TechRadar Pro reports companies spend $9k–$17k per employee on SaaS, with up to half wasted on overlapping tools, unused seats, and auto-renewals.

Fortune adds that “shadow AI” is booming as employees use unapproved chatbots at work, raising real security and compliance risk.

What aspects of the CASH framework of Communication, Alignment, Systems, and Honesty can help us address this topic?

This is a Systems problem.

First, fix the process, tools, and definitions that allow for sprawl.

My view: it’s now too easy to launch a SaaS with slick marketing, so expect a flood of low-quality tools; and as vendors slap “AI” on features, they’ll push Marketing and Sales for more licenses even when good AI should mean you need fewer seats.

Suggested Actions:

• Publish a 30-day SaaS freeze and audit (owner: RevOps + IT). Today, block new tool purchases and inventory your current software stack. Create a “Master SaaS List” that shows owner, renewal date, seat count, and data touched.
• Set hard license rules tied to usage (owner: Finance Ops). If active use is under 60% for 60 days, consolidate or cancel; aim to cut unused licenses to less than 10% and reduce SaaS spend by 10% this quarter. Add a renewal calendar alert 45 and 15 days before auto-renew. These thresholds directly target the biggest waste buckets identified in recent coverage.
• Add an “AI seats test” to procurement (owner: Security + RevOps). Any vendor claiming AI must show the seat delta: how many licenses go down or stay flat due to efficiency, plus a one-page data-handling summary (where data goes, retention, and opt-outs).
• Create and encourage the use of company AI accounts. Ban personal AI accounts and route all AI usage through approved tools in your CRM (customer relationship management) and MAP (marketing automation platform).

Sales teams, Marketers, and their leaders can increase business revenue when they work cohesively with a shared understanding of the CASH framework.

Get the full playbook at ALeeJudge.com/cash — or contact me directly to schedule a CASH Kickoff session for your team.

Yours in Revenue,
​A. Lee Judge

Author of CASH: The 4 Keys to Better Sales, Smarter Marketing, and a Supercharged Revenue Machine​