How to cancel unused saas subscriptions for small business australia

Small businesses often accumulate multiple software subscriptions over time, many of which continue to renew automatically despite low or zero usage. Conducting a regular SaaS audit helps your organisation reduce unnecessary IT spend, simplify security management, and ensure you are only paying for the tools your team actually uses.

Quick Fix Steps

1. Export bank or credit card statements from the last 12 months.
2. Identify recurring software charges and list the vendor, amount, and billing date.
3. Check each tool with your team to confirm who still uses it.
4. Cancel unused subscriptions directly through the vendor’s account portal.
5. Set a calendar reminder to review your SaaS inventory every quarter.

Detailed Instructions

Step 1: Create a subscription inventory

Start by gathering evidence of every active subscription. Review your business bank statements, credit card transactions, and PayPal activity for the past 12 months.

• Look for recurring charges from software vendors.
• Record the vendor name, monthly or annual cost, billing date, and the email address used to sign up.
• Check for annual subscriptions that may not appear on monthly statements.

Store this information in a spreadsheet so you can track it over time. Include columns for Vendor, Cost, Billing Cycle, Renewal Date, Admin Email, and Active Users.

Step 2: Audit usage and identify redundant tools

Once you have your inventory, speak with your team to determine which tools are still essential. Look for:

• Software that no one has logged into for 30 days or more.
• Overlapping tools that perform the same function (for example, two different video conferencing apps or two project management platforms).
• Free trials that converted to paid plans without your team realising.
• Licences assigned to former employees who have left the organisation.

Step 3: Right-size Microsoft 365 subscriptions

Microsoft 365 is one of the most common SaaS expenses for Australian small businesses. To review your licences:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin centre at admin.microsoft.com using your global admin account.
2. In the left-hand navigation, select Users, then choose Active users.
3. Review the list of users and their assigned product licences.
4. Select a user, then choose Manage product licences to remove unused licences or assign a lower-cost plan where appropriate.
5. To view your overall subscription details, select Billing, then choose Your products. From here you can see the number of purchased licences versus assigned licences.
6. If you have unused licences, select the subscription and choose Change quantity or Cancel subscription, depending on your billing agreement.

Step 4: Cancel unused SaaS subscriptions

For each vendor outside of Microsoft 365, log in to the individual account portal:

1. Navigate to the account or billing section. Look for menu items such as Billing, Subscription, Account Settings, or Manage Plan.
2. Locate the active subscription and select Cancel subscription, Turn off auto-renew, or Downgrade plan.
3. Follow the prompts to confirm cancellation. Download or screenshot the confirmation for your records.
4. If the option is not available in the portal, check the vendor’s help centre or reply to your original welcome email to request cancellation.

Step 5: Track renewals and prevent auto-renewal surprises

To avoid being caught by unexpected charges in future:

• Add every renewal date to a shared team calendar with a reminder set 14 days before the charge.
• Use a dedicated business credit card for all software subscriptions so charges are easy to isolate.
• Where possible, switch from annual billing to monthly billing until you are certain a tool is long-term.
• Assign one person in your organisation as the owner of the SaaS inventory.

Troubleshooting

I cannot find the cancel button

Some vendors hide cancellation options under account settings or require you to contact support. Search the vendor’s help centre for “cancel subscription” or look for a Chat or Contact support option in the portal. If you are still unable to cancel, contact your bank to dispute future recurring charges only as a last resort.

I cancelled but was still charged

Check whether you cancelled before the next billing date. Some subscriptions run until the end of the current paid period. If you were charged after cancellation and did not receive a confirmation email, log in to the vendor portal to verify the status. If the portal still shows an active subscription, contact your IT support provider for assistance.

A former employee owns the subscription

If the subscription is under a former employee’s personal email, you may not have admin access. Try password recovery through the linked email, or contact the vendor’s support team with proof of business ownership to request a transfer of billing.

If you host with us, you don't need to do this yourself — just Open a Ticket and our Brisbane team will get it sorted.