Free · The software renewal audit
Whenever something comes up for renewal, question it. Without exception.
Cancel or Clone is a one-page scorecard for every software renewal and vendor invoice. Three questions, one verdict: keep it, swap it for an AI-native tool at a tenth of the cost, or clone it with an agent for a tenth of that again.
The audit
Three questions for every invoice
“We’ve been investing in all kinds of legacy stuff.” That is how one member described their software bill on a mastermind call, and the same subject came up on all five calls since. The habit that fixes it is small: the question, asked every time something renews.
Is there an AI-native version?
Most legacy tools now have a competitor built after the models got good. When a member of the mastermind priced one against their renewal, it came in at about a tenth of the cost.
Is the data or API available?
If you can get your data out, or the vendor has an API, an agent can roll your own version of the part you actually use. In the mastermind that landed at about a tenth of the AI-native price again.
Compared to what?
"Compared to what? Who are you not hiring because of that?" Every invoice is a hire you are not making, or hours a person on your team is still spending. Write the comparison down and the verdict usually writes itself.
Vendor lock-in
“Anytime I think vendor lock-in, I think opportunity.” The tools that hold your data hostage are the ones with the biggest gap between what they charge and what they do. Practice-management software, the design suite with 58 features you use four of, the reporting tool with an export button and nothing else. Those go on the scorecard first.
The scorecard
One row per renewal. One verdict.
List every renewal in the next 90 days. Score each row on the three questions. The verdict falls out. Example rows below; your numbers go in the real one.
| Renewal | Cost | AI-native? | Data / API? | Compared to what | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice management | $1,200 / mo | Yes | Export only | Half an admin | SWAP |
| Design suite seats | $300 / mo | Yes | n/a | Nobody | SWAP |
| Report builder | $450 / mo | No | API | An analyst's Friday | CLONE |
| Payroll | $200 / mo | Yes | API | A bookkeeper, and the liability | KEEP |
KEEP
It does a job nothing cheaper does, or the risk of moving is bigger than the invoice. Renew it on purpose, not by default.
SWAP
An AI-native tool does the same job for about a tenth. Move the data, cancel the seat.
CLONE
The data or API is open. An agent runs the part you use, for about a tenth of that. The human stays on the approval step.
Inside: the printable scorecard and a copy-paste prompt that hands your renewal list to an agent and scores every row for you.
From the mastermind calls
“Your cost of software is going to drop significantly. I mean, it’s shocking.”
Agency
An agency owner now questions every renewal. The AI-native option priced at a tenth of the legacy cost; rolling their own with an agent, a tenth of that again.
Owner-operator
“Two years ago, I was spending about six grand on software… I’ve been able to eliminate all that. And it didn’t happen overnight, it was chipping away.”
Tax firm
Dropped a paid agent tool on cost, then built the workflow itself. A week-long review now takes minutes, with a person still signing off on client data.
“Every single surface area of my business besides sales calls and the event itself can be run by agents.”
Questions from the calls
The objections, answered
What is Cancel or Clone?
A one-page software renewal audit. For every renewal or vendor invoice you ask three questions (is there an AI-native version, is the data or API available so an agent can roll our own, and compared to what human hire) and give a verdict: keep, swap, or clone. It comes with a printable scorecard and a copy-paste agent prompt that runs the audit on your whole renewal list.
We need a human in the loop for client data. Doesn't that rule out cloning?
No. Keep the human on the approval step and clone the grunt work. A tax firm in the mastermind dropped a paid agent tool on cost, built the workflow itself, and got a week-long review down to minutes, with a person still signing off.
Isn't building our own version expensive?
Compared to what? The renewal you are about to auto-pay, or the person you are not hiring because of it. In the mastermind, AI-native tools came in at about a tenth of the legacy cost, and rolling your own with an agent at about a tenth of that again. The scorecard makes you write the comparison down before you decide.
We tried automating something and it broke. Why would this be different?
The first version of everything is rough. The audit does not ask you to replace anything on day one; it asks you to score it, pick the smallest clone, and iterate. One business owner took a roughly $6K a month software bill to about zero over two years by chipping away, not overnight.
Do this now
List every renewal in the next 90 days. Score it.
Drop your email and the scorecard is in your inbox in a couple of minutes, with the agent prompt that scores the list for you. Then the next invoice that lands gets the question. Without exception.