Do You Need That App?
When did you last read your credit card statement line by line? Vonda just finished her monthly ritual of expensing out the Flower Clique statement, and it sparked a question every shop owner should sit with: how many of those recurring charges are you actually still using? This week's episode is all business (much to Lori's amusement — she takes no pleasure in this one), and it might be worth real money to you.
Every dollar is your responsibility
Lori opens with a confession: years ago she took over the household bills from her spreadsheet-loving husband, and the experiment lasted about two months. It wasn't her wheelhouse, and handing it back was a win for everyone. But as Vonda points out, most shop owners don't get that option. Bookkeeper or no bookkeeper, you are ultimately responsible for every single dollar that moves through your shop.
And here's the trap: recurring charges become invisible. A $10 charge for an AI tool, $7.99 for a clipping service, that mysterious $2.99 from Apple everyone seems to pay — they show up every month, so you stop questioning them. Vonda's math makes the case for digging in: if it takes you an hour to eliminate a $2.99 monthly charge you don't need, you just paid yourself $36 for that hour. Stack up two or three forgotten subscriptions and you're over a hundred dollars a year — money better kept in your pocket than someone else's.
Lori's own example: Audible. She loves to read, but her brain doesn't do audiobooks while multitasking. When she finally opened the notification email, she found six or seven unused credits piled up — and canceled a subscription she'd been quietly paying for months. This is especially common with AI tools right now: people trial three of them, settle on one, and keep paying for all three.
Don't stop at the credit card
The hosts widen the lens beyond the card statement:
Flower invoices. Whoever processes incoming flowers should be checking product off against the invoice — 25 carnations, 50 roses — every time. Most shops have this handled.
Wire service statements. These are so convoluted that even good bookkeepers struggle with them — some lines are credits, some are debits, flowers purchased through the service belong in your flower cost category, containers belong in cost of goods sold. Vonda reviews these with florists often, and there are frequently fees on there you don't need and can have removed — you just have to ask.
Everything is more negotiable than you think. Lori's husband Mark has challenged unjustifiable line-item charges on hotel bills and gotten them removed. It's rarely about the $30 — it's the principle that vendors find it very easy to add "just another line item," and we assume we have to pay it.
Speaking of bookkeepers: a great one is worth protecting at all costs. Vonda and Lori have both seen Flower Clique members whose longtime bookkeepers know exactly what's up and keep the business honest — and they've seen the backstories where a bad one did real damage.
Vonda's card system, and the fees to dodge
From her shop-owner days, Vonda shares a categorization trick: use separate credit cards for separate expense types. One card for fuel and vehicle expenses, one for travel, one for merchandise and cost of goods sold, one for recurring charges like utilities. When statements arrive, each one already maps to a P&L category — no end-of-month archaeology required. She carries multiple cards from one issuer, plus a Visa as backup since not everywhere takes American Express (and at least one shop in a recent Shop Talk stopped accepting Amex after the processing percentage went up).
Two more fee warnings: research cards that give something back in points or perks — but if paying your flower bill by credit card triggers a convenience fee, do the math. Ninety percent of the time the fee outweighs the points, and you're better off writing a check.
The phone subscription check
Finally, the tip that gives the episode its name. Lori once downloaded an app on a road trip during March Madness so Mark could listen to a game — seven days free, credit card on file, forgotten — and paid for it for six months. Vonda's fix: go to your phone's Settings, type "subscriptions," and every app subscription on your account pops up, ready to cancel. Especially worth checking if kids play games on your phone — and especially now that app stores no longer even ask for your card, just a quick double-tap approval.
Key takeaways
- Put your eyes on your credit card statement every month — recurring charges hide in plain sight.
- An hour spent killing unused subscriptions pays a real hourly wage; small charges compound over a year.
- Scrutinize wire service statements — some fees can come off, and categories need correct P&L breakout.
- Use separate cards for fuel, travel, goods, and recurring charges to make categorizing painless.
- Search "subscriptions" in your phone settings and cancel what you're not using.