A fintech founder came to me paying $680/month in SaaS tools. After a 30-minute audit, we cut it to $340. Here's the exact process I used and what we found.
The Audit Process
Step 1: list every tool and its monthly cost. Step 2: for each tool, ask "what specific job does this do?" Step 3: check if another tool you already pay for does the same job. Step 4: check if a free tier covers your actual usage. Most founders are shocked by step 3.
What We Found
Zapier at $50/month replaced with Supabase Edge Functions and a simple cron job. Two separate AI subscriptions ($80/month combined) consolidated to one with a shared API key. Airtable at $20/month replaced with a Supabase table and a simple admin view. Loom at $15/month replaced with Loom's free tier (they only recorded 3 videos in 6 months).
The Tools Worth Keeping
Notion ($16/month) irreplaceable for docs and planning. Figma ($15/month) still needed for design work. These stayed. The rule: if removing it would slow you down by more than 2 hours per week, keep it.
Want a lean, efficient SaaS stack? Let's talk.
