Before buying any SaaS tool, run it against three questions: what manual process does this replace, how much t

Before buying any SaaS tool, run it against three questions: what manual process does this replace, how much time does that process take per week, and does the tool's annual cost stay below 30% of the value of that time?

Most SaaS purchases fail this test. The tool replaces something that took 2 hours a week. The subscription costs $200/month — $2,400/year. If your time is worth $150/hour, you're spending $2,400 to save $15,600 in time. That's a good deal.

But if the "process" it replaces is something you checked once a month for 15 minutes, that math falls apart fast. Multiply $150/hour by 3 hours per year and you get $450 in saved time. The $200/month tool costs you $1,950 per year net.

Webmaster tool stacks accumulate this way — one tool at a time, each one justified individually, collectively adding up to a monthly bill that eats margin. Audit your stack every quarter. Cut tools that fail the 30% test.