SubHound Onboarding Audit

Time needed: 20-60 minutes
What you'll need:

• 📧 Email inbox open (Gmail, Outlook, etc.)
• 💳 Bank statement or banking app
• 📱 Phone nearby (for app store subscriptions)
• 💼 Accounting software (if you use Xero, QuickBooks, etc.)

How This Works

We're going to walk through 10 categories of recurring payments. Each section has specific questions to help you remember what you're paying for.

This guide is comprehensive, but not exhaustive. Your business is unique - you might have industry-specific tools, unusual payment structures, or use SubHound differently than we've outlined here.

Skip any section that doesn't apply to you. This is about building YOUR complete dashboard, not filling out every question.

By the end, you'll have a dashboard that shows every recurring payment in one place.

Let's begin. Click that big green Add Recurring Payment button.

Category 1: Software & SaaS

Most businesses have 10-30 software subscriptions. This is usually the biggest waste area.

Open your SubHound dashboard and add any of these you're paying for:

Accounting & Finance

• Do you use accounting software? (Xero, QuickBooks)
• Expense tracking or Invoicing tools?
• Payroll software? (Xero Payroll, Sage, BrightPay)

Project Management & Productivity

• Project management? (Asana, Monday, Trello, Notion, ClickUp, Basecamp)
• Time tracking? (Toggl)
• Note-taking? (Notion, Evernote)
• To-do lists? (Todoist)

Communication & Collaboration

• Team chat? (Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord)
• Video calls? (Zoom Pro, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams)
• Email service? (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Fastmail)

File Storage & Backup

• Cloud storage? (Dropbox, Google Workspace, OneDrive, iCloud)
• Backup service?

Design & Creative

• Adobe Creative Cloud? (Photography, Single App, All Apps)
• Canva Pro?
• Figma? (Professional, Organisation)
• Stock photos/videos? (Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, pond5)
• Font subscriptions? (Adobe Fonts, MyFonts)

Marketing & Sales

• CRM? (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive)
• Email marketing? (Mailchimp, ConvertKit)
• Social media tools? (Buffer, Later, Hootsuite)
• Landing page builders? (Unbounce, Leadpages)
• SEO tools? (Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz)
• Marketing automation? (HubSpot)

Website & Hosting

• Website builder? (Squarespace, Wix, Webflow)
• WordPress hosting? (WP Engine, Kinsta, SiteGround)
• Domain registrations? (GoDaddy, Namecheap, 123-Reg)
• SSL certificates?
• CDN? (Cloudflare Pro)

Analytics & Monitoring

• Website analytics? (Google Analytics 360, Mixpanel, Hotjar)
• Form builders? (Typeform, Google Forms)
• Survey tools? (SurveyMonkey)

Security & Utilities

• Password manager? (1Password, LastPass)
• VPN? (NordVPN, ExpressVPN)
• Antivirus? (Norton, McAfee, Bitdefender)

Category 2: Infrastructure & Cloud

Skip this if you're not running technical infrastructure

If you're running apps, websites, or tech services:

Cloud Hosting & Computing

• Cloud servers? (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, DigitalOcean)
• Serverless platforms? (Vercel, Netlify)
• Database hosting? (MongoDB Atlas, Supabase)

APIs & Services

• Email API? (SendGrid, Mailgun)
• SMS/WhatsApp API? (Twilio)
• Payment processing? (Stripe, PayPal)
• Maps API? (Google Maps)

Monitoring & DevOps

• Application monitoring? (Datadog)
• Uptime monitoring? (Pingdom, UptimeRobot)
• CI/CD? (CircleCI, GitHub Actions)
• Error tracking? (Sentry, Rollbar)

Category 3: Workspace & Operations

Physical space and operational costs

Office & Space

• Office rent?
• Coworking membership? (WeWork, Regus, The Office Group, Second Home)
• Storage unit?
• Parking space?

Utilities

• Electricity?
• Gas?
• Water?
• Internet / phone line?
• Mobile phone contracts? (Business mobiles)

Services

• Cleaning service?
• Waste collection / recycling?
• Security / alarm monitoring?
• Mail forwarding service?
• Courier accounts? (DHL, UPS, DPD)

Category 4: Insurance & Compliance

Legal requirements and protection

Business Insurance

• General business insurance?
• Public liability insurance?
• Professional indemnity insurance?
• Employer's liability? (if you have staff)
• Equipment / stock insurance?
• Cyber insurance?

