With the average organization using over 100 SaaS products, lack of visibility and missed renewals can be costly. As software licenses increase, effective renewal management becomes crucial.


Sastrify helps protect your IT budget and maintain control over SaaS renewals. To ensure efficient renewal management, we’ve highlighted the key configurations in Sastrify that will get you on track.

IN THIS ARTICLE

Set the renewal dates & terms

The foundation of renewal management is accurately understanding and setting renewal dates and terms for all of your active SaaS subscriptions. Doing so will allow you to keep track of all renewals and avoid unexpected auto-renewals, ultimately protecting your overall IT budget.



To set or update a subscription's renewal details:

  1. Select any tool or subscription in your tool stack to open its subscription details page.
  2. Select the "Summary" tab.
  3. Click "Edit Details" to set or modify it.
  4. Enter the start and end dates.
  5. Set the renewal frequency.
  6. Define whether the subscription is auto-renewed.
  7. If there is an auto renewal, select an appropriate cancellation period.
  8. Click "Save Changes" to complete.


SaaS Renewal Best Practice: To find the renewal dates, refer to essential documents like subscription contracts, order forms, and occasionally invoices. Software vendors have different languages in their terms and conditions. Work with your legal team to review these and figure out when tools renew, if there are auto-renewals, and the cancellation notice periods.

Bringing all of this to light and storing it in Sastrify as your single source of truth will reduce your risk and allow you to proactively deal with upcoming renewals.

Renewal calendar

After setting all renewal dates accurately, Sastrify will compile, organize, and visually represent them in a renewal calendar accessible directly from your overview page. 



This consolidated view enables you to grasp all upcoming renewals at a glance. Moreover, within this calendar, you can delve into the specifics of each tool and initiate procurement activities seamlessly.


For more information on how to navigate and get the most out of the overview page, please read this article. 



Tip: You can also use the Filter Subscriptions feature on your Tool Stack page to filter for tools that are in "Up for Renewal" status or based on what's defined in their renewal details (dates & frequencies).


Set renewal reminder

As a Sastrify admin, you can set up a company-wide renewal reminder that will be applied to all your subscriptions whose renewal frequency (see above) is set to Yearly or Other. Sastrify will proactively remind your tool owners via email and in-app notification that their renewals are coming up in advance to allow for sufficient preparation. 


Only users with an Admin role have the ability to create task automations; those with contributor and viewer roles do not possess this capability. 

Refer to this article to understand the different roles and permissions.



Renewal reminder can be accessed from Settings > Notifications.


This feature is always on and is set by default to automatically send a renewal reminder 3 months prior to the renewal date, with additional recurring reminders sent every 2 weeks.


You can also change the default renewal reminder settings to match your company's preferences or internal processes by following these steps:

  1. Toggle the default setting to off.
  2. Set the timeframe for the first reminder and the recurring period. 
  3. Click "Save Changes" to complete.



To understand how the renewal reminder works alongside the renewal terms you set, please read the following example:

  • Your Salesforce contract runs through August 30. The contract has a 90-day notice period. This would mean that the renewal decision must be made on 8/30 - 90 days = on Jun 1.

  • If you have set the renewal reminder to 2 months (60 days), Sastrify will send the reminder of the upcoming renewal on Apr 2 (Jun 1 - 60 days). If the cancellation period is not specified, the alert will be based on the company-wide timeframe applied to the renewal date.



SaaS Renewal Best Practice: Sastrify recommends that you set your renewal reminder to at least 60 days—if not 90 days—so that you have enough time to properly take all the necessary steps for the renewals, which includes performing all the due diligence, working with all the internal stakeholders, and planning for the negotiations.

Renewal actions from the renewal widget


The Renewal widget as part of the Subscription Details is more than just a place to define or update a tool's renewal details (see above). Within the same widget, you can also perform a number of renewal actions as a way to manage your renewal. 


  • Start renewal initiative: to allow you to start working and preparing for the renewal by utilizing the Initiative feature.

  • View initiative: to allow you to access or navigate to the initiative that is already created and is in progress.

  • Move to inactive when due: to allow you to set the status to inactive to indicate that you will not be renewing this tool.

  • Let it renew automatically: to indicate that you opt to let the tool get renewed automatically. This option will mark the tool status back to active when it is due on its renewal date. You choose this when you will take no further action and want to let the tool be renewed without any changes being made to the contract setup.

What's next: setting renewal workflow & starting procurement initiatives


Now that you have all the renewal confirmations set up, the next steps are to

  1. Set up your company-wide Renewal Workflow.
  2. Start creating Procurement Initiatives for all upcoming renewals.


Please follow the links above for detailed how-to knowledge articles on each feature. 



Definition of terminology: 
Procurement workflow refers to the series of interrelated processes and steps involved in purchasing or renewing, in our case, software products and services. The procurement process typically has several stages, and each stage involves the assignment of an approver.

Frequently Asked Questions


Q: What happens when a tool is approaching its renewal (as defined by the timeframe within the renewal reminder and its renewal terms)?

A: As the renewal date approaches, Sastrify will automatically update the subscription status from Active to Up for Renewal. For a more in-depth understanding of how the renewal status functions, please refer to this article.



Q: One of our company's subscriptions has a fairly unique renewal term that requires it to be renewed every 2 years. Can I accommodate this in Sastrify?

A: Yes, when you update the renewal date (follow the instructions above), select "other" as the renewal frequency and set the timeframe to 2 years. Once set up in Sastrify, this tool will change status to "Up for Renewal" every 2 years. 



Q: One of the subscriptions has a cancellation period of 120 days. How can I configure this in Sastrify?

A: You can set a custom cancellation period or, in fact, define it in any timeframe you want by selecting "Other" and entering 120 days. 



Q: Some subscriptions in our stack have an "Expired" status. Why is this happening, and what should I do?


A: This status is caused by an overdue renewal date. Expired tools are annual subscriptions that are past their renewal date. If the subscription is still in use, all you need to do is to simply update the renewal date and the relevant terms.



To scan the entire tool stack, we recommend the use of the "Filter Subscriptions" in the Tool Stack page to filter for tools whose status = Expired:

  • For tools/subscriptions that are still active and in use, change the status to active and fully update the renewal dates. Use the guide outlined in this section to define the renewal dates and terms.
  • For tools/subscriptions that are no longer in use, change the status to inactive to ensure they are properly archived.


To prevent subscriptions from expiring, always make sure the renewal terms in full: define the dates and detailed terms, including the auto-renewal clause and the cancellation period.


Q: Who receives the renewal alerts or reminders?

A: By default, the tool owner of a subscription is notified of renewal notifications or other updates to the subscription. (For more information on assigning a tool owner, see this article.)

In addition, any user who follows and comments on a particular subscription will automatically receive all notifications related to that subscription. You can follow a subscription by enabling the Follow toggle on a subscription's activities tab.