How Agencies Waste Money on PM Tool Subscriptions (And How to Audit Yours)

Most agencies are paying for tools nobody uses.

You signed up for Asana for the client project management. Then Monday.com was added for visibility. Then Jira for a specific client.

Then someone discovered ClickUp and loved it. Now you have five PM tool subscriptions.

But only three are actually active. The other two drain $30/month each that could go to your bottom line.

Here's how to audit and fix this.

The Audit Framework

Do this quarterly. It takes an hour and could save thousands annually.

Step 1 - List Every Tool

Write down every PM tool your agency pays for (not tools you don't pay for, only subscriptions).

Example list:

Asana ($10/month, Team plan)
Monday.com ($15/month, Team plan)
Jira ($9/month, cloud)
ClickUp ($9/month, Team plan)
Linear ($10/month, Starter)
Notion ($10/month, Team plan)

Total: $61/month, $732/year.

Step 2 - Check Last Activity

For each tool, check the last time anyone actually used it.

Most tools show "last login" or "last update." Check each tool.

Asana - used today
Monday - used 3 days ago
Jira - used today
ClickUp - used 6 months ago (!!)
Linear - used today
Notion - used 1 week ago

Step 3 - Count Active Users

For tools with active logins, count how many people actually use them vs. how many have access.

Example:

Asana - 6 people, 6 use it actively
Monday - 6 people, 2 use it actively
Jira - 6 people, 3 use it actively (client project)
ClickUp - 6 people, 0 use it actively
Linear - 6 people, 4 use it actively
Notion - 6 people, 4 use it actively

Step 4 - Identify Overlaps

Which tools do the same job?

Asana, Monday, and ClickUp all do project management
Jira also does project management (but specifically for client X)
Linear is for internal development work (distinct)
Notion is for documentation (distinct)

You've got three tools doing project management for most of the team. That's a problem.

Making the Decision

For each tool, ask:

Is anyone using it? - If not, kill it.

Is it doing something unique? - If not, consolidate.

Does it make sense for multiple team members to use it? - If only one person, maybe that's a different tool (or one person's personal subscription).

Based on the example:

Asana - Keep. Actively used, clear purpose (client projects).
Monday - Kill or downgrade. Only 2 people use it. The value is unclear.
Jira - Keep. Specific to client project. Hard to eliminate even if underused.
ClickUp - Kill immediately. Zero users, dead money.
Linear - Keep. Actively used for internal development.
Notion - Keep. Actively used for documentation.

Recommendation: Drop ClickUp ($9/month) and Monday ($15/month).

Savings: $288/year, or $24/month.

The Consolidation Question

If two tools are doing the same job, can you consolidate?

Example: Asana and Monday both do project management.

Consolidating saves: $15/month ($180/year).

But the cost of migrating might be:

4 hours of PM time to migrate (@ $50/hour = $200)
Learning curve for Monday-only users (time cost)
Risk of lost data (small but real)

If the annual savings is $180 and the migration cost is $200, it doesn't make sense to migrate. Keep both.

But if you're paying for Asana ($10), Monday ($15), and ClickUp ($9), and only one is actively used - then consolidation makes sense.

How to Present This to Leadership

Create a simple report:

PM Tool Audit Results - Q1 2026

Current spend: $732/year
Recommended spend: $444/year
Annual savings: $288

Recommendation:
- Kill ClickUp ($9/month) - zero users
- Kill Monday ($15/month) - 2/6 users, overlaps with Asana
- Keep: Asana, Jira, Linear, Notion

Migration cost: $0 (no migration needed)
Implementation timeline: Immediate

Leadership loves these numbers. Easy decision.

The Ongoing Audit

Don't do this quarterly. Do it as a trigger:

When you add a new tool - "does this overlap with existing tools?"
When a subscription bill surprises you - "do we still need this?"
When someone asks "why do we have X?" - audit immediately

Use these as opportunities to stay lean instead of letting subscriptions accumulate.

Common Waste Patterns

Watch for these patterns of waste:

The "Just in Case" Subscription

"We might use Jira if we get that client." But you don't. Kill it.

The "Experiment" That Stayed

"Let's try ClickUp for sprints." The experiment ended 6 months ago. But nobody cancelled the subscription.

The "Different Team" Tool

"The design team likes Asana, the dev team likes Linear." So you have both. If there's no handoff between teams, it's fine. But if there is, consolidate.

The Redundant Licenses

"We pay for Notion Team plan but only 2 of 6 people use it." Downgrade to Personal plan for those two.

What Not to Cut

Some tools aren't worth cutting even if underused:

Client-mandated tools - If a client requires you use their Jira, you can't cut it
Specialized tools - Sometimes a tool is expensive but essential (GitHub, Figma are worth it)
Integration tools - Zapier might only show activity on certain days, but it's critical for automation

Be strategic. Cut the genuinely unused stuff. Keep the stuff that creates value even if not daily.

FAQ

How much should agencies spend on PM tools?

As a percentage of revenue: 0.5-1.5%. So if your agency makes $500k/year, you should spend $2,500-7,500 on all tools combined. Most are way over this.

Is it better to have many tools or fewer tools?

Fewer, if they do the job. Many specialized tools is fine if each has a distinct purpose and active users. Many overlapping tools is waste.

Should we consolidate to save money?

Only if consolidation doesn't hurt productivity. If your team is more productive with specialized tools, the money spent is worth it.

What about tools like Huddle that aggregate across PM tools?

That's different from this audit. Huddle costs $99/year and saves time.

It doesn't replace your PM tools. Consider it if tool-switching is costing more than $99/year.

Should freelancers do this audit?

Yes. Especially if you manage multiple clients in different tools. You might find you're paying for tools you don't use with certain clients.

How often should we audit?

Quarterly is ideal. But even annually is better than never. Trigger-based (when you add a tool or notice a new subscription) also works.

What if we genuinely need multiple PM tools?

That's fine. But be intentional.

Document why each tool exists. Review that documentation quarterly to make sure it's still true.