Where the spend hides
- Seats
Licenses with no active user
Leavers, role changes and duplicate accounts keep licenses assigned long after anyone uses them.
- PSLs
Permission set licenses
Bought for a feature or a project, then renewed every year whether the feature is used or not.
- Add-ons
Products that renew by default
Add-ons and separately licensed products such as MuleSoft or Tableau renew with the order form unless someone reviews them.
- Editions
Users on a higher edition than they need
Not every user needs the edition the org standardized on. A mix of editions can cost less.
Why it matters at renewal
Unused licenses and add-ons are easier to address before a renewal than after it, and order forms renew automatically unless notice is given. How reductions interact with the discount on the rest of the order is part of the negotiation.
Where Deal IQ comes in
This page covers what has changed and where the cost sits. Turning that into a better price on your contract is the negotiation itself. Deal IQ has run 290+ negotiations across Salesforce, Slack, Tableau and MuleSoft, covering $725M+ in contract value, with a network of 350+ former vendor sales, pricing and deal desk leaders that includes people who sold Salesforce. We negotiate directly with Salesforce or behind the scenes with your team, and our fee comes from the savings.
Frequently asked questions
How do we find unused Salesforce licenses?
Compare assigned licenses and permission set licenses against active users and actual feature use, and review add-ons line by line against the order form.
Can we reduce Salesforce licenses at renewal?
Usually, but reductions can affect the per-user discount on the remaining quantity. Raising them early, as part of the wider renewal, gives the best result.
DEAL IQ IN NUMBERS