Personal Insurance (if paid by business)

• Health insurance?
• Life insurance?
• Income protection?

Compliance & Certifications

• Industry certifications? (ISO, accreditations)
• Health & safety audits?
• Food hygiene certificates? (hospitality)
• Gas safety certificates? (landlords)
• Electrical safety inspections?

Category 5: Equipment & Services

Physical equipment and maintenance

Equipment Leasing

• Photocopier / printer lease?
• Coffee machine? (hospitality)
• POS system? (retail/hospitality)
• Kitchen equipment? (restaurants/cafes)

Vehicles

• Company car lease?
• Van lease?
• Car insurance?
• Road tax?
• Servicing contracts?

Maintenance Contracts

• Equipment maintenance? (coffee machines, printers, etc.)
• Boiler servicing? (landlords, offices)
• Fire safety equipment?
• Alarm system monitoring?

Licenses & Subscriptions

• Software licenses? (Microsoft Office, Adobe)
• Windows licenses?
• Screen recording / video tools? (Loom)
• Music licensing? (PRS/PPL for retail/hospitality)
• Industry-specific software with annual licensing?
• TV license? (if displayed in premises)
• License renewals? (Alcohol license, food hygiene, etc.)

Category 6: Marketing & Advertising

Paid promotion and advertising

Digital Advertising

• Google Ads?
• Facebook / Instagram Ads?
• LinkedIn Ads?
• Twitter / X Ads?
• TikTok Ads?

Tools & Platforms

• Review management? (Trustpilot, Feefo)
• Reputation monitoring? (Brand24)
• Advertising software? (AdRoll)

Category 7: Staff & Payroll

Skip if you're solo

HR

• Pension provider? (NEST)
• HR software? (BambooHR)
• Staff scheduling? (Rotaready)
• Benefits platform? (Perkbox)

Training & Development

• Learning platforms? (LinkedIn Learning, Udemy Business)
• Professional memberships? (for staff)

Category 8: Banking & Finance

Financial services and costs

Professional Services

• Business bank account monthly fee?
• Card payment processing fees? (Stripe, Square)
• Accountant retainer?
• Bookkeeper retainer?
• Legal retainer?
• Business advisor / coach?

Financing

• Loan repayments?
• Invoice financing? (MarketFinance)

Category 9: Important Dates & Reminders

SubHound isn't just for payments - set £0 reminders for any recurring date you can't afford to miss.

Tax & Compliance Deadlines

• VAT return deadline? (Quarterly - set a reminders each quarter)
• Self-assessment tax deadline? (31 January annually)
• Corporation tax deadline? (9 months after year-end)
• Companies House annual confirmation statement?
• HMRC PAYE deadlines? (if you have staff)

Property & Maintenance (Landlords/Business Premises)

• Boiler service? (Annual - legally required for landlords)
• Gas safety certificate? (Annual)
• Fire alarm testing?
• PAT testing? (Portable appliance testing)

Client Renewals & Contract Dates

• Client contract renewal dates?
• Retainer review dates?

Category 10: Personal & Home

SubHound is built for business, but UK freelancers and directors often have personal subscriptions on business cards or want to track everything in one place. Add these if relevant to you.

Entertainment

• Netflix?
• Spotify / Apple Music?
• Amazon Prime?
• Disney+ / Apple TV+?
• YouTube Premium?
• Audible?
• Kindle Unlimited?
• News subscriptions? (Financial Times, The Times)

Home & Utilities

• Home electricity?
• Home gas?
• Home internet?
• Council tax?
• Water?
• Contents insurance?
• Home insurance?

Health & Fitness

• Gym membership?
• Fitness apps? (Strava, MyFitnessPal)
• Meal kit subscriptions? (HelloFresh, Gousto)
• Health insurance?

Personal Services

• Cloud storage? (iCloud, Google One)
• Phone contract?
• Car insurance?
• Breakdown cover? (AA, RAC)
• MOT reminder?
• Service due date?

The Hidden Ones

These often slip through - check carefully

Check Your Phone

iPhone: Settings > [Your Name] > Subscriptions
Android: Google Play Store > Profile > Payments & subscriptions

Look for:

• App subscriptions you forgot about
• Free trials that converted to paid
• Apps you no longer use

Check Your Email Inbox

Search for these terms in your email:

• "subscription"
• "renews on"
• "payment confirmation"
• "invoice"
• "billing"

Add anything you missed.

