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jong2k4 · 08-29-2004, 04:33 AM

I have an appointment to attempt to sell an Excel template to my (just barely former) workplace. It's basically a master report form for the cash control department at a theme park, and I have no idea what to charge. What follows is a loooong explanation of the situation, but if you want to just venture a ballpark figure you can skip the rest of the post and do that.

It is 3 sheets, and if you aren't somewhat familiar with cashier work/cash control skip the rest of this paragraph. It contains on the first sheet a complex reconciliation with drop-down menus for selecting cashier names/numbers; for each till, it displays only cashiers working in the department that uses those tills. It contains on the second sheet an overage and shortage (for cashiers' actual revenue vs. what they should have) report which is automatically generated from information in the reconciliation, and the report is conditionally formatted to show 4 levels of severity of error. It contains on the last sheet a deposit report which automatically generates a variety of messages regarding the deposit being over/short the reconciliation and also messages regarding whether the credit card batches are on. Naturally everything is summed automatically. It would be hard to get into further detail on the report without y'all being familiar with the system we use, so I'll stop there.

I've been letting the park test it for free for about two months. It has resulted in significanly increased efficiency; it used to all be done by hand. It has increased readability, which is really important (there are so many stupid errors to be made when you have to read other people's writing,) it has significantly improved our ability to catch errors early because all of the totals can be viewed in real time throughout the day, rather than just adding them up at the end of the day, it has significantly improved our ability to spot errors by automatically checking for them and displaying messages regarding them, and having it on a computer where numbers can be instantly changed improves our speed in correcting errors. It's also way cool.

Anyway, I have an appointment to meet with the general manager and the owner on thursday to discuss whether or not they would like to buy it permanently and if so for how much. I have no idea what to ask; I don't even have any idea how much time I've put into it. Probably most of my time was spent just learning how to use Excel anyway.

I've also started studying Access, because I think that a database would be far superior to an Excel file in terms of flexability (making changes to an Excel file often results in formatting issues where cell references no longer match up) ability to report over long periods of time (for a while I was trying to make an Excel file that used references to other files to create a variety of monthly reports... but that was VERY awkward and would still be limited to monthly reports,) ability to input information using forms, and ability to generate a wider variety of reports (especially the ability to add in new reports whenever I want) However, I still know very little about Access and have no hope of knowing enough to build a database as advanced as I want for months. So, what I was thinking was that I would offer to sell the park the Excel template to use for 6 months or so at which point they can either renew it or buy the Access database I hope to have constructed by then.

I'll throw in some service too, for either the excel or the access template: any errors in the original file I send them will be fixed free of charge of course, any basic maintenance (ie updating the cashier tables) will be billed at $10/hour should they so choose to send that work my way, and any advanced maintenance such as adding new reports/features will be billed at $20/hour, any training of employees in the use of the file or its basic maintenance will be billed at $30/hour.

I am idea-less beyond that. All I know is that I should probably charge more than $100 and probably less than $500... should I throw in various service for a flat up-front rate rather than charging hourly? Rather than let them use it for 6 months with the intent of then selling the access version, should I charge a higher initial rate for indefinite use and then offer them a discount (heh, or at least tell them it's a discount because as I have no other customers it's not really a discount) that will become active upon their upgrade to the access version?

All input is welcome!

08-29-2004, 04:33 AM	#1
jong2k4 Member (8 bit) Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: SoCal Posts: 178	Selling accounting templates I have an appointment to attempt to sell an Excel template to my (just barely former) workplace. It's basically a master report form for the cash control department at a theme park, and I have no idea what to charge. What follows is a loooong explanation of the situation, but if you want to just venture a ballpark figure you can skip the rest of the post and do that. It is 3 sheets, and if you aren't somewhat familiar with cashier work/cash control skip the rest of this paragraph. It contains on the first sheet a complex reconciliation with drop-down menus for selecting cashier names/numbers; for each till, it displays only cashiers working in the department that uses those tills. It contains on the second sheet an overage and shortage (for cashiers' actual revenue vs. what they should have) report which is automatically generated from information in the reconciliation, and the report is conditionally formatted to show 4 levels of severity of error. It contains on the last sheet a deposit report which automatically generates a variety of messages regarding the deposit being over/short the reconciliation and also messages regarding whether the credit card batches are on. Naturally everything is summed automatically. It would be hard to get into further detail on the report without y'all being familiar with the system we use, so I'll stop there. I've been letting the park test it for free for about two months. It has resulted in significanly increased efficiency; it used to all be done by hand. It has increased readability, which is really important (there are so many stupid errors to be made when you have to read other people's writing,) it has significantly improved our ability to catch errors early because all of the totals can be viewed in real time throughout the day, rather than just adding them up at the end of the day, it has significantly improved our ability to spot errors by automatically checking for them and displaying messages regarding them, and having it on a computer where numbers can be instantly changed improves our speed in correcting errors. It's also way cool. Anyway, I have an appointment to meet with the general manager and the owner on thursday to discuss whether or not they would like to buy it permanently and if so for how much. I have no idea what to ask; I don't even have any idea how much time I've put into it. Probably most of my time was spent just learning how to use Excel anyway. I've also started studying Access, because I think that a database would be far superior to an Excel file in terms of flexability (making changes to an Excel file often results in formatting issues where cell references no longer match up) ability to report over long periods of time (for a while I was trying to make an Excel file that used references to other files to create a variety of monthly reports... but that was VERY awkward and would still be limited to monthly reports,) ability to input information using forms, and ability to generate a wider variety of reports (especially the ability to add in new reports whenever I want) However, I still know very little about Access and have no hope of knowing enough to build a database as advanced as I want for months. So, what I was thinking was that I would offer to sell the park the Excel template to use for 6 months or so at which point they can either renew it or buy the Access database I hope to have constructed by then. I'll throw in some service too, for either the excel or the access template: any errors in the original file I send them will be fixed free of charge of course, any basic maintenance (ie updating the cashier tables) will be billed at $10/hour should they so choose to send that work my way, and any advanced maintenance such as adding new reports/features will be billed at $20/hour, any training of employees in the use of the file or its basic maintenance will be billed at $30/hour. I am idea-less beyond that. All I know is that I should probably charge more than $100 and probably less than $500... should I throw in various service for a flat up-front rate rather than charging hourly? Rather than let them use it for 6 months with the intent of then selling the access version, should I charge a higher initial rate for indefinite use and then offer them a discount (heh, or at least tell them it's a discount because as I have no other customers it's not really a discount) that will become active upon their upgrade to the access version? All input is welcome!