Access logs look harmless in SaaS

This past week has been about stability and consistency.

I’ve had steady inquiries, more podcast guests lined up, and my brand continues to grow brick by brick. No dramatic challenges, just the usual ongoing battle of maintaining consistency and dividing my time in the right way.

But the real learning that stood out, in one of my recent podcast recordings, a guest reminded me of something I already knew but needed to hear again: the power of understanding the “why” behind the law.

It’s not just about what the law says on paper, but the reasoning behind it. That’s where the real insight lies, and it’s what makes working with founders meaningful.

At the same time, I’ve also started to distance myself from the noise of social media.

Too many people speak confidently on things they’ve never actually experienced. For me, the better path is to keep showing up, focus on real conversations, and maintain healthy boundaries.

And with that in mind, here’s today’s lesson.

The SaaS Trap: Harmless Things That Hurt You

In SaaS, it’s often not the big commitments that cause the most damage. More often, it’s the small, harmless-sounding ones that quietly chip away at your business.

Take something as simple as access logs.

A client asks for them, and you think, “No problem, we’ll share them.” It seems like an easy win. And at first, it really is no problem at all.

But then another client asks. And then another. And suddenly, what started as a five-minute favor has turned into a recurring operational burden. You’re now managing:

• Storage costs that grow every month

• Retention policies that tie into compliance requirements

• Export requests that interrupt your engineering team’s work

That quick “yes” has now become a hidden cost center that no one accounted for.

Why Boundaries Matter in SaaS

The real problem isn’t the logs themselves. The real problem is agreeing to provide them without boundaries.

When you say yes without limits, you quietly take on responsibilities that belong to your client. You’re no longer just running your product. You’re now carrying their compliance obligations on your back.

And that leads to difficult questions:

• Do you really want to be responsible for retaining data to satisfy your client’s regulators?

• Do you want your engineers pulled away from product development to dig up historical logs?

• Do you want to cover the storage bill for something that brings no direct value to your business?

Of course not. But unless you’ve defined the rules upfront, that’s exactly the position you put yourself in.

My Way to Protect Yourself

Here’s how I’d advise SaaS founders to approach this issue before it spirals:

1) Define what you keep - Be explicit in your contracts about what data you store, in what format, and for how long.

2) Set retention periods - Decide whether logs are kept for 30 days, 90 days, or a year. Anything beyond that should be treated as a separate paid service.

3) Price exports separately - If clients want bulk access logs, make it a billable item. It should not be absorbed into the base subscription.

4) Tie policies to compliance frameworks - If your business follows SOC2, GDPR, or another standard, make those frameworks your reference point. That way, clients know you’re not creating custom obligations just for them.

With these safeguards in place, you protect your team’s time, your company’s resources, and your margins.

TL;DR

In SaaS, it’s rarely the dramatic client requests or massive licensing issues that eat away at your business. It’s the quiet, harmless-sounding favors that pile up.

Logs aren’t free. Favors aren’t free. Boundaries ensure you don’t end up paying for them.

Final Thoughts - Every “Yes” Has A Cost

In SaaS, those costs might not show up immediately, but they compound over time. What begins as a quick favor for one client can quietly become an ongoing obligation for your entire business.

Boundaries are not about being difficult with clients. They’re about being clear, fair, and sustainable.

Because if you don’t set those boundaries, your margins will eventually set them for you, and they won’t do it kindly.