1. Determine the financial goals of your business:
The first step to creating a budget control and approval protocol for SaaS purchases is to identify the company’s critical financial objectives. These goals may include reducing costs, optimizing spending, and maintaining or improving profitability.
2. Determine the SaaS budget:
Once the financial goals are identified, determine how much of the budget can be allocated to SaaS purchases. This amount should be calculated based on the business’s overall financial objectives.
3. Create a list of approved SaaS applications:
Establish a list of pre-approved SaaS applications for your business. Only the ones that meet your company’s needs, and that will deliver optimal results should be on this list.
4. Establish the approval process:
Define who will be responsible for approving SaaS purchases and how these purchases will be authorized. Establish the level of approval required for different categories of SaaS purchases, such as those that exceed a specific amount or ones that were not on the pre-approved list.
5. Identify the information required for each purchase:
Set guidelines on the information required to make an informed purchase decision. This information may include the vendor’s name, the costs involved, the subscription length, expected ROI, and other key details that will help evaluate the purchase decision.
6. Set up a process for purchase reviews and renewals:
Regular reviews of SaaS purchase decisions should be carried out to ensure that they align with the company’s goals. Establish a process for reviewing purchase decisions and identifying alternatives to vendors that do not perform as expected.
7. Monitor and analyze purchase data:
Monitor, analyze, and track all SaaS spend over time, identifying any areas for potential cost savings. This analysis can assist in determining which SaaS vendors deliver the most cost-effective services for the business.
Why SaaS budgeting is beneficial for your organization
SaaS budgeting is beneficial because without a systematic approach your company could be overpaying for your software-as-a-service subscriptions by about 33%.
Want Help Managing Your SaaS Budget and Approvals?
SaaSrooms helps finance and procurement to save up to 40% on SaaS subscriptions and cloud services. Our cloud based platform and expert services give users a single view of all of their SaaS products and services including vendors, products, pricing, contracts, users and even utilisation. SaaSrooms clever data analysis capability uncovers more opportunities to save money, reduce risk and improve service levels. Clients can save up to 40% on their SaaS and cloud service spend and lock in savings with virtual purchase cards.
SaaSrooms also provides alerts and reminders for contract renewals and provides our expert negotiators to achieve great savings with all major software, SaaS and cloud service vendors. Additionally, SaaSrooms has a marketplace of pre-approved vendors and pre-negotiated deals – so your employees can access and buy from trusted vendors at great prices.
If you are interested in finding out more about how we help our clients control their SaaS budgets and approvals take a look at our Case Studies Page, or you can reach out to us directly and book a free 30 minute call.
