One of my businesses was paying for Sky Sports in a market where plenty of venues were already showing sport. We were carrying the subscription cost without a sufficiently distinctive reason for customers to choose us for that experience.

I decided to remove it. That saved the business over £9,000 a year in subscription costs. It is a personal example of a simple operating discipline: keep asking whether a recurring expense is earning its place.

Review the reason you are paying

A service can make sense when you sign up and become less useful as the market changes. New competitors open, customers change their habits, and a venue develops a different identity. A direct debit can continue long after the original decision deserves another look.

In this case, the local sports offer was saturated. That did not make live sport a poor product. It made it harder for this business to justify its particular subscription. A venue with a strong sports following, reliable match-day trade and a distinctive viewing experience could reach a very different conclusion.

Measure the business it brings

Start with what would change if you stopped paying. Which customers come specifically for that service? What additional sales does it generate? What food, drink, staffing and other variable costs come with those sales? What would the same trading period produce without it?

Look at a representative set of occasions, including quieter fixtures. Separate genuinely additional trade from customers who would have visited anyway. Remember the effect on other guests too: the way a room is used can attract one audience while discouraging another.

Use contribution to test the fee

Here is an illustration, not a reconstruction of my business’s accounts. If a service costs £9,000 a year and the extra sales it generates leave a 60% contribution after the relevant variable costs, it needs £15,000 in genuinely additional annual sales just to cover that fee. Use comparable figures with consistent VAT treatment.

That calculation is only a starting point. Include other avoidable costs and consider whether the service supports repeat visits or a wider part of the offer. Use your own records rather than borrowing somebody else’s margin assumption.

Distinguish a saving from a profit claim

The subscription saving in my example was over £9,000 a year. That does not automatically mean profit rose by exactly the same amount. Any lost contribution, notice period, exit costs or replacement spending must be considered before making that claim.

That distinction matters when reviewing any cost. A smaller bill is useful, but the final question is whether the decision leaves the business better off overall. Keep monitoring the trading periods affected after making a change.

Apply the same discipline to the rest of the bank statement

  • List recurring services, their annual cost and renewal dates.
  • Identify who uses each service and what it contributes.
  • Look for duplicated software, unused licences and packages that no longer fit.
  • Check notice periods and contract terms before cancelling.
  • Record the expected saving, then verify it against later statements and accounts.

Protect the things that keep the venue safe, compliant and enjoyable. Maintenance, cleaning, essential cover and the staff needed for a good service deserve a different assessment from an unused subscription.

You do not have to wait for a crisis to review costs. One regular, disciplined check can uncover spending that has become invisible through familiarity. In my case, asking that question about Sky Sports removed more than £9,000 from the annual subscription bill.

If you want a practical marketing plan built around the way your pub trades, talk to Marketing for Hospitality.