No more shadow AI spend
Your Business Is Running 11 AI Tools. Someone Needs to Know What They All Do.
Monthly evaluation of new AI tools, license audits, vendor performance tracking, and contract optimisation. So someone always knows what you're paying for, what it's doing, and whether something better has released.
AI Vendor & Tool Management is a monthly retainer service offered by Crescent AI, an AI automation agency helping small and medium businesses automate repetitive workflows without hiring in-house AI engineers.
MONTHLY
New AI tool evaluations relevant to your use cases
AUDITED
Active licenses reviewed — unused tools flagged
OPTIMISED
Vendor contracts and pricing reviewed for savings
School uniform season and wedding alterations back-to-back — customers ringing all day asking if their order was ready. We had jobs written on paper and no way to track any of it. Crescent AI set up automated SMS updates at every stage — dropped off, in progress, ready to collect. Calls have nearly stopped, I'm taking on twice the jobs, and it's still just the two of us.
Owner, Tailoring Business · Adelaide, Australia
The Problem
AI tool sprawl is a cost and a liability.
Every team member who signs up for a new AI tool adds to an unmanaged stack. Subscriptions run past their useful life. Better tools launch and nobody evaluates them because nobody has the time. Vendors auto-renew at higher rates. The finance team can't reconcile what's being spent on AI because it's scattered across 12 different cards and expense reports.
AI subscriptions bought by individuals accumulate without central visibility into cost or usage
Tools purchased for specific projects stay active long after the project ends
Better AI tools launch monthly but no one has the capacity to evaluate whether they apply
Vendor contracts auto-renew at list price because nobody negotiates ahead of the renewal date
How it works
How the Retainer Runs
Tool Audit
Month 1We surface every AI tool the business is running — finance exports, expense reports, app marketplace listings, and interviews with team leads.
AI Tool Inventory Built
Month 1A maintained register created: cost, owner, use case, renewal date, and performance status for every tool in scope.
License Audit
Month 1Active subscriptions checked against actual usage. Unused or redundant tools flagged for cancellation.
Monthly Tool Evaluation Begins
OngoingNewly released AI tools relevant to your business assessed honestly — functional comparison, not hype.
Vendor Performance Tracking
OngoingUsage and output quality tracked against vendor commitments, documented before renewal conversations.
Contract Optimisation
OngoingRenewal dates tracked, pricing benchmarked against alternatives, and negotiation support provided before renewal.
What's included
What the Retainer Covers
Tool Evaluation
Monthly review of newly released AI tools relevant to your business. Honest assessment of whether they improve on what you already have — not hype, just functional comparison.
License Audit
Monthly check of active AI subscriptions: who's using what, how often, and whether it's serving the original purpose. Unused tools flagged for cancellation.
Vendor Performance Tracking
Usage and output quality tracked against vendor commitments. Underperforming tools documented before the next renewal conversation.
Contract Optimisation
Renewal dates tracked. Pricing benchmarked against alternatives. Negotiation support before renewal — so you're not accepting list price by default.
AI Tool Inventory
A maintained register of every AI tool the business is running: cost, owner, use case, renewal date, and performance status. Single source of truth.
Coverage
What Goes Into Your Tool Inventory
Works with your stack
Fit check
This is built for you if…
This service delivers the most value when:
Operations or finance leaders who suspect AI spend is scattered and unmanaged
Businesses that have grown their AI stack organically and lost track of what's running
Companies approaching vendor contract renewals who want independent advice on whether to renew
Teams who want to stay current on AI tools without spending hours evaluating every new release
Why Crescent AI
Why Choose Crescent AI for Vendor Management
Where the risk sits
Month-to-month. The tool inventory we build is yours. Cancel at any time and keep the register, the audit findings, and every vendor note.
Start your retainer
Start with the Audit. Not a Sales Call.
30 minutes. We map the workflows eating your team's time, rank your top automations by ROI, and tell you honestly what's not worth touching yet. You get a written summary. No slide deck. No pitch.
Month-to-month. Keep the register if you cancel. No vendor referral bias.