Most companies crossing $1M in sales are quietly bleeding cash…usually at least $10K/month on software subscriptions, tools, and “temporary” purchases no one remembers making.

It’s not malicious…it just happens at scale.

Team members leave, old tools don’t get canceled, and that “one-time” subscription lives forever.

The good news?

You can stop it cold with a simple playbook called “The Five-Figure Free-Up.” (We call it that, because every time we run it we save at least $10K per month in wasted spend.)

Here’s how it works…

Step 1: Send the Email

This is the spark that gets everyone’s attention. Use the exact copy below:

❝

Subject: This Stops Today

Hey Team,

I was reviewing our monthly recurring expenses and they’ve gotten out of control.

We’re paying for tools and services that I know we aren’t using…and in some cases, probably don’t even remember buying. This stops today.

Here’s what I need you to do:

1. Export your credit card charges for the last 3 - 6 months.
2. Filter for recurring payments and sort them from most to least expensive.
3. Bring your list to a meeting on [insert date/time] where we’ll review every line and create a Keep, Kill, and Question list.

At the end of that meeting, we’ll cancel the Kill list and add up how much cash we just freed up, and where we should be allocating it, instead.

It’s going to feel great to get this cleaned up.

– [Your Name]

This email works because it strikes a balance: firm (and even a little threatening) at the top, but collaborative at the close.

Step 2: Schedule the Expense Audit Meeting

Put a 90-minute meeting on the calendar and require attendance from every leader with spending authority.

Without this meeting, the email is just noise.

Step 3: Build the Keep/Kill/Question List

Export all recurring charges into a single spreadsheet, then hand everyone three highlighters: green for KEEP, red for KILL, yellow for QUESTION.

Each leader marks their copy individually first (to avoid groupthink).

Then discuss line by line.

Examples:

  • Zoom Pro: KILL - “We already pay for Zoom enterprise.”

  • Canva: KEEP - “The marketing team uses daily.”

  • Ad-Blaster 9000: QUESTION - “Does anyone know what the heck this is and why we’re paying $299 a month for it?!?!”

(You can laugh at that last one, but don’t be surprised when you hear yourself saying something almost identical to that during your audit.) 😃

Step 4: Attack the Kill List NOW

Don’t leave the room until all “KILL” expenses and subscriptions are actually canceled.

Log in, cancel, and record the monthly/annual savings as you go.

It models seriousness, and the running tally motivates the team. The goal is to be able to say something like…

“That’s $3,200/month back in our pocket! Let’s see how high we can get it by the end of the week.”

Step 5: Repeat Quarterly

This isn’t a one-and-done audit. Wasted expenses will continue to accumulate, so set a recurring calendar invite at least once every quarter.

(You can soften the subject line next time to something like, “Quarterly Cash Audit”, but keep the ritual.)

Every time we run this play, we free up at least $10K/month…sometimes a lot more.

And just as important, it builds a culture of cash flow consciousness where your team starts thinking like owners.

The result: Over time, your team will start catching waste before it ever hits the P&L, and that behavior shift will yield the greatest savings of all.

⚡ Action Step: Send the “This Stops Now” email today, book the meeting, and drop a reply to let me know how much you saved.

Stop letting broken systems hold you back. Let’s create a plan that “de-bottlenecks” you from your business so you can scale your company…without sacrificing your soul. Schedule a free “Scale Session” today.

Quick Hits

Here’s some other content from the Scalable network, plus some other cool stuff I liked and thought you might like, too:

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