The Tool-Sprawl Audit

New AI subscriptions are easy to start and easy to forget. This worksheet lists every one in a single view, so you can see what you actually use, what overlaps, and what to cut.

How to use this: Pull your last few card and bank statements and list every AI or automation tool you pay for. Fill one row per tool. Be honest about active users and whether another tool already does the same job. Then make a call in the last column. Print it and share it with whoever owns the budget.

Tool Name of the subscription.	Monthly / annual cost What you pay, per month and per year.	Owner Whose budget and decision it is.	Active users People who actually used it in the last 30 days.	Manual step it replaces The work it takes off someone’s plate.	Last verified result When someone last confirmed it still delivers.	Data it can access What it can see. Customer data, email, files.	Export or exit path How you get your data out if you leave.	Duplicate capability Another tool that already does this.	Decision Keep, consolidate, replace, cancel.
Tool, row 1	Monthly / annual cost, row 1	Owner, row 1	Active users, row 1	Manual step it replaces, row 1	Last verified result, row 1	Data it can access, row 1	Export or exit path, row 1	Duplicate capability, row 1	Decision, row 1
Tool, row 2	Monthly / annual cost, row 2	Owner, row 2	Active users, row 2	Manual step it replaces, row 2	Last verified result, row 2	Data it can access, row 2	Export or exit path, row 2	Duplicate capability, row 2	Decision, row 2
Tool, row 3	Monthly / annual cost, row 3	Owner, row 3	Active users, row 3	Manual step it replaces, row 3	Last verified result, row 3	Data it can access, row 3	Export or exit path, row 3	Duplicate capability, row 3	Decision, row 3
Tool, row 4	Monthly / annual cost, row 4	Owner, row 4	Active users, row 4	Manual step it replaces, row 4	Last verified result, row 4	Data it can access, row 4	Export or exit path, row 4	Duplicate capability, row 4	Decision, row 4
Tool, row 5	Monthly / annual cost, row 5	Owner, row 5	Active users, row 5	Manual step it replaces, row 5	Last verified result, row 5	Data it can access, row 5	Export or exit path, row 5	Duplicate capability, row 5	Decision, row 5
Tool, row 6	Monthly / annual cost, row 6	Owner, row 6	Active users, row 6	Manual step it replaces, row 6	Last verified result, row 6	Data it can access, row 6	Export or exit path, row 6	Duplicate capability, row 6	Decision, row 6

Scroll the table sideways to reach every column. On a phone, the print version fits the page better.

The three columns that decide it

Active users, duplicate capability, and last verified result do most of the work. A tool with two active users, a cheaper duplicate already in the stack, and no verified result in six months is a cancel, not a debate. A tool three people depend on every day with no real alternative is a keep. Most of the list sits in between, and that is where consolidation lives.

Watch the export column too. A tool you cannot leave is not a subscription, it is a dependency. Know the exit path before you renew.

Deciding on one tool at a time

This audit tells you which tools deserve a second look. To judge any one of them on the merits, run it through the 3-Question Vendor Test. Three questions that separate a tool built for production from one built for the demo.

Open the 3-Question Vendor Test →

The Tool-Sprawl Audit

The three columns that decide it

Deciding on one tool at a time

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