Check Your Bank Statement

Scroll through the last 60 days. Look for:

• Direct debits you didn't remember
• Standing orders
• Recurring card payments

Post-Migration Waste

• Did you switch accounting software but still paying for the old one?
• Did you switch project management tools?
• Old hosting you migrated away from?
• Old email service?

Client-Specific Tools

• Tools you bought for a specific client who's no longer with you?
• Software licenses tied to old projects?

Your Dashboard Is Complete

Take a look at your SubHound dashboard. You now have a single view of every recurring payment.

What you should see:

• Total monthly spend
• Total yearly spend
• List of all payments with renewal dates

Flag Your Watchlist

Use the Flag feature for:

• Free trials you're testing
• Annual renewals you might want to cancel
• Anything you want to keep an eye on

Set Your First Alert

Now let's make sure you never miss a renewal.

Choose your biggest recurring cost (usually rent, insurance, or major software like Adobe, AWS).

To Set an Alert:

1. Click on the Bell icon on the selected payment in your dashboard
2. Choose how many days before renewal you want the alert (we recommend 7-14 days for monthly, 30 days for annual)
3. Select your alert channels with a toggle:
   • 🔕 Quiet: Calendar only
   • 🔔 Medium: Email + Calendar
   • 📢 Loud: WhatsApp + SMS + Email + Calendar

For big costs (£500+/year), use Loud alerts. These are designed to be unmissable.

Set 2-3 alerts now for your most important payments, or anything you want to Keep, Cut or Challenge.

Pro Tip: Managing Multiple Licenses

If you have multiple licenses of the same service (e.g., two Adobe accounts, three Zoom licenses), you can distinguish them using:

Option 1: Add a hyphen and name

• Adobe - Matt
• Adobe - Dan
• Zoom Pro - Sales Team
• Zoom Pro - Design Team

Option 2: Use tags

• Add "Matt" tag to your Adobe license
• Add "Dan" tag to the other Adobe license
• Filter by team member when needed

This is especially useful for:

• Agencies with multiple team licenses
• Businesses with department-specific subscriptions
• Managing licenses for different clients or projects

Know Your Dashboard: The Five-Minute Tour

Everything you just added lives in one clean view: your total monthly and annual spend at the top, and a timeline of what is coming up next. This is your command centre, accessible from any browser. Three features do the heavy lifting:

Adding payments. Adding a payment is fast. Start typing a service name like "Netflix" or "Spotify" and SubHound suggests matches, pre-filling the logo and common details. You just add your amount and next payment date. For anything with a receipt or invoice, Smart Import can pull the details straight from the document.

Flagging. Flags are your watchlist. Click the flag icon on any payment to highlight it: a free trial you are testing, a service on thin ice, an annual renewal you need to research. One glance at the flagged view tells you what needs a decision.

Alerts. Alerts are the point. A payment logged without an alert is still a risk. On any payment, choose when you want to be told (7 to 14 days before for monthly, 30 days for annual renewals) and how: email, SMS, WhatsApp, or straight into your calendar. To unlock SMS and WhatsApp, verify your phone number once in Account Settings.

The Process: Log, Alert, Decide

The subscription economy runs on a flawed process: Sign Up, Forget, Get Billed, Feel Regret. The action only happens after your money is gone. SubHound replaces it with a proactive one:

Log. You dedicate a small amount of time once to log every recurring payment. You just did. Each time you pick up a new one, add it immediately.

Alert. SubHound does the remembering. At your chosen time, an alert arrives on your chosen channel, giving you a window to act.

Decide. The alert is not just information, it is a prompt for a decision. And every decision comes down to three options:

Keep, the service still earns its money, so a passive debit becomes a conscious choice.

Cut, or you cancel before you are charged, saving real money.

Challenge: insurance renewing, broadband contract ending? Time to shop around or renegotiate. That turns you from a passive bill-payer into your own financial advocate.

What's Next

You've done the hard work. Your SubHound dashboard is your new command centre.

Build the Habit

From now on, when you sign up for a new service:

1. Take 10 seconds to add it to SubHound
2. Set an alert
3. Done

When you cancel something:

1. Click "Archive" in SubHound
2. It's removed from your dashboard but kept in history

You're In Control

You no longer have to hold all of this in your head. SubHound remembers, so you don't have to.

Every renewal date. Every alert. One dashboard.

Welcome to SubHound.