Glitchy wrote: 1. Why
santanan
1. Why would I pay software maintenance the first when year the software is being setup with very few concurrent users …. is this normal practice? Or can I negotiate?
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Industry specific software companies tend to include maintenance for the first year of support on their software package. But keep in mind that the support will be limited to the modules purchased originally. Not all components are subject to negotiation.
[quote=Glitchy]
2. What is a fair rate for consulting services for programming, setup and customization for our implementation on site? I know this negotiable, but I would like to know a fair rate, for them and us. The average going rate?
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When purchasing an “off the shelf” product, from an industry specific software company, you will be subject to their consulting and programming fee for customized needs. You have to remember that the product is developed to serve a specific need and any custom work will be out of scope and would have to be tested to comply with their product and not cause any downtime. Remember, the product works fine without customization.
[quote=Glitchy]
3. Maintenance is 18%, that seems fair, i guess?
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Annual maintenance fees DO NOT decrease on a year to year basis, it will continue to rise. It is to your best interest to ask the software company for a set annual cost, for the maintenance, at the beginning of the purchase. This is best practice since it will be quoted at current rates.
[quote=Glitchy]
4. Does the company want our maintenance or the original software purchase? I know both, but how negotiable is the initial purchase?
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Both. It is best practice to establish an annual cost, for the maintenance fee, at the time of purchase. Maintenance is something you will continue to renew on the product.
[quote=Glitchy]
5. I need to hire a SQL/Crystal Repots programming in the Southwest (of America) what’s the going rate for our region?
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My suggestion would be to look at some job posting sites for your region and take it from there. It is all dependent on the region, job specifics and skill sets.
Although parts of a quote are negotiable, keep an open mind that you will be limited. Since you would request some customized work. I definitely DO NOT recommend to hire an independent programmer to work on a industry specific product.
P.S. I would be more than happy to help with any hardware related questions also.