How to do a subscription audit (keep / cancel / remind)

A subscription audit is a short, deliberate pass over every recurring charge you pay: list them in one place, decide keep, cancel, or remind for each, cancel what you don’t need, and set reminders so annual renewals and free trials don’t surprise you again.

You can finish this in an afternoon. You do not need to link a bank or share account logins with a third-party app. Statements you already have, plus Apple, Google Play, PayPal (or similar wallets), and a few email searches, are enough.

Why a one-time cancel purge isn’t enough

Canceling a few unused apps feels good—and it helps. But new trials keep converting, annual plans renew quietly, and household-shared accounts change. If you stop after the purge, the same mess tends to creep back.

The goal of this audit is a living list: every plan you still pay for, with a clear decision and a reminder habit attached to what you keep.

Before you start (15 minutes of setup)

Gather payment sources

Collect every card and account you might have used for trials or apps—including old cards that might still be on file somewhere. You’re only reviewing statements and billing pages you already control. You don’t need to hand those logins to anyone else.

Open a blank list (spreadsheet, notes, or tracker)

Minimum columns:

A spreadsheet or notes app is fine for this first pass.

Step 1: Find everything (discovery checklist)

Work through each channel below. Add every recurring plan you find—even if you’re unsure. You’ll dedupe and decide later.

Bank and card statements

Scan for memberships, software, streaming, delivery, cloud storage, and AI tools. Prefer a longer lookback than one statement cycle so annual and quarterly charges show up. Many people need several months of history (often up to about a year) for yearly plans to appear at least once. Treat that as a practical window, not a hard rule—confirm dates on the provider’s billing page when you can.

Apple subscriptions

On iPhone: Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions. On Mac, manage subscriptions from the App Store account settings. Apple-billed charges on your card may show as Apple, not the app brand—so the Apple subscriptions screen is often clearer than the statement alone.

If you use Family Sharing, check whether a plan is shared or billed on someone else’s Apple Account.

Official help: If you want to cancel a subscription from Apple.

Google Play subscriptions

Open Google Play → profile → Subscriptions (or manage subscriptions on the web while signed into the right Google Account).

Important: uninstalling an app does not cancel its subscription. You still need to cancel in Google Play (or with the developer, if billing isn’t through Play).

Official help: Cancel, pause, or change a subscription on Google Play.

PayPal and similar wallets

Check automatic / recurring payments in PayPal (and any other wallet you use). Match those agreements to your statements so forgotten trials don’t hide in a second billing channel.

Email search

Search for clues with terms like: subscription, renewal, receipt, invoice, trial, membership.

Treat email as a hint, not proof. Open the provider’s real site or app from a bookmark (not a random link in a renewal message) to confirm the plan and cancel path. Phishing emails often impersonate renewals.

Optional: WeChat Pay / Alipay

If you also pay via WeChat Pay or Alipay auto-renew, add those plans to the same list. Detailed Chinese-platform steps belong in a separate guide; for this English checklist, just make sure they aren’t missing from your inventory.

Step 2: Put every plan on one list

• Deduplicate. The same streaming service might show as an Apple charge and as the brand name elsewhere—keep one row and note where it actually bills.
• Note monthly equivalent and the real charge date. A $120/year plan is about $10/month for comparison, but your bank still debits $120 on the renewal date—not $10 every month.
• Flag unknown renewal dates. Follow up on the provider’s billing or account page before you decide “remind.”

Example: Alex’s afternoon list (illustrative)

These dollar amounts are made-up for illustration only—not averages or promised savings.

Step 3: Decide — keep / cancel / remind

Treat all three outcomes as valid. Not everything unused today needs an immediate cancel, and not everything you keep should be left without a reminder.

Keep

Choose keep when you’ve used it recently, the value is clear, and a cheaper free tier wouldn’t actually cover what you need.

Cancel

Choose cancel for unused plans, duplicates, or “just in case” memberships you have no near-term plan to use. Cancel on the provider’s own flow (Apple, Google Play, or the merchant site). Keep steps high-level and use official help pages so UI details don’t go stale.

Remind (pause the decision / trial / annual review)

Choose remind when:

• A free trial is nearing its end
• An annual plan is fine for now, but you want a review before renewal
• A shared household plan needs a conversation before anyone cancels

Step 4: Cancel carefully, then confirm

1. Use the provider’s own cancel flow (app settings, Apple/Google subscriptions, or the merchant account page).
2. Save a confirmation (email, screenshot, or confirmation number).
3. Check the next expected billing window on your statement. A “canceled” note in your personal list is not the same as the merchant stopping charges.
4. If something looks wrong after cancel (unexpected renewals, hard-to-find cancel paths), consumer guidance on free trials and auto-renewals from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission can help you understand your options. That is consumer education—not legal advice for your specific case.

