--- title: "How to spot a software price increase in your own bills" description: "Compare the same vendor across two periods in QuickBooks or Xero to catch a price step, a new seat charge or a plan change before the next renewal." canonical: "https://lopifi.com/savings/how-to/spot-a-software-price-increase" --- # How to spot a software price increase in your own bills > Compare the same vendor across two periods in QuickBooks or Xero to catch a price step, a new seat charge or a plan change before the next renewal. Source: https://lopifi.com/savings/how-to/spot-a-software-price-increase Part of: Lopifi — Planned: US GAAP books on autopilot, checked by a CPA (https://lopifi.com) --- Series: Find the spend. Reviewed 2026-10-25. A price rise rarely arrives as a notice. It arrives as a slightly larger bill that posts like every other one. Your books already hold the evidence: the same vendor, billed in two periods. The work is to line them up, compare the unit price instead of the total, and write down what changed while there is still time to act on it. ## Line up two periods for the same vendor Run the vendor report you used in [finding software in QuickBooks Online](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/find-software-in-quickbooks) or [in Xero](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/find-software-in-xero) twice: once for the latest full month or quarter, once for the period before it. Put the two exports side by side and match them by vendor name. Sort the difference, largest first. Most vendors will not have moved. The few that did are your list. ## Compare the unit price, not the total Open the bill behind each line that moved and write down three things: the number of seats or units, the price per unit, and the plan name. A total can rise because a person was added, which is spend you chose, or because the unit price rose, which is spend you did not. 1. **Count.** Seats or units on this bill against the last one. A rise here is a purchase, not a price increase; check whether it was approved. 2. **Price.** Price per unit on this bill against the last one. This is the number that tells you the vendor changed something. 3. **Plan.** The plan or tier named on each bill. A move to a new tier can be automatic and can change the price without anyone choosing it. ## Decide what to do with each step Put the renewal date and notice window next to every vendor whose unit price rose, using the [vendor register and renewal calendar](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/vendor-register-and-renewal-calendar). If you are inside the notice window, you have room to ask for the old price or to change plan; the [renewal negotiation guide](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/negotiate-a-saas-renewal) covers what to ask. The [renewal uplift calculator](https://lopifi.com/md/tools/renewal-uplift) turns the step into a yearly figure from your own numbers. If the notice window has passed, note the date for next year. Do not break a term to chase a price; plan the exit around the contract, as in [cancelling without penalties](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/cancel-without-penalties). ## Common questions ### Does a higher total mean the vendor raised the price? Not always. The total moves when you add seats, when usage-based charges rise or when a yearly invoice lands in one of the two periods. Compare the unit price on the bill (the price per seat or per month), not only the total, before you decide anything changed. ### What should I check first when a charge is higher? Read the line on the bill itself. A seat count that rose, a plan name that changed or a currency conversion explains most differences. If the unit price rose, check your contract for the renewal and price-change terms before you contact the vendor. ### How often should I compare? Monthly is enough for a small team and takes a few minutes once you have the routine. The point is to see a step in the month it happens, while there is still time to act on it. ## Keep going - [Negotiating a renewal](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/negotiate-a-saas-renewal): Build a renewal calendar from your books, bring usage evidence, right-size first, and ask for the terms and billing flexibility that matter. - [Vendor register and renewal calendar](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/vendor-register-and-renewal-calendar): The fields a vendor register needs, how to seed it from your QuickBooks or Xero vendor list, and a monthly review that catches renewals early. - [A monthly software spend review](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/monthly-software-spend-review): A monthly software spend review in under an hour: new vendors, price steps, duplicates, renewals and seats, with what to write down and who decides. - [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. - [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.*