The Stack Audit — What You Get Out of It

DD Pim van den Boomen • 20 June 2026 •5 min

Pillar 04 // Voice

stack-audit.md

$ ls -la /subscriptions --sort=cost

The Stack Audit — what you get in return

A 30-minute conversation, it costs you nothing, and afterward there's a report: every tool you pay for, what it costs, how often it's used and what the alternative is. The report is yours, even if you do nothing with it or have someone else carry it out. And sometimes the outcome is that you're better off doing nothing — then you've spent half an hour on a clear no. That's covered below too.

DD DataDrift Digital • June 20, 2026 • 6 min

Most companies know their rent to within ten euros, and don't know their software costs to within three hundred euros. That's not carelessness — it's the sum of fifty small automatic payments nobody has ever laid side by side.

A stack audit lays them side by side. Nothing more. Below is what that concretely gets you, and when you shouldn't do it.

01 / what you getWhat's on the table after that conversation?

Three things, in one document.

01Every tool mapped out. Including the subscriptions nobody cancels anymore because nobody remembers what they were for.

02Cost and usage per tool. What it costs alongside how often it's actually used. That second part is where the surprises are.

03Alternatives with a savings calculation. Per tool: what it replaces, what that saves, and what the work of switching costs.

That second line does most of the work. What something costs can be looked up; how often it's used can't. That's where the difference between a subscription and a habit lives.

02 / what we found on ourselvesDoes this work on us too?

We did it on ourselves first. That seemed like the minimum requirement.

WAS~€829 per month in fixed costs. Measured, not estimated.

BECOMES~€510 per month after all steps. Calculated from the alternatives.

DELTA~€319 per month, or roughly €3,828 per year.

Two things that go with that, which you rarely hear from a salesperson.

That migration is decided, not executed. Part of it is already running, part isn't. The €510 is therefore a calculated end state, not a bank statement.

The biggest saving was in a single line. One package of €297 per month of which we used four components. That's the pattern we see almost everywhere: not fifty small leaks, but one big subscription of which you use a quarter.

03 / what it isn'tIs this a sales pitch with an invoice?

No, and that's verifiable by one thing: what happens to the report.

The report is yours. You can take it, forward it, or hand it to another party to carry out. There's no clause saying we have to do the migration, and no price listed that only applies if you stay with us.

That's not generosity but self-interest: an audit that steers toward our own services isn't an audit, it's a quote with charts. Then it's worth nothing, not even to us.

Don't like it? Then you have the report.

Concretely, that also means: if the conclusion is that you're fine as you are, it just says so. That's an outcome we make nothing from, and it happens.

04 / when it's not worth itWho is this wasted effort for?

For more companies than suits us. Three situations.

Your fixed software costs are under about €200 per month. Then there's so little to gain that the work of switching isn't worth it. Do the math yourself: add up your subscriptions, multiply by twelve, and see whether a third of that is worth a move.
You've already laid everything out once. If you know what you pay and why, we have nothing to add. Then the next conversation is about automating, not saving.
You're in the middle of a move or acquisition. Then the stack is going to change anyway, and you'd be measuring a snapshot that won't hold next month.

If you don't want to dwell on this, the simplest test is this: do you know off the top of your head what you pay per month for software? If you can name it within a hundred euros, do it yourself. If you're off by more than three hundred euros, there's probably something to gain.

05 / the termsWhat does it ask, and what can you do with it?

Short, so nothing needs to be in the fine print.

PRICENothing. The conversation and the report are free. No subscription, no follow-up obligation.

DURATION30 minutes looking together, then the report.

YOUWhat we need from you: access to your invoices and half an hour to go over what you use for what. Nothing more.

FREEThe report is yours — take it, forward it, have it carried out elsewhere. No conditions.

And if, after reading block 4, you think it's not worth it for you: say so at the intake. Then we'll confirm that and sell you nothing. That costs us thirty minutes, and it's the cheapest way to know you're fine as you are.

Frequently asked questions

What does a Stack Audit cost?+

Nothing. It's a 30-minute conversation in which we look at the software you run, followed by a short report. No subscription attached and no follow-up obligation. What we need from you is access to your invoices and half an hour to go over what you use for what.

What's on the table after that conversation?+

One document with three things: every tool mapped out, cost and usage per tool, and alternatives with a savings calculation. Plus advice in one word: small bottleneck, medium, large — or nothing wrong.

Do I have to have you carry out the migration afterward?+

No. The report is yours: take it, forward it, or have another party carry it out. There's no clause assigning us the follow-up. That's not generosity but self-interest — an audit that steers toward our own services is a quote with charts, and that's worth nothing.

When isn't such an audit worth it?+

If your fixed software costs are under about €200 per month, because then the maximum saving is smaller than the audit itself. If you've already laid everything out once. And if you're in the middle of a move or acquisition, because then you'd be measuring something that won't hold next month. In all three cases, we just say so.

Have you done this on yourselves?+

Yes, first. Our fixed costs were ~€829 per month and come out to ~€510 after all steps, so about €319 per month or €3,828 per year. That migration is decided and partly executed, not finished. The biggest saving was in a single €297 package of which we used four components — and that's the pattern we see almost everywhere.

30 minutes, free, no sales pitch

Want to know first whether this is worth it for you?

Plan a conversation

We'll look at where your time is leaking away and tell you honestly whether we can do something about it. Often the answer is: you can do this yourself. Then we'll say so, and you'll have spent thirty minutes on a clear answer.

→ Plan a conversation (30 min)

This text was produced with AI assistance and checked and approved for publication by a human.