How often to review your costs

2026-10-28 4 min read

There is no single right interval for reviewing costs. A sensible rhythm layers small regular checks with a deeper look on a schedule, plus extra reviews when something changes. This article lays out one such rhythm you can adapt.

Three layers

Think of cost review as three layers, each with a different depth and owner.

Monthly checks by your accounts payable team.
Quarterly sampling by a finance lead or controller.
A deeper review, annually or every few years, often with outside help.

The deeper review is where a partner firm fits. Fairview connects you with a firm. The firm does the review.

Monthly: what accounts payable can do

These checks are small and quick:

Run a report of open vendor credits by vendor and age, and apply credits to the next payment where your system allows it.
Scan for invoices with the same vendor, number or amount paid twice.
Flag any invoice that is much larger or smaller than the last one from that vendor.
Note new vendor records, especially names similar to existing ones.

Check how your accounting system treats credits. Some net them against invoices automatically, and others need manual action.

Quarterly: sample against the contract

Each quarter, choose a few vendors and compare one recent invoice with the contract. Rotate vendors so all the larger ones get a turn over the year. Record what you checked, so the next quarter starts from there. Focus on recurring bills such as telecom, utilities and freight and parcel, where small errors repeat every month.

Annually: look at contract dates

Once a year, list every contract with its renewal date and notice period. One legal commentary recommends auditing contracts early in the calendar year, before renewal dates pass and while options are open. Your own calendar may differ, so pick a month that fits your fiscal year and close schedule.

For each contract decide whether to renew, renegotiate or end it. Compare what you pay with what you use. Why contract terms drift over time explains what to look for.

Every few years: a deeper review

A full review by a partner firm makes sense when:

You have not had one before.
Your vendor list has grown a lot.
Several people who knew the contracts have left.
Your last review is old enough that contracts or systems have changed since.

How many years counts as "old" depends on your business. A reasonable approach is to set a review date when you finish a review, and move it earlier if one of the triggers below occurs. [CONFIRM: a partner firm supplies guidance on review frequency]

Events that call for an extra review

A merger, acquisition or move to a new location.
A new accounting or payment system.
A large lease signing or lease renewal.
A sharp rise in a cost category that you cannot explain.
Turnover of the person who owned a major vendor.
A vendor changing its billing format or ownership.

A sample calendar

Every month: credits report, duplicate scan, new vendor check.
Every quarter: invoice-to-contract sampling for a rotating set of vendors.
Once a year: renewal and notice-date review.
Every few years or after a trigger: deeper review with a partner firm.

Write this into a shared document and assign a name to each line. A schedule with no owner is not a schedule.

Keep a log

Record each check, who did it and what it found. A log shows patterns over time, such as one vendor that errs every quarter. It also gives a partner firm a head start, because findings you have already made need not be rediscovered. The article on what to gather before a lease audit shows what kind of records help.

When you are ready

If your calendar says a deeper review is due, read when a cost review is worth doing and then use the request a professional page.

Find out what you are overpaying.

Tell us what you need reviewed. We match you by hand with an independent partner firm. You keep your existing vendors.

Request a professional