Start with the free checklist and working files
Use the free online AI Renewal Checklist for a procedural first pass without signing up. Keep your inventory and decisions in your own records. All files below are also listed on the free review templates page. The file links open a $0 checkout with your email, country and ZIP/postal code to request email delivery.
Use the checklist to work through the review, the calendar to plan decisions and the decision record to document what happens next. Download the Excel file if you prefer to maintain your records in a workbook.
1. Agree on the scope and the review owner
Choose one person to coordinate the review and ask each team to identify the AI tools it pays for. Include stand-alone subscriptions, AI add-ons inside other software and usage-based services. Cover charges paid centrally and tools purchased through employee expenses.
Start with invoices, account records, approved expense records and the people who use the tools. Review a period long enough to include annual renewals. Use the information your firm is authorized to access; you do not need client content, prompts or passwords in the inventory.
2. Build one inventory
Create one record for each subscription or separately billed service. The free AI tool inventory template guide shows the actual workbook fields and how to use them. Where two teams share a plan, record that arrangement so the same charge is not counted twice.
| Record | What to check |
|---|---|
| Tool, plan and purpose | What the firm buys, which team uses it and the work it supports. |
| Owner | The person accountable for the renewal decision and the person authorized to change the account. |
| Cost and billing basis | Currency, amount, billing cycle, paid seats and any usage-based charges. Keep estimates separate from confirmed charges. |
| Evidence of use | The period reviewed, the evidence available and any information still missing. |
| Renewal terms | Renewal date, contractual notice period, required notice method and any commitment already made. |
| Decision and next action | Keep, Resize, Test or Retire, with a reason, owner and due date. |
If a fact is unknown, label it as unknown and assign someone to confirm it. An empty cost field is not a zero-cost subscription.
3. Review use and fit
Ask the tool owner what work the subscription supports, who uses it and which other tools perform similar work. Review paid seats against actual use over a stated period. A quiet month can have a different meaning for a seasonal team than for a team with steady demand.
For usage-based tools, check the billing terms, recent charges and any limit the account administrator has actually configured. Record whether the figure is a hard spending cap, an alert or a planning budget. Treat those as different controls. Use the seat versus usage pricing guide to separate fixed commitments, included credits and metered charges. For a specific vendor example, read the Copilot Business usage-billing review.
For accounting, legal, consulting and advisory work, include the team responsible for any client, confidentiality or workflow requirements before changing a tool.
4. Record one decision
- Keep
- Continue the current arrangement with a stated reason and a next review date.
- Resize
- Change the plan, seats, usage limit or commercial terms. Record the proposed change and confirm it with the vendor or account administrator.
- Test
- Run a bounded evaluation with a named owner, a spending limit, success criteria and an end date.
- Retire
- End the subscription when the firm is ready. Plan any data export, workflow transition and required cancellation notice.
Use the decision record guide to turn the choice into a documented action. A decision is complete when its owner, evidence and next step are clear.
5. Work backwards from the notice deadline
The renewal date is not always the last date to act. Read the vendor's actual terms and allow time for the firm's review before notice is due.
For notice periods stated in calendar days: decision deadline = renewal date − contractual notice days − chosen buffer days.
Put that deadline into the calendar your team already uses. Assign the owner and include a link to the supporting record. The renewal calendar guide explains how to handle the dates.
6. Close the action and keep the record current
After an approved change, record the confirmation, effective date and actual billing outcome. Revisit the inventory when a tool is purchased, a team changes or a renewal approaches. Choose a regular review cadence that reaches your earliest notice deadlines.
Keep the working files in a location your firm controls, with access limited to the people who need them. Your team completes any changes in the vendor accounts; the templates support your own recordkeeping.
Choose your next review step
Do you have a list of every paid AI tool?
Do you know each tool's renewal date?
Do you know who owns each tool?
Have you checked usage evidence in the last 90 days?
Is there a recorded decision for each tool?
Count your yes answers. With 0 to 2, start with the checklist, then the inventory template. With 3 or 4, complete the inventory and checklist. With all 5, use the decision record and schedule the next quarterly review. This is a routing aid, not a quality score.
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Questions about the review
Does the checklist find subscriptions automatically?
No. The free online checklist contains eight procedural checkboxes. It does not connect to accounts, build an inventory or analyze usage. Bring your own invoices, agreements and evidence of use.
How much billing history should we review?
Use a period that captures a full billing cycle, normally 12 months, and reconcile it with active agreements and current vendor records. A three-month statement sample can miss an annual charge.
Is a written spending budget the same as a vendor limit?
No. A written budget records an internal decision. A vendor setting may enforce a limit, send an alert or cover only particular services. Ask the account administrator to confirm what is configured and record the evidence.
Give the review a working home
The AccruePilot AI Spend Control System brings together a local browser Control Center, an Excel workbook and a field guide for ongoing AI spend reviews.
Keep the four review choices, approver and contractual notice deadline in your own records or the free companion templates. These are review-method fields, not dedicated fields in the paid Control Center or workbook.
US$59, one-time. Internal use by one purchasing U.S. organization. Resale, redistribution or repeatable client-service delivery requires a separate written commercial license. Built for U.S. professional service firms with 10 to 250 employees.
Explore the AI Spend Control System
Choosing how to maintain the review? Compare a manual spreadsheet, AccruePilot and automated SaaS management against your team's actual requirements.