platforms, exposing sensitive data and violating compliance requirements.

Financial Impacts of Forgotten Tools

We waste thousands each year on software we do not use or need. Unchecked, this drains our budget and leaves us with less money for growth.

Subscription costs for unused tools

Subscription costs for unused software tools quietly erode budgets in startups and small agencies, leading to significant financial waste. The following table presents key data, statistics, and examples that highlight the impact of forgotten SaaS subscriptions on organizations with fewer than 40 people.

Key Aspect	Supporting Data & Examples
Annual Cost of Overlapping Subscriptions	Overlapping SaaS tool subscriptions incur yearly costs estimated between $75,000 and $150,000 for enterprises. Scaled to a 20-person startup, redundant licenses still represent tens of thousands lost annually.
Impact on Research and Development (R&D)	Teams with 100 R&D professionals waste about $320,000 per year on duplicate research and overlapping tool subscriptions. Even small agencies using 5 to 12 intelligence platforms face inefficiencies and ongoing redundant subscription costs.
Unutilized SaaS Licenses	The average business loses approximately $135,000 each year on unused SaaS licenses. New 2025 Data: Recent reports indicate that nearly 51% of all SaaS licenses are not utilized by employees, meaning half your software budget may be wasted.
Knowledge Sharing Losses	Fortune 500 companies lose roughly $31.5 million a year due to poor knowledge sharing and fragmented tools. Startups can experience version control confusion and knowledge silos when subscriptions go uncontrolled.
Potential Cost Savings	Consolidating R&D intelligence and actively managing SaaS subscriptions can reduce research duplication by up to 70 percent. Mid-sized teams achieve annual savings between $2 million and $5 million after streamlining subscriptions and reducing tool sprawl.
Subscription Burnout	Growing subscription commitments contribute to consumer and team burnout, making license management more critical for morale and financial health.

Redundant software licenses

Redundant software licenses quietly drain budgets and complicate planning for small teams. We often see this problem in our own operations and among partners—when multiple tools serve the same function, or unused seats are left active after team changes, waste quickly grows.

Reviewing the true impact of redundant licenses is critical to making informed decisions.

Key Aspect	Impact on Small Businesses & Agencies	Supporting Data & Examples
Financial Waste	Significant budget is lost on inactive or duplicative licenses. Small teams may not notice the impact until annual renewals hit, causing unexpected expenses.	Research shows organizations waste $1 out of every $5 spent on software due to underused tools. The total economic toll of software complexity and redundant licenses exceeds $1 trillion each year.
Decreased Return on Investment (ROI)	Redundant licenses lower projected ROI, making it difficult to justify software investments and demonstrating value to stakeholders.	More than half (53%) of companies report not receiving the planned ROI from software purchases. Overspending directly erodes potential returns.
Forecasting Challenges	Planning future budgets and license needs becomes challenging. Surplus tools and unknown active seats produce inaccurate forecasts, which can disrupt resource allocation.	Redundant licenses complicate budget and software needs forecasting at all organizational sizes.
Operational Complexity	Managing multiple overlapping tools increases confusion for small teams. We have experienced lost onboarding time, with new hires unsure which tool to use.	Complexity from redundant software impacts productivity and leads to inefficiency. This issue is common whether a team has 20 or 2,000 members.

Operational Challenges Caused by Unused Tools

Unused software tools lead to confusion among teams and disrupt smooth workflows. These issues often lower our operational efficiency and slow down project timelines.

Decreased team efficiency

Teams in small startups often juggle 5 to 12 different intelligence platforms, which quickly creates tool redundancy and subscription overlap. Multiple tools with similar functions cause research duplication; industry studies show this waste can reach $320,000 per year for every 100 R&D professionals.

We end up spending valuable hours repeating work already done in parallel systems instead of focusing on strategic tasks.

Subscription overlaps and untracked SaaS use slow down our workflows as we sort through unnecessary tools to find what fits best for the job. The presence of “Zombie SaaS” drains resources from core initiatives, while extra software increases process complexity and workflow friction.

Team members get distracted by switching between redundant apps, making knowledge sharing less effective and communication more confusing. These factors reduce operational efficiency across projects and prevent us from reaching our goals with clarity and speed.

