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.
Find the spend · guide 8 of 8 · Reviewed Oct 25, 2026
Run the vendor report you used in finding software in QuickBooks Online or 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.
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.
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.
Price per unit on this bill against the last one. This is the number that tells you the vendor changed something.
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.
Put the renewal date and notice window next to every vendor whose unit price rose, using the 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 covers what to ask. The renewal uplift calculator 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.
Send us the export and see which lines are worth a second look.