Introduction

Today's enterprises spend millions on SaaS, with Microsoft 365 and Salesforce often at the top of the stack. But how much of that spend is actually used, needed, or optimized?

A proper SaaS spend audit reveals hidden waste, misaligned licenses, dormant users, and missed opportunities for cost savings.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through exactly what to look for during a Microsoft 365 and Salesforce audit, how to interpret the data, and the tools to automate the process.

SaaS spend audits for Microsoft 365 and Salesforce should focus on identifying and eliminating wasted spend, improving security, and ensuring efficient license utilization. Key areas to examine include unused or underutilized licenses, overlapping functionality, and adherence to security best practices.  

Microsoft 365:

License Optimization:

Review assigned licenses to identify users with inactive accounts or who are on higher-cost plans than their usage warrants.  

Usage Analysis:

Analyze which Microsoft 365 apps are being used and by whom to identify potential areas for optimization, such as downgrading to lower-cost plans or eliminating unused subscriptions.  

Security Posture:

Evaluate security settings, such as multi-factor authentication, password policies, and login IP restrictions, to ensure compliance with best practices and minimize security risks.  

Shadow IT:

Investigate if any Microsoft 365 services are being used without IT's knowledge, as this can lead to security vulnerabilities and uncontrolled spending.  

Compliance:

Ensure adherence to compliance regulations like PCI DSS and ASC 606, especially if Microsoft 365 is used for financial transactions or revenue recognition.  

Salesforce:

User Access Review:

Examine user permissions and access levels to ensure that users only have access to the necessary data and functionality, preventing unauthorized access and data breaches.  

License Optimization:

Identify inactive users, underutilized licenses, and duplicate licenses to optimize spending.  

Customization Review:

Evaluate custom code, configurations, and integrations to ensure they are necessary, secure, and optimized for Salesforce limits.  

Security Configuration:

Review security settings, including login IP ranges, password policies, and multi-factor authentication, to minimize security risks.  

Data Security:

Assess data access controls, sharing rules, and data retention policies to ensure data privacy and compliance with regulations.  

Integrations:

Review integrations with other systems to ensure they are secure, efficient, and aligned with business needs.  

Performance Monitoring:

Monitor Salesforce usage and performance to identify bottlenecks and areas for optimization.  

General SaaS Spend Audit Recommendations:

Centralized Procurement:

Implement a process for centralizing SaaS procurement to improve visibility and control over spending.  

SaaS Governance:

Establish policies for subscription lengths, data ownership/security, and vendor management.  

SaaS Management Platforms:

Consider using SaaS management platforms to automate many processes, including procurement, spending analytics, and optimization.  

Employee Feedback:

Regularly gather employee feedback about their SaaS tools to understand their needs and identify areas for improvement.  

Automated Audits:

Utilize automated auditing tools to streamline the process and identify potential issues more quickly and efficiently.  

Why SaaS Spend Audits Matter

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‍What to Look for in a Microsoft 365 Audit

1. Inactive or Disabled Users Still Licensed

• Identify users who haven’t logged in for 30–90 days.
• Check if terminated or offboarded employees still hold licenses.

2. License Mismatch

• Are E5 licenses being used just for email and calendar?
• Downgrade E5 → E3 → F3 based on actual workload.

3. Add-On Redundancy

• Are users assigned Teams Voice or Power BI Pro unnecessarily?
• Are there overlapping tools (e.g., Zoom + Teams)?

4. Group and Shared Mailboxes

• Ensure these aren’t mistakenly consuming full licenses.

5. Persona-Based Rightsizing

• Create license profiles based on job roles:
• Sales → Teams + Outlook
• Finance → Excel-heavy use
• Field staff → Mobile-only access

🧠 CloudNuro Insight:
Organizations typically discover 15–25% of E5 licenses are oversized when evaluated per user persona.

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What to Look for in a Salesforce Audit

1. Feature Utilization

• Who is using dashboards, API access, and custom apps?
• Identify users doing read-only work who could be on Platform or View-Only licenses.

2. Permission Set vs License Type

• Compare what access the user needs vs. what the license grants.
• Avoid assigning full Salesforce licenses when a lower tier suffices.

3. Inactive Users

• Users with no login activity in the past 30–60 days.
• Dormant seasonal or departed users still holding active licenses.

4. Duplicated Licenses

• Same user with multiple logins (common in sandbox vs production environments).

5. Department-Level Consumption

• Are marketing teams using Sales Cloud?
• Is Service Cloud overprovisioned across ops teams?

🧠 CloudNuro Insight:
One enterprise reduced its Salesforce cost by $220K/year by downgrading 112 read-only users and removing 78 dormant accounts.

Key Metrics to Track

Tools to Automate SaaS Spend Audits

You don’t need to rely on manual spreadsheets.

Top tools for license audits:

• CloudNuro: AI-driven license audit engine for M365 and Salesforce with real-time rightsizing, persona modeling, and cost attribution.
• Zluri: Good for discovery and license visibility.
• Zylo: Focuses on renewals and license waste.
• BetterCloud: Workflow automation for deprovisioning.

🎯 CloudNuro stands out with Scaledown Reports, Over/Under-Licensing Dashboards, and Departmental Chargebacks.

Conclusion: Audits Are Not Just About Saving Money, They're About Control

SaaS spend audits for Microsoft 365 and Salesforce aren’t a one-time task; they’re a critical governance practice that reduces costs, increases visibility, and ensures every license contributes to business value.

Done manually, audits are slow. Done with the right tools, they’re transformative.  

Need Help Auditing Your SaaS Licenses?

CloudNuro complements SaaS spend audits for Microsoft 365 and Salesforce by providing enterprise-grade visibility, automation, and actionable insights to identify waste, optimize license utilization, and improve compliance. Many organizations struggle with inactive accounts, license mismatches, and redundant subscriptions, but with CloudNuro, they can rapidly surface cost-saving opportunities and enforce governance policies—reducing unnecessary SaaS costs by as much as 30% or more.

CloudNuro is a leader in Enterprise SaaS Management Platforms, giving enterprises unmatched visibility, governance and cost optimization. Recognized twice in a row by Gartner in the SaaS Management Platforms Magic Quadrant, and named a Leader in the Info-Tech SoftwareReviews Data Quadrant, CloudNuro is trusted by global enterprises and government agencies to bring financial discipline to SaaS, cloud, and AI.

Trusted by enterprises such as Konica Minolta and FederalSignal, it provides centralized SaaS inventory, license optimization, renewal management, and advanced chargeback capabilities—empowering IT and Finance teams to maintain a clear view of SaaS usage and costs, and to act proactively on waste reduction.

As the only SaaS Management Platform built with FinOps principles, CloudNuro brings SaaS and IaaS management together in a unified, real-time dashboard. With a 15-minute setup and rapid ROI in under 24 hours, CloudNuro helps organizations turn SaaS data into strategic cost-saving power.

➡️ Request a free SaaS spend audit with CloudNuro to uncover hidden waste, optimize licenses, and strengthen governance today.