Software licence audit worksheet
Reconcile billed seats with actual need, price a licence reduction against the contract minimum and check the first invoice after renewal.
Start with the renewal notice deadline. A product can show several spare seats and still charge the full annual fee if the contract has already renewed. Find the signed order, latest invoice, price per seat, minimum quantity and earliest date a reduction takes effect.
Download the software licence audit (.xlsx). Use the blank sheet to calculate a renewal quantity and the annual cost you could avoid at the agreed price.
Reconcile what you paid for
On the same date, export the billing quantity, assigned licences and recent activity. Keep account identifiers in the restricted working copy. Record the product and tier. A read-only user on one plan and a paid editor on another can have the same email address.
Separate unassigned seats from assigned accounts that need investigation. Someone on leave may have no recent activity. A reporting integration may have no interactive sign-in at all. Ask the line manager or system owner to confirm each account's purpose. Record who owns any files, workflows or scheduled jobs before changing access.
Price a realistic reduction
Our fictional agency, Merebridge Recruitment, pays £24 per named seat per month for 30 seats. The team confirms 20 regular users, one returning colleague and one account used by a scheduled job. It also needs two seats for agreed starters. All four quantities relate to the same plan, priced before VAT.
| Renewal calculation | Quantity or value |
|---|---|
| Current paid quantity | 30 seats |
| Confirmed need including starters | 24 seats |
| Contract minimum | 25 seats |
| Quantity to request | 25 seats |
| Annual cost at the current quantity | £8,640 |
| Annual cost at the proposed quantity | £7,200 |
| Potential annual reduction | £1,440 |
Six seats appear surplus to expected use. The minimum commitment lets the agency remove only five. Five seats at £24 over twelve months gives £1,440. If the smaller quantity attracts a different unit price, enter that quoted rate before comparing totals. A negative saving means the proposed arrangement costs more. Treat the figure as a possible reduction from its effective date until the supplier confirms the change.
Make and verify the change
Give each decision an owner. Transfer anything the departing account controls and obtain the receiving owner's confirmation. Remove the licence separately from deleting the underlying account, using the provider's procedure. Ask billing to confirm the new quantity, price, effective date and whether a credit applies.
At the first invoice, compare the paid quantity and unit price with the written confirmation. Log any part-month charge separately so a credit does not disguise a wrong recurring amount. Keep the invoice check and next notice date beside the original decision.