Did you know that in 2018, the average cost per employee of SaaS subscriptions ($2,884) was higher than the cost of a new laptop ($1,299 for an Apple Macbook Pro)? And, as more companies move to run entirely on SaaS, the software vs. hardware spending gap is likely to widen. In this post we’ll take a look at how and why this shift is occurring and what it means for you and your business.
SaaS usage is accelerating at a rapid pace across businesses of all sizes and types. In fact, the average company pays for 20 times more SaaS subscriptions today than they did five years ago, and uses three times more free SaaS products than paid apps. SaaS has taken root across all functions and departments.
Impressively, non-engineering SaaS spend rose from about 10% in 2010 to over 80% today. Currently, 38% of companies work almost entirely on SaaS. Experts predict that in the next two years that number will go up to 73%, and the SaaS market will reach $76 billion.
There is a downside, however: Often, as SaaS tools begin to take hold within an organization, added complexity, lack of visibility across apps and teams, redundant tools and subscriptions, and concerns about data security become more common.
Guest post by: Jaren Nichols, Chief Operating Officer at Zipbooks
Keeping accurate books may seem sleep-inducing, but it’s actually a fundamental that can keep your business growing. Accurate books lead to accurate reports that lead to smart business decisions. You simply can’t grow your business without minding your chart of accounts.
One account (or category) that has grown 20x within the last five years is SaaS spending. This represents an amazing improvement for businesses who have been able to increase productivity, innovation and even revenue by taking advantage of SaaS applications. However, these spending trends also have the potential to wreak havoc on your books.
Businesses can better categorize their accounts and use that data to manage the money they spend on SaaS apps through careful bookkeeping.
