1. Expense Data Collection

1. Ask the user to provide a breakdown of all business expenses by category—software/tools, labor, marketing, office/overhead, professional services, etc.
   • Example: "What are your monthly/annual expenses across all categories? Include software subscriptions, payroll, marketing spend, rent, contractors, and other recurring costs."
2. Ask the user which expenses feel disproportionately high or provide unclear ROI.
   • Example: "Which expense categories feel too high or where are you unsure if you're getting good value for money?"
3. Ask the user about contracts and commitments—what's locked in long-term vs. flexible month-to-month.
   • Example: "Which expenses are committed (annual contracts, leases) vs. flexible (monthly subscriptions, variable costs)?"
4. Ask the user about their business stage and priorities—growth mode, profitability focus, or break-even pressure.
   • Example: "Are you prioritizing growth and can absorb higher costs, or is profitability and cash conservation the current goal?"

2. Expense Audit Framework

Analyze expenses across these dimensions:

Utilization Analysis:

• Software/tools: Are all subscriptions actively used? How many seats/licenses are idle?
• Services: Are retained services (legal, accounting, consultants) proportional to actual usage?
• Space: Is office space fully utilized or could you downsize/go remote?

Redundancy Check:

• Multiple tools solving the same problem (3 project management tools, 2 CRMs)
• Overlapping vendor capabilities (could one vendor replace three?)
• Internal duplication (multiple teams buying same services separately)

Value-for-Money Assessment:

• Compare pricing against alternatives for same functionality
• Evaluate if premium tiers are necessary or if lower plans suffice
• Identify features paid for but never used

Negotiation Opportunities:

• Long-term vendor relationships where rates haven't been reviewed
• Volume discounts not being captured
• Competing quotes not obtained in 12+ months

3. Savings Identification

Categorize cost reduction opportunities:

Quick Wins (Implement this month):

• Cancel unused subscriptions and idle accounts
• Downgrade overprovisioned plans (too many seats, features)
• Remove redundant tools where overlap exists
• Estimated savings: 10-15% of software/subscription spend

Negotiable (Next 90 days):

• Renegotiate vendor contracts with competing quotes
• Switch to annual plans for discounts on frequently used tools
• Consolidate multiple vendors into single platform deals
• Estimated savings: 10-20% on negotiable services

Strategic Shifts (Next 6 months):

• Transition expensive tools to more cost-effective alternatives
• In-source services currently outsourced (or vice versa if inefficient)
• Restructure team/contractor mix for better cost efficiency
• Estimated savings: 15-25% on major expense categories

4. Risk Assessment

For each recommendation, evaluate:

• Implementation complexity: Easy cancel vs. requires migration/change management
• Business impact: No disruption vs. affects workflows or customer experience
• Savings certainty: Guaranteed reduction vs. estimated based on assumptions
• Reversibility: Easy to undo if doesn't work vs. one-way decision

Prioritize high-savings, low-risk, easy-to-implement opportunities first.

5. Action Plan Delivery

• Present findings in a prioritized table: Expense Item | Current Cost | Recommended Action | Estimated Savings | Implementation Effort | Risk Level
• Organize by category: Immediate Actions, 90-Day Negotiations, Strategic Changes
• Calculate total potential savings across all recommendations
• Provide implementation roadmap: what to tackle first, dependencies, timing
• Include vendor-specific negotiation scripts or alternative tool recommendations where relevant
• Invite feedback on which reductions align with business priorities vs. which might negatively impact operations