Confusion in workflows

Redundant software licenses and forgotten SaaS tools create workflow management confusion in startups like ours. Decentralized adoption, especially without clear IT governance, results in a patchwork of applications performing similar functions.

For example, after a minor merger last year, our agency discovered three separate project management platforms running in parallel. This overlap led to cross-disciplinary challenges and unnecessary tool integration work as each department defaulted to its preferred system.

Lack of regular audits further compounds the issue; outdated or unused software lingers because no one tracks ownership or decommissions old accounts. Poor documentation practices make tracking down who uses what nearly impossible, causing process optimization failures and communication breakdowns across teams working on shared deliverables.

Shadow IT sneaks into daily routines as employees turn to unauthorized apps for faster solutions but end up worsening workflow inefficiencies instead of resolving them.

Security and Compliance Risks of Forgotten Tools

Outdated tools can expose sensitive data and increase our risk of security breaches. Poor tracking of software access may lead to compliance violations that hurt trust and threaten business growth.

Security vulnerabilities

Forgotten SaaS tools create serious cybersecurity risks for small teams like ours. Unused accounts often remain connected to critical business systems, providing potential entry points for cybercriminals.

Shadow IT makes these vulnerabilities worse because unmonitored software can escape the attention of our security processes. We have seen how orphaned subscriptions pile up; each inactive account that is not deprovisioned leaves a door open for unauthorized access.

Small companies, especially 20-person startups, face unique compliance challenges. The lack of regular tool management amplifies the risk because attackers may exploit outdated software or communication channels.

"A 2025 IBM report highlighted that the average cost of a data breach has reached $4.88 million, often stemming from compromised credentials in unmanaged tools."

Neglected applications also increase chances of compliance violations and data leaks. Weak access control means sensitive information could fall into the wrong hands if old user accounts are left active after employees leave.

Financial losses from breaches become very real in these situations—as much as thousands per incident according to industry reports in 2023—due to theft or penalties linked to noncompliance with regulations like GDPR or CCPA.

Our experience shows that regular audits and strong account deprovisioning practices reduce exposure significantly, yet many fast-growing teams overlook this basic step during rapid scaling phases, exposing both financial health and reputation to unnecessary risk.

Data access and compliance violations

Inactive SaaS accounts still store sensitive company and customer information, making us liable for data protection under GDPR and similar regulations. Regulatory bodies demand that we protect personal data in every application, whether or not it’s used daily.

For instance, unmonitored tools may contain files with client names, contact information, or even payment records; this puts our organization at risk of non-compliance if a breach occurs.

In the US, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) allows for fines of up to $7,500 per intentional violation. When you consider how many abandoned accounts might hold customer data, the potential liability for a small startup can be devastating.

We have learned through audits that compliance violations can easily happen when startups like ours fail to control access to unused platforms. Mishandling or forgetting about these applications often leads to fines and reputation damage because data subject rights persist even if the tool is inactive.

Neglecting proper SaaS management opens us up to legal liabilities and potential financial losses that small businesses cannot afford.

How to Identify Forgotten Tools in Your Startup

We often discover unused software by tracking our expenses and reviewing team workflows. Spotting these “zombie” tools is vital to improve financial oversight and operational efficiency.

Conducting a SaaS audit

Small businesses and agencies under 40 people can lose thousands each year to forgotten SaaS tools. Conducting a SaaS audit helps us regain control, cut costs, and improve security with clear steps.

Start with a full application inventory using expense reports, browser extensions, and single sign-on dashboards to locate every paid and free SaaS subscription in use.
Check your Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 SSO logs; these often reveal which apps employees are actually logging into versus the ones they are just paying for.
Request department heads to list all software their teams have adopted so we catch both high-profile apps and less obvious tools that may be overlooked.
Compare active subscriptions against actual usage data; studies show organizations average over 275,000 SaaS applications yet waste money on around 73 percent of licenses left unused or underutilized.
Identify redundant tools by looking for overlapping functions in our tech stack; this step streamlines processes and avoids duplicate spending.
Review onboarding and offboarding processes to ensure departing staff no longer retain access to company data through old accounts. This also highlights where unused user licenses might remain active.
Check each application's compliance adherence since unused apps still hold sensitive business or personal information that we are responsible for protecting under regulations. Regulatory bodies require ongoing protection regardless of account activity.
Analyze the results for cost reduction opportunities; regular audits reveal hidden accounts or dormant subscriptions that can lower expenses by an estimated 15 to 30 percent per year according to industry experts.
Use these insights to centralize SaaS management and subscription oversight; consolidating visibility across departments increases accountability while further improving license management.

