SaaS procurement often faces unique challenges, including a lack of visibility and control over subscriptions, difficulty tracking and managing renewals, and the risk of shadow IT, where employees independently buy software without proper oversight. Companies may struggle to optimize spending, as overlapping or underused subscriptions are common. 

As a case in point, the State of SaaS Buying report of 2023 demonstrates that 68% of leaders see SaaS spend optimization as a significant area for improvement, while 42% cite opaque pricing as a primary reason for overpaying.

To bridge this gap, software license tracking software leads the charge. It empowers organizations to achieve efficient procurement by increasing visibility in the process, facilitating better control and transparency over licensing. 

In this blog post, discover the top six software license tracking tools for 2024, empowering procurement teams for increased productivity and effective software governance.

The importance of software licensing tools for procurement teams

Here are some key reasons that make software licensing tools essential for procurement teams:

1. Improved software lifecycle management

SaaS licensing tools facilitate a comprehensive view of software assets throughout their lifecycle. They track acquisitions, deployments, updates, and retirements. By offering insights into usage patterns and update requirements, they enable informed decisions on renewals, upgrades, or decommissions. 

2. Optimizing asset utilization

These tools provide insights into software usage metrics, allowing procurement teams to identify underutilized licenses or instances of over-licensing. With this data, they can optimize license allocation, potentially reallocating unused licenses to higher-demand areas. 

This optimization minimizes unnecessary expenditure while ensuring that licenses are maximally utilized, thereby saving costs.

3. Mitigating risks

Software licensing tools provide alerts for potential compliance issues, such as unauthorized usage or license breaches. By actively managing licenses and ensuring compliance, procurement teams mitigate the risks associated with audits, fines, or legal actions due to non-compliance, safeguarding the organization's reputation and financial health.

4. Saving time

These tools automate repetitive tasks by centralizing information eliminating the need for manual tracking and data gathering, and saving substantial time. Automated alerts for renewals, updates, or compliance issues ensure teams stay proactive, reducing time spent on monitoring and follow-ups. 

Also, streamlined reporting functionalities enable quick access to essential information, expediting decision-making processes.

5. Enhancing compliance

Compliance is crucial in avoiding legal and financial risks. Licensing tools provide real-time visibility into license usage, ensuring adherence to terms and conditions. They flag potential compliance risks and unauthorized usage, enabling prompt corrective actions. 

Maintaining accurate records and facilitating audits ensures compliance with licensing agreements and regulatory standards, mitigating risks associated with non-compliance.

6. Saving costs

These tools optimize license usage, identifying underutilized licenses or instances of over-licensing. By reallocating unused licenses or negotiating better terms based on usage data, procurement teams minimize unnecessary expenditures while maximizing utilization, leading to significant cost savings.

5 features to look out for in a software license tracking solution

When considering a software license tracking solution, these are the key features worth noting:

1. User management: A robust tracking solution should offer user management capabilities, allowing administrators to control access levels and permissions. It allows only authorized individuals to view, edit, or manage specific data within the tracking system, maintaining data security and integrity.‍
2. Contract management: The ability to centralize and manage contracts within the tracking solution streamlines operations. It should include features such as SaaS contract creation, storage, version control, and reminders for renewal or renegotiation. As a result, contract-related information becomes easily accessible, and critical dates or clauses are not overlooked.‍
3. Compliance checks: Tracking solutions should incorporate compliance checks to monitor adherence to licensing agreements, regulatory standards, or internal policies. Automated checks and notifications for compliance issues help proactively address potential risks, ensuring that the organization remains compliant and avoids penalties or legal ramifications.‍
4. Reports and analytics: Robust reporting and analytics functionalities are essential for gaining insights into data trends, utilization patterns, and compliance status. Customizable reports and dashboards enable stakeholders to visualize and understand complex data, aiding in decision-making processes regarding licensing, resource allocation, or identifying areas for improvement.‍
5. Automated alerts and reminders: This feature ensures proactive management by sending automated alerts and reminders for contract renewals, compliance deadlines, or any other critical events. These notifications help in preventing oversights, allowing teams to take timely actions and avoid disruptions or non-compliance issues.

6 best software license tracking tools for the coming year

Discover these six leading SaaS license tracking tools tailored for businesses aiming to maximize SaaS spending efficiency and steer away from compliance issues.

