Ask five leaders in your company who owns your software stack, credit card fees, or even your subscriptions. You’ll get five different answers.
One says finance.
One says IT.
One says “we just renew whatever we’re using.”
Nobody really owns it.
And that’s the problem.
Some of the most expensive costs in business don’t come from bad decisions. They come from no decision at all.
These costs live in the shadows:
SaaS tools approved during COVID that no one canceled
Auto-renewing software no one is using
Payment processing fees no one ever challenged
Marketing platforms paid for by one team, used by another
Utility or waste contracts signed years ago and never touched
This stuff doesn’t show up in headlines. It just drains margin, month after month.
And because it doesn’t belong to one clear department, it becomes a ghost line item. Real spend, no accountability.
Here's what high-performing companies do differently:
Identify these orphaned expenses
Assign ownership (by function or ROI responsibility)
Audit usage and value—then either optimize or cut
Simple. But rarely done.
This isn’t about micromanaging budget lines.
It’s about recognizing that leaks happen where ownership ends.
Want your team to tighten things up?
Start by asking this one question:
Who owns this?
You’d be surprised how many times the answer is “no one.”
💥 Want the easiest way to clean this up?
Just send the tracker and say:
“Hey—someone sent me this. I figured it couldn’t hurt to double-check what we’re actually using. No rush, just curious if we still need everything on here.”
And if you really want to avoid stepping on toes…
Blame it on me.
“This was from a newsletter I follow—guy’s kind of a pain but he’s good at catching stuff we miss.”
Use me as the excuse.
That’s what this newsletter is for.
Subscribe to get more practical breakdowns like this because sometimes the biggest savings are hiding in plain sight.
