How MSPs Can Audit Tool Usage to Eliminate Redundancy and Underuse. As MSPs grow, it's easy to accumulate too many tools across areas like communication, project management, documentation, and automation. When multiple platforms provide similar functionality or adoption varies across teams, it can lead to inefficiency, unnecessary costs, and user confusion. In this guide, we’ll show you a streamlined, repeatable audit process. Before we begin be sure to subscribe to NinjaOne’s IT video hub and our YouTube channel for more tech content like this. Step 1: Create an Inventory of All Deployed Tools. Start by listing every tool your MSP uses so you can evaluate costs, usage, and any potential overlap. Review billing and license records to see what you’re paying for and check login data to confirm what’s actually being used. Step 2: Collect Tool Usage Metrics. Once you’ve identified your tools, evaluate how heavily your team relies on each one to distinguish essential platforms from those that add cost without delivering meaningful value. Gather key usage data, then compare this data to license costs and each tool’s intended purpose to see which platforms truly deliver value and which are underused. How Can You Extract Software Usage Data? Pull data from each tool’s admin dashboard. Review SSO or identity provider logs to confirm sign-in frequency, export usage reports for easier analysis, and ask team leads how they use the software to provide context beyond the numbers. Step 3: Analyze for Redundancy and Underuse. Look for low-use tools, such as software with fewer than 10% active users, overlapping platforms that serve the same purpose, and unused or unassigned licenses. By spotting overlap and underuse, you can confidently consolidate tools while keeping the functionality your team depends on. Step 4: Automate Detection of Underuse via Powershell. Here’s a simplified process for automating the detection of underused tools: Make sure your CSV file has clear headers. ,Save the file as something simple in an easy-to-find folder. Update the script to match your file name and column headers. You can also adjust ActiveUsers threshold to define what qualifies as underuse in your environment. Example script. Navigate to the folder where the file is saved and run the script. PowerShell will then list any tools with fewer than the set number of active users. Step 5: Gather Qualitative Feedback From Your Team. Talk to your team to understand usage patterns and determine which tools they truly depend on. Ask why a tool is rarely used—whether it’s due to workflow fit, lack of awareness, or access issues. ,Confirm if duplicate tools serve different needs across teams. Find out if teams plan to adopt new tools or change how they use current ones. These conversations help you optimize your stack without disrupting how people actually work. Regular software usage audits help MSPs reduce unnecessary costs, improve operational efficiency, and maintain a streamlined, high-impact toolset. By combining usage data, team feedback, and clear decision-making, you can boost efficiency and reduce expenses without disrupting service delivery. For more information, check out our official blog post on How MSPs Can Audit Tool Usage to Eliminate Redundancy and Underuse, linked in the description below.