How to Do a Tech Audit in 30 Minutes (Free Checklist)

In our last post, we talked about why most small businesses are wasting money on tech. One of the fastest fixes we recommended was a tech audit — a simple review of every tool you’re paying for and whether it’s earning its keep. A lot of people responded, asking: “How do I actually do that?” So, here’s your step-by-step guide, plus a free checklist you can use today.

You don’t need a consultant or a full day off. You need 30 minutes, a spreadsheet, and this guide.

The 30-minute tech audit

0–5 min Pull your subscriptions

Check your bank or credit card statements for the last 3 months. Look for recurring charges monthly or annually. Write down every single one, even the small ones. Especially the small ones.

Pro tip

Search your email inbox for “receipt,” “invoice,” and “subscription” to catch tools you may have forgotten about. You’ll almost always find at least one surprise.

5–15 min Rate each tool honestly

For every tool on your list, ask three questions: Does my team use this at least once a week? Does it do something no other tool does? Would we notice it disappeared tomorrow? If the answer to any two is “no,” it’s a candidate for the cut.

15–25 min Look for overlap

Group your tools by what they do: communication, storage, project management, design, accounting, etc. If you have more than one tool in any category, ask why. In most cases, one of them can go.

Common overlaps we see

Slack + Teams + WhatsApp for the same team. Google Drive + Dropbox + OneDrive all running at once. Trello + Asana + a shared Google Sheet as a task list. Each of these is money out the door every month.

25–30 min Make your cut list

Write down what you’re canceling, what you’re consolidating, and what you’re keeping. Before canceling a tool, check who depends on it, where its data lives, and whether contracts or security requirements apply. Plan any data export or replacement first.

Your free tech audit checklist

Work through each item below. Check off each one as you complete it.

• Pull last 3 months of bank/card statements
• Search inbox for “receipt,” “invoice,” “subscription”
• List every recurring tech charge (name + monthly cost)
• Rate each tool: used weekly? unique function? would be missed?
• Flag any tool scoring 0–1 out of 3 for removal
• Group tools by category (comms, storage, project mgmt., etc.)
• Identify any category with 2+ tools doing the same job
• Check if any “free” tools have hidden paid tiers you’re on
• Review annual subscriptions renewing in the next 90 days
• Check your website: fast, mobile-friendly, and up to date?
• Confirm basic cybersecurity is in place (antivirus, backups, 2FA)
• Write your final cut list: cancel, consolidate, or keep

What to do with your results

Once you’ve completed your audit, you’ll likely fall into one of three buckets:

1–3 cuts Light cleanup

You’re reasonably lean. Cancel what you found and set a reminder to audit again in 6 months. Small wins still add up; even $50/month saved is $600 a year.

4–7 cuts Real bloat

You’ve been paying for things you don’t need. Cancel, consolidate, and consider whether your remaining tools are properly set up. Unused features often mean underused potential.

8+ cuts Time to rebuild

Your tech stack has grown by accident, not design. This is exactly when it helps to bring in a partner who can help you build something that actually works together from the ground up.