Detection is the foundation of Clicoff: without a reliable initial mapping, any cancellation or negotiation starts from partial perceptions. We designed the engine as an enrichment chain rather than a black box: each proposed subscription can be explained (rule, consideration, reason for recurrence) and adjusted by you if ground truth differs.
Processing pipeline
Simplified diagram: in production, queues, validations and safeguards complete these steps to handle import spikes.
What we mean by "detected subscription"
This is not a universal legal definition: it's a line item classified as recurring commitment based on available signals — always revisable.
One charge can be a subscription, association fee, installment payment, or billing error. Our rules seek to isolate what behaves like a renewing commitment (consistent amount at stable intervals, known consideration, description consistent with a digital service or telecom). When ambiguity remains strong, we favor "to be validated" status over categorical claims — accuracy beats the illusion of exhaustiveness.
- Stable monthly debits from an identifiable provider (streaming, cloud, online press).
- Trials or first months at reduced rates followed by full price when the reason appears in the description or history.
- Annual or quarterly plans with predictable maturity dates.
- Recurring 'add-on' options attached to a primary service (additional storage, extra seats).
- Telecom or box subscriptions whose label sometimes aggregates multiple components—detected as a grouped line with context note.
- Insurance 'bundled' or tacitly renewed contracts when renewal signals are visible in the flow.
- Classic B2C services hidden behind a generic heading ('CB INTERNET PAYMENT') with few clues — placed in 'low trust'.
- Edge cases: recurring donations, internal amortizations, rentals — flagged rather than imposed as leisure subscriptions.
Six Product Levers to Secure Mapping Quality
Coverage & normalization
Consolidation by counterparty, masked IBAN or aggregation, harmonization of noisy labels. We reduce duplicates like 'Netflix' vs 'NFLX' when the signal is strong enough.
Immediate budget reading
Amount per period, monthly equivalent, trend over 3 to 12 months, contribution to total household subscriptions.
Contextualized alerts
Trial end, double charge, renewal increase, annual transition coming — each alert cites the data triggering it.
Proof storage
History snapshot useful for a claim or cancellation: what was seen, when, with what confidence level.
Multi-account Scenarios
Personal + joint + pro account: filter by source without mixing legal frameworks or internal expense notes.
Resilience to partial imports
Error recovery, incremental import, reminder if a date range is missing — avoid temporal blind spots.
« Good detection isn't one that fills the table fastest—it's one that alerts you when it's uncertain. »
False positives, false negatives: how we handle them
Transparency on what algorithms cannot guarantee.
A false positive makes you think a service is still active when it's not; a false negative leaves a real subscription off the radar. Both cost time or money. We document confidence levels (high, medium, low) and suggest groupings you can dismiss with one click. For merchants billing under different legal entities, detection may fragment the same offer: your manual merge teaches the engine for the next few months.
Typical sources and tradeoffs (indicative)
| Source | Benefits | Typical limits |
|---|---|---|
| PSD2 Bank Aggregation | Less Manual Entry, Fresh Flows | Depends on the connector and bank; a few merchants missing |
| CSV/PDF Export | Total user control, excluding API dependency | Variable quality; OCR sometimes needed; export delays |
| Multi-account | Consolidated household view | Risk of Double Counting Without Merger Discipline |
| Short History | Quick detection on existing | Less visible annual or seasonal patterns |
Sensitive data: scope and purposes
We limit retention to what is strictly necessary for detection, alerts, and preparing your actions. Third-party login credentials are processed through token and rotation mechanisms compliant with industry standards. You can at any time revoke a connection or request export and deletion of your file subject to legal obligations (billing, ongoing disputes). Technical logs allow auditing who accessed what on the support team side — with internal traceability.
- Systematic encryption in transit
- Processors listed in the privacy policy
- No resale of transactional data to advertising brokers
"Audit" mode
For accountants or family mediators: structured export of closure reasons and triggered alerts.
Service not found?
Submission of a raw label to enrich our reference — prioritized manual processing.
Tax calendar
Annotation of potentially deductible items based on your situation — indication, not tax advice.
Multi-currency
Indicative conversion with exchange rate date — useful for cross-border residents and expats.
Generally within a few minutes for standard aggregators. Very large histories or complex PDF formats may require queue processing or user validation.
In extension, detection directly feeds 'Manage & optimize' modules (budget, tags, simulations) and 'Cancellation' flows (proofs, timeline). We recommend you complete the digital view with a manual semi-annual pass: contracts under handwritten signature or recurring payments on secondary accounts often escape automatic sync.