A software seat review that does not start with deletion
Use evidence and owner confirmation to right-size access without disrupting work.
Unused-looking seats are a prompt to investigate, not immediate permission to remove access. A disciplined seat review combines billing, recent activity and the business owner’s context.
Create a reliable seat list
Export the current users from the vendor admin area and compare it with billed quantity. Note suspended accounts, shared service identities and invited users who never activated.
Use the vendor’s activity data as one signal. A low-frequency tool may still be essential for quarterly work.
- Billed seats and plan tier
- Named user or service owner
- Last activity and role
Ask owners a bounded question
Send each department owner a short list and a response deadline. Ask whether access is required for a specific upcoming period, not whether the tool is “useful.”
Identify accounts that can move to a lower role or free tier before deleting them. Preserve required records and transfer ownership first.
- Keep at current level
- Downgrade or reassign
- Remove after ownership transfer
Confirm the billing change
Removing a user does not always reduce an invoice immediately. Check the vendor’s billing rules and next quantity adjustment date.
Record the confirmed new seat count and price in HeadsUp only after the vendor or billing page reflects it.
- Access change completed
- Subscription quantity updated
- Next invoice checked