Reviewing onboarding and offboarding processes

Effective onboarding and offboarding processes safeguard our startup from losing money on forgotten SaaS tools. Thorough reviews at each step reduce compliance issues, security risks, and hidden costs that can quietly stack up over time.

HR and IT departments must collaborate to align employee transition procedures. This partnership ensures account provisioning and deprovisioning happen swiftly so unused software licenses do not linger.
Automating the creation and removal of user accounts helps us minimize errors. For example, an automated workflow connected to our HR system closes access as soon as someone leaves, which prevents orphaned accounts in tools like Slack or Google Workspace.
We document every step of employee offboarding for compliance with strict regulations such as GDPR. Detailed records show auditors that data protection remains a top priority throughout each transition.
Including communication protocols during account closure keeps all stakeholders informed. This approach reduces confusion in workflows whenever someone moves roles or exits the company.
Automated offboarding checklists standardize how we protect sensitive data during departures. Our checklist ensures no tool or license falls through the cracks, cutting down on SaaS waste.
Regular audits flag dormant accounts that need deprovisioning and highlight old licenses ready for cancellation. In one recent audit across three teams, we spotted $2,100 per year in unused project management subscriptions.
Workflow automation speeds up deprovisioning while reducing human oversight mistakes. We save administrative time by setting triggers that remove access without manual intervention.
Centralizing our documentation lets us track which users have access to each platform. This transparency supports risk management efforts while eliminating ambiguity around who controls valuable business information.

Our agency’s direct knowledge has shown that tightening these onboarding and offboarding steps pays dividends in cost control and mitigates data protection risks for lean teams under 40 people.

Utilizing SaaS management platforms

Centralizing our SaaS visibility makes oversight manageable, even as we juggle dozens of cloud applications. With platforms like ours and Josys, we can discover shadow IT automatically and monitor usage patterns across 350+ integrated software solutions.

The dashboard lets us track every user account in real time, helping us see at a glance which tools sit idle or have orphaned access.

Josys automates tedious processes by flagging inactive accounts after a set period and handling both onboarding and offboarding with precision. Features such as Access Requests, Automated Access Reviews, Cost Optimization insights, and integrations with Okta improve our access control and security compliance significantly.

By leveraging these automation tools for lifecycle management, small teams avoid recurring costs from unused subscriptions while reducing the risk of data leaks or compliance violations tied to forgotten apps.

Strategies to Prevent Future SaaS Waste

We must set up clear processes that support ongoing oversight of our software tools. Proactive management reduces risks and helps us keep our spending under control.

Implementing an offboarding checklist

Implementing a clear offboarding checklist helps us prevent orphaned accounts, which often become security risks and sources of hidden costs. By including steps for deprovisioning, license auditing, and data protection in our process, we safeguard sensitive information while ensuring that outgoing employees lose access on their last day.

Automated workflow tools reduce human error and speed up account management during transitions.

We have seen firsthand how regular SaaS audits paired with an effective offboarding checklist can cut software spend by 15 to 30 percent through the identification of dormant licenses.

Careful documentation during these employee transitions keeps us compliant with regulations like GDPR and strengthens our security protocols. Maintaining open communication throughout handoffs avoids confusion among team members regarding tool ownership or responsibility.

Scheduling regular reviews of software usage

We conduct quarterly or semiannual audits to evaluate our SaaS portfolio and review software usage. By matching actual user activity against procurement data, we uncover dormant subscriptions and underutilized licenses that often drain resources without delivering value.

These usage analysis sessions help us optimize subscription management, ensuring each license aligns with current team needs.

