“Do you really need that?“

When an employee requests access to an app license or an entirely new tool, it can be tricky to discern need from want.

Everyone wants access to a tool—even if they don’t really need it. It’s like a party: everyone wants an invitation, even if they have no intention of showing up. Unfortunately, when employees hold on to every tool they request, the company foots the bill for unused tools.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably responsible for improving cost efficiency, so you must separate need from want. The best way to do that is to examine use. 

Employees request the tools they want but only use the tools they need. 

As we found in our SaaS Benchmark Report, most organizations own too many license seats when compared to license utilization. Some of the most expensive applications (like Salesforce, Zoom, Atlassian, etc) represent massive opportunities to save simply by reducing the number of idle licenses.

With that in mind, here are five steps to help you save 25% or more on your top applications!

1. Spot the Cost

Centralizing and comparing your SaaS contracts is the first (and often most important) step toward identifying unnecessary expenses. By bringing all contracts into one centralized location, you get a clear snapshot of which apps you’re paying for, how much you’re spending, and when renewals are coming up.

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How Torii Helps Spot the Cost

Torii’s SaaS Management Platform (SMP) provides cutting-edge insights for contracts and procurement—so you can easily compare what you’re spending versus what you’ve committed to. From contract vs. expense comparisons and AI-powered renewal forecasts to yearly renewal summaries and more, Torii offers a complete view of your SaaS investments in one place.

Learn more about Torii:

How to Centralize and Compare Your Contracts

  • Gather All Contract Details:
    • Pull invoices, agreements, and terms from your procurement or finance systems.
    • Don’t forget to include any “unofficial” contracts that departments might have set up on their own.
  • Identify Key Data Points:
    • Look at cost, renewal dates, contract length, number of licenses, and usage limits.
    • Watch out for auto-renew clauses and escalating costs hidden in the fine print.
  • Organize & Consolidate:
    • Create a single, accessible repository (like a shared drive, spreadsheet, or—ideally—Torii) to store contract PDFs and key info side by side.
    • Group contracts by app function or department to quickly spot overlap and redundant tools.
  • Compare Costs & Terms:
    • Note any discrepancies between the contract price and what’s actually being charged monthly or annually.
    • Flag contracts with renewals coming up soon—these are prime opportunities for renegotiation.
  • Collaborate with Stakeholders:
    • Talk to finance, procurement, and department leads to confirm which contracts are essential and to highlight any unexpected fees or clauses.
    • Share the centralized contract overview so everyone has a clear picture of current commitments.

By spotting the true cost of your top tools—and centralizing all contracts for easy comparison—you’ll have a solid foundation for the next steps in cutting unnecessary spending..

2. Evaluate Usage

Understanding actual usage is a powerful way to uncover wasted spend—especially on high-cost apps and licenses. Torii automatically pulls real-time usage data for your top SaaS apps, highlighting active, inactive, and unassigned licenses alongside cost details and industry benchmarks.

How Torii Helps Evaluate Usage

Torii’s license page gives you an instant breakdown of each app’s usage status, letting you see at a glance which licenses are active, inactive, or unassigned. That data pairs seamlessly with cost insights, so you know exactly where your money is going and which apps may be ripe for optimization.

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Step-by-Step Usage Check

  • Export Usage Logs: Many SaaS tools let you download usage or activity reports. Start here to see who’s logging in (and how often).
  • Poll or Survey Your Teams: If usage logs aren’t available, ask employees about their tool usage. Keep in mind that surveys can be time-intensive, and responses might not be entirely accurate.
  • Prioritize High-Cost Apps First: Focus on tools with higher per-license costs since cutting wasted seats here delivers the biggest impact.
  • Compare Usage to Spend: Once you have some data, match usage frequency to the associated costs. Apps with high spending and low usage are prime targets for license reductions or reassignments.

3. Compare Against Duplicates

Duplicate apps can silently inflate costs—especially when different teams use similar tools for the same tasks.

How Torii Helps Compare Against Duplicates

Torii’s AI-powered, side-by-side app comparison highlights overlapping users, usage trends, and redundant capabilities in minutes, so you can spot (and remove) duplicate apps fast.

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Quick Duplicates Check 

  • List Similar Apps: Identify tools with overlapping functionalities (e.g., multiple project management or design platforms).
  • Review Usage & Features: Compare usage data and core features to see if both tools are truly necessary.
  • Align with Stakeholders: Ask each team which app they prefer and why—focus on which one best meets organizational needs.

4. Take Action

Once you’ve identified areas of overspending, it’s time to implement changes—reclaim unused apps, negotiate better deals, or decommission certain tools altogether. Even the best analysis won’t save you money until you move into execution mode.

How Torii Helps You Take Action

Torii makes it easy to set up alerts and automations around idle apps, sending auto-reclaim requests via Slack and tracking upcoming renewals through a dedicated workflow. You can configure how long an app must go unused before it’s flagged for cancellation or reassignment and set automated alerts well before renewal dates.

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Action Steps for Each App

  • Draft an App-Specific Plan:
    • Determine a clear path—keep it if necessary, consolidate it with a similar tool, or cancel altogether.
    • Identify any teams or individuals who still rely on the app.
  • Check Renewal Schedules & Clauses:
    • Document each renewal date and check for auto-renewal clauses.
    • Leave yourself a buffer (e.g., set a calendar reminder 60 days before renewal) to ensure you have time to negotiate or cancel if needed.
  • Align with Stakeholders:
    • Confirm your findings and recommendations with department leads or managers.
    • Provide usage and cost data to support your decisions and get cross-departmental buy-in.
  • Implement Changes & Automations:
    • Reclaim inactive licenses, consolidate duplicate apps, or negotiate with vendors as appropriate.
    • Use automations (in Torii or another system) to streamline these tasks. Set up Slack notifications, auto-deprovisioning, or renewal reminders so changes happen on time.
  • Track Your Results:
    • Note cost savings, usage improvements, and team satisfaction to measure the impact.
    • Keep these metrics visible so that leadership and stakeholders see the tangible benefits of your efforts.

5. Automate and Future-Proof

Manual processes only get you so far. Once you’ve tackled redundant apps, reclaimed licenses, and negotiated better deals, you need a long-term plan to keep SaaS bloat from creeping back in.

How Torii Helps Automate and Future-Proof

Torii offers automations at every stage—alerting you to idle apps, streamlining license reclamation, and generating a yearly renewal summary report. These insights help you highlight cost savings to leadership and stay on track for continuous optimization.

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Ongoing Sustainability Tips

  1. Establish Regular Reviews: Schedule a brief check-in before each renewal to prevent unwanted auto-renewals.
  2. Build Stakeholder Communication: Keep department leads in the loop about usage changes, upcoming renewals, and license adjustments.
  3. Stay Data-Driven: Document and measure the impact of every license reclaim action. Share these wins to encourage ongoing best practices.
  4. Automate Where Possible: Whether through Torii or another workflow solution, automate as many repetitive tasks as you can—freeing up your team to focus on higher-value work.

Smarter Decisions Start With Data

When you understand exactly how tools are being used (or not used), negotiations become more straightforward, stakeholder conversations are conclusive, and everyone has greater confidence in each decision.

While an SMP isn’t strictly required to achieve these results, it streamlines every step of the process—making your app management faster, more sustainable, and more accurate in the long run.