The £6,000 purchase needed two signatures. The £500-a-month contract needed none.

Recurring costs are approved once and paid forever, and the scrutiny that governs one-off spending rarely follows the money into the subscription line.

By Steve 5 min read
Abstract bridge artwork for The £6,000 purchase needed two signatures. The £500-a-month contract needed none.

Most businesses have a functioning discipline around one-off spending. A machine, a vehicle, a fit-out, a piece of capital equipment: someone builds a case, someone asks what else was considered, someone signs. The number is visible, the decision is discrete, and the person approving it knows they are approving it. Recurring spending behaves differently. A £500-a-month contract is the same £6,000 a year, but it arrives as a small monthly line, it was approved once by someone who may no longer be in the business, and it renews by doing…

Keep reading for free

Create an account to read the rest.

The whole library is free. No card, no subscription, no trial that quietly ends. An account simply lets us know who we are writing for, and opens every article from here on.

  • Every article, in full, at no cost
  • New articles published every weekday
  • Takes about twenty seconds
Create a free account I already have one

Free means free. We will not charge you for the library, and you can read as much of it as you like.

Important: General information only. Rialto Bridge articles describe patterns and considerations that may apply to a business; they are not financial, legal, tax or accounting advice, and they take no account of your particular circumstances. Consider your own situation and seek advice from a qualified professional before acting.

More on Operations

Scroll to Top