Automated renewal alerts keep us proactive, while centralized SaaS management systems make scheduling these reviews more efficient for teams under 40 people. Cross-functional governance brings together leaders from operations, IT, and finance to examine compliance risks, application monitoring results, and opportunities for cost efficiency.

Regular software audits increase both transparency and accountability in our technology spending decisions.

Centralizing SaaS visibility and management

Centralizing SaaS visibility and management helps us avoid unnecessary expenditures by giving our team real-time control over software subscriptions. Using a centralized dashboard, we can closely monitor license usage, track expenses, and spot underutilized or redundant tools before they bloat our budget.

These dashboards also highlight resource allocation across departments, which supports better decision-making for future software investments. We offer this solution and more with tracking owners and getting automatic alerts in our platform.

We also recommend using virtual corporate cards from providers like Brex or Ramp. These tools allow you to issue a unique virtual card for each software subscription, giving you the power to cancel a single card—and thus the subscription—without affecting your other payments.

Integrating SaaS management platforms with HR and security systems further improves operational efficiency within startups of 20 to 40 people. For example, central oversight ensures former employees lose access to sensitive tools immediately after offboarding.

By providing one source of truth for all application use, we build stronger governance while holding users accountable for expense tracking and compliance standards. Educating everyone about centralized subscription management fosters smarter decisions that drive cost reduction without slowing productivity.

Long-Term Benefits of Efficient SaaS Management

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Efficient SaaS management sets us up for long-term growth and gives our team a clear edge—discover how these benefits can transform your startup in the next section.

Cost savings

Reclaiming unused software licenses has helped us slash recurring expenses by hundreds of dollars each month. Automated license management tools flag subscriptions that no longer serve our team, allowing prompt cancellations or downgrades.

Usage analytics revealed several zombie SaaS applications draining funds silently, a common issue for startups with fewer than 40 staff members.

We replaced manual tracking with subscription management platforms that streamline expense tracking and budgeting. This shift reduced unnecessary renewals and enhanced financial sustainability.

Forecasting tools now guide our future purchases, preventing overspending on redundant services while supporting smarter resource optimization in our growing company.

Enhanced security and compliance

Efficient SaaS management equips us to meet security and compliance requirements by enforcing strong access controls, promoting governance, and conducting regular audits. We support multi-factor authentication (MFA) and single sign-on (SSO) for our SaaS applications, which helps reduce the risk of unauthorized access.

Integrating with identity and access management (IAM) systems allows us to apply least privilege principles so only necessary team members gain access to sensitive data.

Regular reviews and monitoring through integration with SIEM tools provide real-time alerts about suspicious activity or compliance violations. This proactive approach enables early detection of issues that could lead to costly fines or regulatory failures.

By fostering awareness among our team about proper data use, we strengthen data protection practices while ensuring adherence to relevant laws such as GDPR or HIPAA. With a structured process that identifies, assesses, governs, and monitors every tool in use, we address risks before they escalate into serious problems for small businesses like ours.

Improved team productivity

Streamlining SaaS management directly sharpens team focus by removing redundant tools and creating a more organized environment for collaboration. With centralized dashboards, everyone can easily access the software they actually use, which limits workflow disruptions and helps maintain momentum on projects.

For example, automated processes paired with scheduled usage reviews help us catch unused subscriptions quickly, keeping our teams on track without unnecessary distractions.

Onboarding and offboarding become much faster through clear checklists and improved license allocation. This practice minimizes delays for new staff while preventing former employees from retaining access to critical systems.

By consolidating platforms, we enhance communication within teams and reduce IT support requests caused by confusion over tool access or integration issues. Automated alerts make it simple to identify any shifts in software usage, allowing swift action that keeps productivity high across all departments.

Conclusion

Forgotten SaaS tools can drain valuable resources and increase financial oversight risks for any small team. By actively managing our software stack, we improve cash flow management and reduce unnecessary spending.

Implementing regular audits helps protect sensitive data and also boosts organizational efficiency.

Staying proactive allows us to direct more energy toward business development and strategic growth. We can then focus on what really matters—building a successful company.

How 20 Person Startups Quietly Lose Thousands On Forgotten Tools