Workflow Automation
AI subscriptions spread the same way other software does: one person signs up, then another signs up for a similar tool, and a year later the business pays for three assistants that do the same job. A short quarterly review keeps the list, the cost and your AI rules in step.
Pull the real list
Search the business card and bank statements for the last three months for software charges, then mark the AI tools. Add the AI features you pay for inside larger plans. Compare the list with your AI tool register; anything missing from the register is a tool nobody approved.
Ask three questions per tool
Who used it this quarter? What would we lose if we cancelled it? Does another tool we already pay for do the same job? A tool with no clear answer to the first question is the first one to cancel.
Keep cost and rules together
When you cancel or add a tool, update the register and the usage policy the same day. A cancelled tool that stays on the approved list confuses staff; a new tool that never makes the list is how unapproved AI use starts.
Do it this quarter
Add up what your software costs per year with the free software stack calculator, then put a 30-minute review on the calendar for the first week of each quarter.
Put this to work today
- SOP documentation cost calculator →
Estimate what writing and keeping your SOPs current costs, in your browser.
- SOP Starter System ($39) →
Find which processes to document first, write each one on a single page, and start from five sample SOPs written for a real small business.