--- title: "How a saving is counted, and how we get paid" description: "How a saving is counted: a free audit, then a share of the license saving we verify against your own bills, net of what the replacement costs to run." canonical: "https://lopifi.com/savings/how-to/how-we-get-paid" --- # How a saving is counted, and how we get paid > How a saving is counted: a free audit, then a share of the license saving we verify against your own bills, net of what the replacement costs to run. Source: https://lopifi.com/savings/how-to/how-we-get-paid Part of: Lopifi — US GAAP books on autopilot, checked by a CPA (https://lopifi.com) --- Series: Find the spend. Reviewed 2026-10-25. The audit costs nothing. If we find a tool worth replacing and the replacement is running, we are paid a share of the saving we can show in your own bills. If nothing is saved, nothing is owed. That is the whole model, and this page explains how a saving is counted so there is nothing to argue about later. ## The model in four lines The fee share and its length are set in a written agreement before any work starts. They are not stated here because they are not final, and we would rather say that than guess. - You pay $0 until a saving is real. Nothing for the audit, nothing to start, nothing while the old bill is still running. - The audit is free, and works from an exported report with no connection. - You choose which replacements we build or run, one at a time. - We are paid a share of verified savings, only while they are real. - Where nothing is saved, nothing is owed. ## How a saving is counted A saving is the old annual cost minus the annual cost of the replacement, both taken from your bills and your own run costs: hosting, any paid tooling, and the time to keep it patched. We compare like with like, the same period on the same basis, and count it only after the old charge has stopped. Annual plans paid in advance are [prepaid expenses](https://lopifi.com/md/glossary/prepaid-expense), so the saving lands at renewal. We will say so up front rather than count a month the plan was already paid for. ## What this does to your risk That removes the cost of finding out. It does not remove every risk of changing software, which is why we pilot, run in parallel and keep the old account until the new one has done a real month of work. - No charge for the audit. - No fee on a tool that does not save money. - A written agreement before any work. - Your data stays in your own accounts; the old tool stays read-only until you are satisfied. ## Limits General information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. How a fee based on savings is treated for your own books and any professional rules that apply to your advisers is a question for your CPA and counsel. ## Common questions ### What does it cost? The audit is free. The fee is a share of savings, so if nothing is saved, nothing is owed. The share and the length of time it runs are set in a written agreement before any work starts, and they are not on this page because they are not final. ### How are savings counted? Verified savings are the old annual cost, taken from your bills, minus the annual cost of running the replacement: hosting, any paid tooling it needs, and the time to maintain it. A saving is counted once the old bill has stopped. ### What if the replacement ends up costing more? Nothing is owed on that tool. The fee only follows a measured reduction in what you spend. ### Is this offer open? The agreement is the document that governs it, and you will see it before work begins. Until the service opens, this page describes the intended model rather than a live offer. ## Keep going - [How connecting will work](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/connect-quickbooks-xero): What the planned QuickBooks Online and Xero connection reads, what it never changes, how you revoke it, and the no-connection route that works today. - [Find it in QuickBooks Online](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/find-software-in-quickbooks): Run the vendor-totals report in QuickBooks Online, export it, and see every software line ranked by cost, in minutes and without connecting anything. - [Find it in Xero](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/find-software-in-xero): Use Xero's expenses-by-contact reporting to total spend by supplier, export it, and rank your software lines. No connection; nothing leaves your browser. - [The audit checklist](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/software-spend-audit-checklist): Pull twelve months of vendor spend, rank it, and find annual charges, duplicates, seat creep and owners. A checklist you can finish in an afternoon. - [Run the free audit](https://lopifi.com/savings/audit) - [All how-to guides](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to) *General information, not tax, legal or accounting advice.*