Services / Technology spend management
Technology spend management
We set up a complete, agreed view of your technology spend (software, subscriptions, cloud, AI and licences), with each team shown its costs in units it recognises. Your team runs it from there, or we run it for you each month if you prefer.
- Usual setup
- About 7 weekssmaller organisations
- Price
- See PricingTypical setup and monthly prices by size
- Optional
- We run it monthlyOr your team runs it.
Built on the recognised industry methods for managing technology and AI spend: the FinOps Framework, the FOCUS billing standard, ISO/IEC 19770 software asset management, and TBM.
Download the service brief (PDF)Why it needs managing, not just reporting
Most organisations can produce a list of what they pay for. Far fewer can answer the questions that follow: which team is that cost for, what does one user of that system cost us, and is it going up or down? Finance holds a ledger sorted by account codes never designed for technology. IT knows the systems, seats and devices, but not how they were paid for. Teams buy their own tools, and AI adds new costs every month.
When costs are shared out by guesswork, every review turns into an argument. The fix is agreed rules: every technology cost sorted the same way, given a unit everyone understands (per user, per seat, per device), and shown to the team that uses it. This service builds those rules with your finance and technology teams. Your team can keep them running, or we do it for you each month.
Who it is for
| Size | Monthly technology spend | Cost sources tracked each month |
|---|---|---|
| Small | Under USD 50,000 | Up to 30 |
| Medium | USD 50,000 to 250,000 | Up to 60 |
| Large | Above USD 250,000 | Up to 100 per phase, one business unit at a time |
A cost source is one bill, export or contract we collect and check each month. We agree the number with you when you sign, and we deliver exactly that number. If we find more, you choose: we re-cost for the new number, or you keep the agreed number and choose which sources to leave out.
The steps, in order
- 1
Before we start
One or two calls on your size, your finance ledger, how you buy technology and who owns which costs. Scope document, contract, confidentiality agreement and data-handling terms. Work starts when the scope is signed and the 50% setup deposit is paid.
- 2
Discovery and baseline (weeks 1 to 2)
Interviews with finance, IT, procurement and whoever buys AI; every system mapped; a signed baseline; your spend, unused licences, renewals, savings, gaps and the true cost of your AI use.
- 3
Your ledger, sorted (weeks 3 to 5)
The technology accounts in your finance ledger sorted into the TBM categories, including technology bought outside IT, validated by your finance lead and made repeatable each month.
- 4
Cost units and rates (weeks 4 to 6)
Workshops with finance on how shared costs are spread, and with technical leads on the unit for each cost. Rates built, first team reports, two review rounds.
- 5
Sign-off and handover (week 7)
You sign off the units, rates and team reports; team heads see how to read them; your team gets the monthly routine to run it themselves. If you would rather we run it, our optional monthly service takes over from here.
If you have had our cost review recently, we do not repeat it: we refresh its signed baseline with you and go straight on. The scope and price reflect the work already done.
The setup, week by week (smaller organisations)
Medium setups take about 12 weeks; a Large organisation's first business unit about 14 weeks. Most of the length is the time between workshops and review rounds.
What you receive
- 1
Discovery set
Ecosystem map, signed baseline, spend report, optimisation and gaps report, AI true-cost model and scaling plan.
- 2
Ledger mapping
Every technology account sorted into the TBM categories, with a version and change log.
- 3
Cost units and rates
The agreed unit and rate for each cost, signed by your finance and IT leads.
- 4
Team reports
Each team's technology costs in those units.
- 5
Monthly routine
The export schedule, report template and review calendar your team runs from. If you choose our monthly service, we run it: a report each month and a governance review each quarter.
What we need from you
- People: a buyer who signs; a finance lead and an IT lead throughout setup; procurement and whoever buys AI; technical leads and finance analysts for the workshops; team heads for the reviews.
- Data: your chart of accounts and a ledger extract of technology spend; supplier payments and card lines; licence, sign-in and device counts; cloud and AI bills; larger contracts; headcount by team.
- Only if you choose the monthly service: the agreed exports by the agreed day, and 30 minutes for the review call each month.
Price
The typical prices for this service, and what each one covers, are on our Pricing page. Your actual price depends on your needs and is agreed in writing before we start.
See typical pricesAfter setup your team can run it themselves, or we run it for you each month. The monthly service is optional.
How payment works
- Setup: 50% on signing; work starts once the scope is signed and this payment is made. 50% at sign-off of the completed setup.
- Monthly service, only if you choose it: billed monthly from the month after setup sign-off. The minimum term is 12 months; after that it runs month to month, and either side can end it with 3 months' notice.
Your data
You prepare and send the agreed data. Your work is done in its own workspace, and your files are kept as an encrypted set of files in a protected space that only that workspace can reach.
We use AI assistance in our work. Your confidential data is processed only on our own machines and is never sent to cloud AI services. On request, we delete everything at the end and give you a signed certificate of deletion.
Start with a conversation.
One call to understand what you spend on and what worries you. If an engagement fits, you get a written scope and price.
Book a first call