Fabio Ferioli
CFO Smartpricing
"
We have delegated contract negotiation, and we are not going back: now we are entirely focusing on running the business—and the price we pay for software is lower than ever.
How Smartpricing Saved 30% On Software, WithLess
Smartpricing uses WithLess to get clarity over software spend, and manage software subscriptions and payments. Thanks to WithLess negotiation services, they saved 30% on software costs in one year for tools like HubSpot and more.
150+
software subscriptions managed
30%
saved on software costs in one year
200+ hrs
saved on negotiations and admin work
Company name
Smartpricing
Industry
Hospitality tech
Company size
200+
Headquarters
Arco, Italy
Intro
Did you know that companies could save up to 30% if they had real-time insights into their software spending to negotiate better contracts?
It seems too good to be true, yet that is what happened to when they started using WithLess and leveraging WithLess for software negotiations.
The outcome? 30% saved on software costs in one year, over 150 software subscriptions saved and more than 200 hours saved on negotiations.
The challenge
Smartpricing, a fast-growing Italian startup in the hospitality tech industry, faced a critical challenge as it scaled.
Growing fast means a lot is happening at once. Software is one area where things are sure to escalate quickly.
Soon after starting to buy software, Smartpricing realized three things:
1. costs exploded, and they did not have a way to see a list of all their contracts, subscriptions, and vendors to learn where;
2. they did not have visibility on who was using what;
“We needed clarity on what we had and who was using what,” Fabio Ferioli, CFO of Smartpricing, recalls.
3. each software renewal caused frustration and potential disruptions in operations.
Each and every time, the discount they secured in the previous negotiation vanished, and the prices skyrocketed. They knew there were levers they could pull to get better pricing, but they did not have time for lengthy negotiations on multiple contracts simultaneously.
Their gut was telling them they were wasting money and time, but they had no data to prove it.
Fortunately, Smartpricing found WithLess.
The solution
The WithLess approach has two steps: step one is get clarity on software costs and remove waste, and step two is make sure waste does not come back and negotiate better contract renewals.
During step one, Smartpricing used WithLess’s spend and software management platform as the central hub for all its software, vendors, and contracts. It also managed payments and automated admin work with invoice matching and reconciliation.
WithLess audited their spending, contracts, vendors, subscription costs, and processes and automatically tracked software usage without wasting hours on never-up-to-date spreadsheets.
This was when they realized they were facing a challenge with renewals, and step two unfolded: WithLess stepped in to provide on-demand negotiation services.
“We chose WithLess to have control over software costs, manage payments, automate admin work, and understand if we are paying a fair price, and they step in every time we have a contract up for renewal and need a negotiation,” said Fabio.
WithLess white-glove negotiation services are as easy as they get.
For each time-consuming software contract renewal, Smartpricing tells WithLess what they need and what they are looking to keep in terms of features, and that is it for them. “All we do is a 30-minute call with our expert buyer the day before the negotiation starts to define our needs and the features we need to move forward,” said Fabio. “There is no back-and-forth negotiation management needed. Zero.”
WithLess’ expert buyers act as an extension of their team to negotiate software prices and only reach back to share the vendor’s best offer based on their requirements.
A dedicated expert buyer sifts through contracts in one tab and has the WithLess software usage report in another. They can quickly identify which features Smartpricing is paying for but not using and leverage these insights when negotiating their contract.
Sometimes, when the negotiation needs more than one touch, the expert buyer takes ownership of finetuning the offer to request an additional price drop, allowing Smartpricing to fully control the negotiation even if they do not take part in the calls with the vendor.
“All we do is a 30-minute call with our expert buyer the day before the negotiation starts to define our needs and the features we need to move forward. There is no back-and-forth negotiation management needed. Zero.” Fabio Ferioli, CFO, Smartpricing
The result
In the first year of working with WithLess, Smartpricing saved 30% on software costs, managed 150+ software contracts and vendors, and saved 200+ hours of admin work and negotiation for tools like HubSpot and others.
“At a fast-growing start-up, it is easy to lose control of expenses. WithLess has helped us manage payments while keeping control over software spending and usage,” adds Luca Rodella, CEO of Smartpricing.
Thinking back about the HubSpot negotiation result, Fabio recalls, “I would have never thought we could get that discount from a big provider such as HubSpot.”
Today, each renewal is a new savings opportunity instead of causing frustration and potential operational disruptions.
As Fabio sums it up: “We have delegated contract negotiation, and we are not going back: now we are entirely focusing on running the business—and the price we pay for software is lower than ever.”
The WithLess on-demand negotiation service is free, with a 30% fee applied if the negotiation is successful. Smartpricing only paid 30% of the discounted amount based on their previous offer, not the standard software pricing.
TL;DR
😞 Problem
Smartpricing, a rapidly scaling hospitality tech startup, struggled with skyrocketing software costs, poor visibility into usage, and frustrating renewal negotiations. They knew they were wasting money and time but lacked the tools to fix it, until they found WithLess.
🤓 Solution
WithLess helped Smartpricing take control of software costs and streamline renewals in two steps: clarity and negotiation. WithLess’ platform centralized software, automated admin work, and tracked usage. When renewal time came, WithLess stepped in with expert buyers to handle negotiations.
🥳 Result
In their first year with WithLess, Smartpricing saved 30% on software costs, managed 150+ contracts, and reclaimed 200+ hours of admin time. WithLess only charges 30% of the savings from successful negotiations—no win, no fee.
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H1 Finance S.r.l. è una società a responsabilità limitata con sede legale in via Amilcare Ponchielli, 51, 24125 – Bergamo (Italia), capitale sociale di Euro 10.962,56 , interamente versato, codice fiscale, partita IVA e numero di iscrizione presso il Registro delle Imprese di Bergamo n. 04537180160, REA n. BG-470381, PEC: h1finance@legalmail.it. H1 Finance S.r.l. è un agente registrato iscritto presso l’Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR) con il numero 724935, iscrizione consultabile nel Registro degli Agenti Finanziari (www.regafi.fr), in qualità di agente dell’Istituto di Moneta Elettronica Treezor SAS (CIB 16798), la cui sede legale si trova in 33 rue de Wagram, 75017 – Parigi (Francia).
H1 Finance S.r.l. is a limited liability company with registered office at via Amilcare Ponchielli, 51, 24125 – Bergamo (Italy), share capital of Euro 10.962,56 , fully paid-in, tax identification number, VAT number and registration number with the Companies’ Register of Bergamo No. 04537180160, REA No. BG-470381, certified email address: h1finance@legalmail.it. H1 Finance S.r.l. is a registered agent registered with the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR) under No. 724935, registration that can be consulted in the Register of Financial Agents (www.regafi.fr), as agent of the E-Money Institution Treezor SAS (CIB 16798) with registered office at 33 rue de Wagram, 75017 – Paris (France).
H1 Finance S.r.l. is a limited liability company with registered office at via Amilcare Ponchielli, 51, 24125 – Bergamo (Italy), share capital of Euro 10.962,56 , fully paid-in, tax identification number, VAT number and registration number with the Companies’ Register of Bergamo No. 04537180160, REA No. BG-470381, certified email address: h1finance@legalmail.it. H1 Finance S.r.l. is a registered agent registered with the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR) under No. 724935, registration that can be consulted in the Register of Financial Agents (www.regafi.fr), as agent of the E-Money Institution Treezor SAS (CIB 16798) with registered office at 33 rue de Wagram, 75017 – Paris (France).
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