How to use Notion to Track and Audit Your Subscriptions

Ongoing subscriptions can really add up over time, so one of the best ways to save money is regularly reviewing what you’re spending your hard-earned money on.

The most obvious subscriptions are SaaS tools, but don’t forget those educational subscriptions, industry memberships, and personal subscriptions.

Why Audit Your Subscriptions?

A subscription audit will help you identify your money leaks like:

• Forgotten free trials that somehow morphed into paid plans (we’ve all been there, right?)
• Impulse purchases that seemed cheap at the time, but are now becoming considerable expenses as the months roll by

But auditing your subscriptions isn’t just about reducing your costs – it’s about getting more intentional and efficient with how you spend.

By regularly reviewing all your subscriptions, you’re not just saving money (though that’s a sweet bonus), you’re ensuring every ongoing payment is actively contributing to your priorities.

This process invites you to reflect on what truly adds value. You might discover that pricey industry membership is your best source of leads, or that coding course subscription has been gathering digital dust since you signed up.

Imagine running a leaner, more joyful operation where every subscription directly contributes to your goals.

So, are you ready to bring more intention to your subscriptions? Your future self (and your accountant) will thank you!

Create your Subscription Audit Tracker with Notion

If you want to start from scratch, this is how we set up our Subscription Audit Tracker:

1. Create a New Page:
   • Open Notion and create a new page. Name it “Subscription Audit Tracker”.
2. Add a Database:
   • Click the ‘+’ button and select ‘Table – Inline’ to add a new database to your page.
3. Set Up Columns: Create the following columns in your table:
   • Subscription Name (Text)
   • Cost (Number)
   • Frequency (Select: Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Six Monthly, Annually)
   • Monthly Cost (Formula)
   • Annual Cost (Formula)
   • Assessment (Select: Essential, A, B, C, Replace, Cancel)
   • Purpose (Text)
   • Notes (Text)
   • Status (Select: To Review, Reviewing, Keep, Cancelled)
4. Create Formulas:
   • Calculate Monthly Cost based on the Cost and Frequency
   • Calculate Annual Cost by multiplying Monthly Cost by 12
5. Create Views: Add views to your database like:
   • Current (Filter out cancelled subscriptions)
   • To Review (Filter for “To Review” status)
   • Status (Group by Status)
   • Prioritised List (Group by Assessment)
6. Add Charts: Create chart views to help you analyse like:
   • Annual Subscription Cost Comparison (Bar chart, sort by Annual Cost)
   • Assessment Monthly Cost Breakdown (Pie chart, group by Assessment)

How to Audit Your Subscriptions

Once you’ve created your Subscription Audit Tracker, you can use it to audit your subscriptions:

1. List ALL Your Subscriptions: Begin by listing all your current subscriptions. Don’t forget to check your bank statements for any you might have overlooked!
2. Enter Cost Details: For each subscription, input the billed amount and select the billing frequency. The template will work out a monthly and annual cost automatically!
3. Assess and Review: Go through each subscription, identifying its purpose, adding notes, and assessing its value to you.
4. Analyze and Optimize: Use charts and summaries to identify areas for potential savings and make informed decisions about your subscriptions.
5. Regular Audits: Set reminders to review your subscriptions periodically to ensure you’re always getting the best value for your money.

Assessing Your Subscriptions

You can use a ranking scale that works best for you, but I like to assess subscriptions according to the following ranks:

1. Essential – these are subscriptions you can’t live/work/do business without. You are absolutely keeping these!
2. A – Valued subscription that you are utilising regularly
3. B – Good subscription but some issues or you’re not utilising regularly
4. C – Okay/Meh subscription – consider replacing or cancelling
5. Replace: You will replace this subscription with something else (e.g. something better or cheaper) – write down your goals for a replacement in the notes.
6. Cancel: You no longer need/want this subscription and will cancel it

Ideas for Further Customisation

Here are some ideas for customising and extending your tracker:

• If you don’t use $ you can change this to another currency (click on the field heading and select Edit Property, you can change this under Number Format)
• Add a Select field to track categories (e.g. SaaS, Education, Entertainment etc) and then create a chart to see how much you spend on each category compared to the others.
• Add more actions to the Status field (e.g. To Cancel, To Replace)
• Add a date field (and a calendar view) to track when each subscription is next due
• Customise the Assessment rankings – e.g. a longer tier list or completely different labels