1. Spendflo

Spendflo’s SaaS buying and optimization platform consolidates contracts, purchase requests, and approvals. Using its advanced reporting capabilities, you can track the amount of money being spent on licenses and their allocation. You can also track usage and monitor costs in real-time.

Spendflo's Direct License Management (DLM) revolutionizes SaaS license management through its automated approach, providing real-time insights, efficient cost optimization, and streamlined license management. DLM offers a streamlined approach, defining inactivity criteria and integrating with HRMS systems to manage license allocation seamlessly.

With direct integrations with popular SaaS apps, DLM provides more comprehensive and real-time data than traditional tools. The following are the current and in-pipeline DLMs available in Spendflo today:

Key features

• Set criteria for inactive licenses based on last usage, initiating management workflows.
• Instantly track active, inactive, and unassigned licenses across teams and users.
• Opt for automatic license downgrades or reclamation as per real-time usage and employee status.

Pros

• Ability to build customized approval workflows 
• Dedicated customer success manager
• Integration with Slack for quicker approvals

Pricing 

• SaaS Pro- $2500/month
• SaaS Growth- $7000/month
• Spendflo for Cloud (Beta)- $5750/month

Rating - 4.7 (70 Reviews on G2)

Customer review

Source- G2

Case Study

Drip Capital, India’s fastest-growing global trade finance company, achieved complete visibility into its SaaS procurement, approval, and renewal using Spendflo. With benchmark pricing data, Spendflo also helped them negotiate better pricing for their SaaS tools, resulting in a 4X ROI within a quarter.

2. Zluri

Zluri is a comprehensive SaaS Management Platform. It empowers businesses to discover, optimize, and govern their entire software stack and helps prevent Shadow IT, control expenses, and ensure secure access. 

Key features

• Smart application discovery
• Easy renewal monitoring
• Application cost optimization
• Smooth vendor management
• Application utilization data

Pricing

• Contact the sales team for pricing

3. Zylo

Zylo, an AI-powered platform, offers three comprehensive solutions to confidently manage software, addressing questions about app security, wasted licenses, and expenses. Its automation identifies and reclaims underutilized licenses, ensuring cost savings and increased efficiency.

Key features

• Personalized and actionable usage recommendations
• Automated workflows 
• Alerts and notifications for important changes related to licenses
• Ability to tweak future contracts based on actual usage data
• Actionable insights for making data-driven decisions

Pricing

• Contact the sales team for pricing (Zylo also offers a free demo)

4. Spendesk

‍Spendesk is a comprehensive spend management solution with several intuitive and helpful features. Businesses can automate recurring expenses and automatically match invoices to expense claims.

Key features

• A single comprehensive dashboard
• Offers same-time payment validation via push notifications
• A point-in-time overview of expenses 
• Integrates with most accounting tools

Pricing

Contact the sales team for pricing

5. Appsero

Appsero is a platform offering a bundle of services for WordPress products, including analytics, software license tracking, automatic updates, deactivation autoresponder, and email list building. 

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Key features

• Integrates with WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads, Envato, and other platforms.
• Automatic updates for licensed users
• Display of license validity on the licensing page
• Manage licenses conveniently via the dashboard

Pricing

Contact the sales team for pricing

6. Vendr

Vendr optimizes software control, cuts costs, and boosts scalability with centralized features. It consolidates crucial details on people, apps, and spending in one place, ensuring seamless updates and synchronization, eliminating scattered resource management hassles.

Key features

• Orders are color-coded for quick categorization.
• Customizable discounting rules
• Inbuilt Email Engine
• Enhanced risk management with automated workflows
• Real-time insights 

Pricing

• Starter - $36,000 (for companies with $400K-$1 M annual SaaS spend)
• Growth - $78,000 (for companies with $1M-5 M annual SaaS spend)
• Enterprise - $120,000 (for companies with $5 M+ annual SaaS spend)

Simplify your procurement with Spendflo

Simplify software license management and amplify your SaaS strategy with Spendflo's comprehensive platform for a more profitable and streamlined operation.

As a leading SaaS buying and optimization platform, Spendflo provides Dynamic License Management (DLM) that transforms SaaS governance by automating license management, freeing IT and RevOps teams from manual de-provisioning tasks. Businesses can access Spendflo’s actionable recommendations based on feature-level usage to help optimize license utilization and navigate SaaS spending.

Curious to find out how much you can save? Get a free savings analysis today!

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