Recently, we shared a LinkedIn post highlighting five crucial questions to ask when choosing quality management software. While we intend to address all five questions in detail, this blog will concentrate on the pricing aspect, as it’s the most critical.
Stay tuned for upcoming blogs where we’ll explore each of the other questions.
Prefer a video? Check the video version of the blog !
Who Should Read This Blog?
- Quality management professionals
- Organizations planning to acquire new quality management software
- Organizations nearing the end of their current quality management software contract
Question: Apart from the straightforward user charges, what other future variable costs should we anticipate?
Why This Question is Important:
When it comes to QMS pricing, it’s noticeable that no vendor, regardless of size, tends to disclose their pricing publicly. What could be the reason behind this secrecy? How can you ensure you’re being charged fairly? When you inquire about pricing, responses often cite organizational structure as a determining factor. But does this explanation satisfy you?
After several discussions, once you’re already engaged with the vendor, that’s typically when you receive the quote. This can come as a shock due to its unexpected nature, and by then, you’re already committed. You’ve invested time and effort, making it difficult to restart your search from scratch. Had you known the price upfront, you might not have initiated discussions in the first place.
Also, vendors often lower their fixed pricing to penetrate a market and appear as the preferred option. Many large organizations operate on an L1, L2 basis, where if the scope of work matches, pricing becomes the primary selection criterion. Fixed pricing is straightforward, while dynamic or variable pricing can be predicted but often comes with terms and conditions. This leads companies to enter contracts with an L1 vendor, only to later discover that the total cost is much higher than anticipated, making the L1 vendor more expensive than the L2 vendor.
Typical answer:
At Quaster Guru (an imaginary QMS company), we strive to provide a transparent and cost-effective solution for your quality management needs. Beyond the straightforward user charges, our system is designed to ensure you face minimal additional costs. Here are the possible future variable costs:
Premium Support Plans:
Our basic support is comprehensive, but for those requiring immediate assistance, we offer premium support plans. These are entirely optional and only for those who feel they need an extra layer of support.
Note: This implies that regular support may not be sufficient, and upgrading to premium support could become necessary, potentially adding unforeseen costs. Since the need for premium support might not be evident initially, it is challenging to include this in the initial quote.
Optional Training:
While our software is highly intuitive, we offer optional training programs to help your team get the most out of our system. These training sessions are not mandatory and are designed for users looking to deepen their expertise.
Note: Expecting users to learn the platform independently can be daunting. If training becomes essential, it will incur additional costs. The true intuitiveness of the platform is hard to gauge without actual use, making it difficult to factor training expenses into the initial quote.
Charges for Additional Employees:
As your organization grows, you might need to add more employees to the system. This is a variable cost dependent on your expansion and the number of new users you decide to onboard.
Note: Initially, the per-user charge might seem minimal (e.g., $10/user/month). However, as the entire organization starts using the system, the costs can escalate significantly. For instance, if 500 employees need access, that’s an additional $5000/month or $60,000/year, far exceeding initial expectations.
Small One-Time Setup Fee:
To get you started, we charge a minimal one-time setup fee to cover the initial configuration and customization of the software to fit your specific needs.
Note: The exact setup fee may be vague and described as dependent on various factors like process complexity, current setup, and quality objectives. Typically, this fee can be around $10,000, which may not be clearly communicated upfront.
By understanding these potential costs, you can better plan and budget for your organization’s needs while leveraging the full capabilities of Quaster Guru.
The ideal answer : The Isolocity way
Our pricing is plain, transparent, and publicly available on our website.
Admin Users:
$159 per month for an annual contract, or $199 per month for a monthly contract. As the number of admin users increases, the cost per admin decreases. For instance, with 30 or more users, the cost is $100 per admin per month for annual contracts and $117 per admin per month for monthly contracts.
Production Users:
$29 per month per user, applicable to both annual and monthly contracts.
Employee Users:
No charge.
Free items:
- Unlimited free support
- Unlimited free training
- No setup fee
- Free SOPs
Consider this: if you’re interested in Isolocity or a similar software solution, our month-to-month contract option allows you to immerse yourself in the system for a month. If it doesn’t meet your expectations, you can simply terminate the contract.
Prefer an even simpler option? Contact us directly for a free trial.
Conclusion
Here’s how an ideal response should appear compared to a typical one. The more a vendor conceals or downplays their variable costs, the more concerning it should be. If you require assistance in navigating this journey, feel free to reach out to us.