Step 5: Set reminders on what you keep

Practical defaults (adjust to your own habits):

• Monthly plans: remind about a week before renewal
• Annual plans: remind about 2–4 weeks before renewal
• Trials: remind a few days before the free period ends

A calendar app works. A dedicated tracker helps more when you have many cycles, currencies, or devices—because the list stays in one place instead of drifting across notes.

Once your keep / cancel / remind decisions are clear, put the ones you keep into Subscription Manager so renewal dates and spend stay in one place—without linking your bank. You stay in control of every cancel.

How often to re-audit

After the first full pass:

• Take a light monthly glance for new trials and surprise charges
• Do a fuller review a few times a year (seasonal check-ins work well)
• Re-audit when cards change, household members change, or you switch phone accounts

Manual list vs bank-linked tool vs simple tracker app

All three can be valid. This checklist is designed so a manual list alone is enough to finish the audit. A tracker app is useful after you know what you keep.

Prefer not to maintain a spreadsheet long-term? Subscription Manager is a personal tracker for recurring bills, payment reminders, a simple spend overview, multi-currency use (including CNY/HKD), cloud sync, and optional AI-assisted entry from a screenshot or receipt—English and 中文. It does not connect to your bank, cancel for you, or negotiate bills.

FAQ

How do I find all my subscriptions in one place?

You won’t get a perfect auto-list without sharing bank data. Build one list yourself: statements + Apple + Google Play + PayPal/wallets + email clues, then dedupe. That combined list is “all in one place.”

What should I check besides my bank or card statement?

App Store / Apple ID subscriptions, Google Play subscriptions, PayPal (and similar) automatic payments, and email renewals/receipts. Annual plans and app-store billing often hide if you only skim one month of card activity.

How far back should I look for annual or quarterly charges?

Far enough that yearly and quarterly charges appear at least once—commonly several months up to about a year of statements. Confirm the real renewal date on the provider’s billing page when the statement label is unclear.

What fields should I record for each subscription?

At minimum: service name, amount, currency, billing cycle, next renewal (or unknown), keep/cancel/remind decision, and where it bills (Apple, Google, card, PayPal, other).

How do I decide whether to keep or cancel a subscription?

Keep what you use and clearly value. Cancel unused or duplicate plans. Use remind for trials, annual reviews, or household decisions you aren’t ready to finalize today.

How do I cancel Apple or Google Play subscriptions?

For Apple: Settings → your name → Subscriptions (or use Apple’s account subscription management). Official steps: Apple Support. For Google Play: Play Store → Subscriptions (uninstalling the app is not enough). Official steps: Google Play Help.

How do I set reminders so I don’t forget renewals or trials?

Put calendar alerts on everything you keep—about a week before monthly renewals, a few weeks before annual ones, and a few days before trial ends. A dedicated tracker reduces drift when you have many plans.

Do I need to link my bank to do a subscription audit?

No. A manual audit from statements and provider screens is enough. Bank-linked tools are optional if you want automated discovery and are comfortable sharing transaction access.

How often should I re-audit after the first pass?

Glance monthly for new trials; do a fuller review a few times a year; re-check when cards, household members, or phone accounts change.

What’s the difference between a one-time cancel purge and an ongoing tracker?

A purge removes what you don’t want today. A tracker keeps the remaining list current with renewal dates, spend, and reminders so new trials and annual renewals don’t rebuild the mess.

Can a spreadsheet be enough, or when does an app help?

A spreadsheet is enough for a short list and a first audit. An app helps when you want reminders, multi-device sync, multi-currency overview, or less manual upkeep.

After I cancel, how do I confirm billing actually stopped?

Save the cancel confirmation, note the next expected charge date, and check that statement window. If a charge still appears, follow up with the provider and, if needed, your card issuer.

Soft CTA: keep the list in Subscription Manager

You can complete this entire audit with notes or a spreadsheet. When you’re ready to keep the living list without babysitting a file:

• Track monthly, yearly, and custom recurring bills
• See a spend overview of what you entered
• Set payment reminders
• Work in multiple currencies (including CNY/HKD use cases)
• Sync across devices, with optional AI-assisted capture from a screenshot or receipt
• Use English or 中文

Start at https://sub.jerrylu.xyz—no bank login required, and you cancel with each provider yourself.