Subscription Audit Template: Keep, Downgrade, Pause or Cancel

A subscription audit takes about 30 minutes: ten to list every recurring charge, ten to give each one a decision, ten to act. Use only four decisions: keep, downgrade, pause or cancel. Finish by writing down the next renewal dates and the day of your next audit, three to six months out.

A subscription audit sounds like a weekend project. It is closer to half an hour, if you give yourself a template and only four possible decisions. Most audits stall at the "should I keep this?" stage, because the question is too open. The template below makes it a choice between four answers.

You need your phone, your card statements for the last twelve months and one empty table.

Minutes 0 to 10: list every charge

Go through a year of card statements and copy every recurring line into the table: name, amount, monthly or yearly, next charge date, and where it is billed. Then check the stores, because they bill on behalf of apps. On an iPhone that is Settings, your name, Subscriptions. On Android it is subscriptions in Google Play. PayPal keeps its own list under Settings and Payments.

Do not decide anything yet. Listing and judging at the same time is what turns 30 minutes into an afternoon.

Decision	Ask yourself	Then
Keep	Did I use it in the last month, and would I sign up again today at this price?	Write down the next renewal date
Downgrade	Do I use it, but only part of it?	Switch to a cheaper tier or monthly billing
Pause	Will I want it back in a known season?	Pause where the app allows it, or cancel and note when to return
Cancel	Would I notice if it vanished tomorrow?	Cancel where it is billed and keep the confirmation

Minutes 10 to 20: one decision per line

Read the question for each decision and pick the first one that is a clear yes. If nothing is a clear yes, the answer is cancel. That rule alone removes most of the hesitation.

Downgrade is underused. A plan for several people that only you use, a yearly plan you would rather pay monthly for, a premium tier when the basic one would do. Each is a smaller bill without giving anything up.

Pause is real on some services. Google Play's help says some apps let you pause a subscription, the pause starts at the end of the current billing period, and the available durations range from one week to three months depending on the app. Where there is no pause button, cancel and put the return month in your notes.

Minutes 20 to 30: act on it

Cancel in the place that bills you: the App Store, Google Play, PayPal, or the company's own account page. Canceling now does not usually cost you the time you already paid for. Netflix's help, for example, says that if you cancel with time left in the billing period, you keep watching until the end of that period. Google Play says the same about its subscriptions.

Netflix's help also makes a point that applies everywhere: signing out or deleting the app does not cancel. Look for the confirmation screen or email, and keep it.

For anything you keep on an annual plan, check the price on the next renewal notice. The FTC's consumer guide warns that a renewal can cost more than you paid the first time, especially after a promotional rate ends.

Keep the audit from undoing itself

The table you just made is useful for exactly as long as someone looks at it. The usual failure is simple: a yearly plan you meant to downgrade renews in March, and by then nobody remembers the audit.

That is the part we built dEssence for. After the audit, send Tracy the table or the renewal emails for everything you kept. Ask her to remind you a week before each yearly renewal and on the date of your next audit. She writes first when the date gets close. Turning documents into dates and reminders is part of the Pro plan, $10 a month. She does not touch your bank or cancel anything, so the decision is still yours when the message arrives.

Frequently asked questions

How often should you do a subscription audit?

Every three to six months, plus once after any month with several new trials. Yearly renewals are the reason to keep the gap under a year.

Is it better to pause or cancel a subscription?

Pause if you know when you will want it back and the service offers it. Otherwise cancel and note the month you might return.

What if a subscription has no pause option?

Cancel it and write down the month you might want it back. If the service stores your files or data, read what it says happens to them after you cancel, and download what you need first.

Where do I cancel a yearly plan?

In the same place it is billed. A yearly plan bought in the iPhone app is canceled in Settings under Subscriptions, one bought on Android under subscriptions in Google Play, and one bought on the website in your account there. Canceling early usually keeps access to the end of the year you paid for.

What should a subscription audit template include?

Name, amount, billing period, next charge date, where it is billed, and the decision. The "where it is billed" column tells you where to cancel.