Selling accounting templates

[jong2k4]

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!

[james8547]

The template sounds great! However, I think you're selling yourself short with just $500.

But you shouldn't bill anything at $10 per hr. Consider the following:
-We bill $50 per hour to create/clean artwork.
-We get billed for $20 per hr. by someone who is updating our website.
-Our cleaning lady charges roughly $30 per hr. It's the same for the person who maintains our lawn.
-PC repairs are typically $50 - 75 per hr.
-Our CPA charges $350 per month for just looking at monthly P&L reports that I send.

A few suggestions:
-When you meet with management, back-up your claim about the templates increasing efficiency with very specific figures. Tell them how much they are saving (bottomline savings) & how many errors the file catches. Relate the savings in the price for your file. Say something like, "the template pays for itself in a month."

-If possible, give a live demonstration during the meeting. Have them see the template in action. It would even be good if you have the manual booking go head-to-head with it.

-Get some testimonials from managers/employees who actually use the template. Let them say how easy and beneficial the file is.

-You should also provide a manual for the template.

-For pricing, I'd see how much similar products sell for. Personally, I'd rather have them "lease" the program (pay as you go) on a semi-annual basis. It should be more profitable that way. For them, they wouldn't have to worry about big up-front fees. Place into consideration also the number of people who would be using it.

Good luck with the meeting and let us know what happens. Btw, is it a big park with plenty of revenue?

[TwoRails]

I don't know if this helps, but 15 - 20 years ago when I was a freelance database programmer, I would charge $25 - 60 an hour depending on the size and type of job. $10 an hour is way, way too low -- and who defines if it's minor maint. or not?

[raftero]

i've never tried nor do i have the ability to do what you have done BUT i have bought and sold performance horses for 40 yrs and i have found that if you don't price them high the people with money don't think they are any good, plus you can negotiate down but never up on price.

[jong2k4]

Thanks for all of the input!

mmmkay, so now I have some more ideas to work with... it looks like the 6 month plan is pretty popular, so I think I'll propose that. Now, the price for a permanent use and for 6 month use is going to have to be a lot different.... new ballpark figures, folks? I'll also push the fact that with the 6 month plan that keeps them away from a big initial investment (which would in turn discourage upgrading,) and that might make them more amenable to upgrading to my planned Access version in the future.

I'll check with my former supervisor and see if we can arrange to have a copy made of a day's worth of paperwork, (lol, but not a summer day- that stack would be a bit too high) then demonstrate having one person input the data by hand and one person input on the computer. I really like that idea, thanks james. In the middle of that process, I'd like to have a break and demonstrate how it can be used to solve problems halfway through the process much more easily than the manual version. I'm not sure if they want to spend that much time on a presentation though, so I'll make sure it goes really fast. During the process I'll also point out that as one of the people who actually used the template, it's unbelievably customized for exactly the processes we use.

I'd love to charge more for service, but I'm hesitant. The owners are notoriously stingy, and turnover for most of the skilled positions is very high on account of low wages. On the other hand, their contractors are able to get away with much higher hourly rates. I guess the worst that can happen is that they'll negotiate.

I'll work on creating a written manual. I'll also prepare a presentation that will include a lot of facts about how useful it is. I'll try to come up with some precise figures about how much actual time it saves, but the best I can do is estimate so I'll have to make sure that the current employees can back me up on those claims. Once I come up with some hard figures I guess that'll help me out on the pricing- for example, what it saves over a one month period is charge for it to be used for a six month period?

Where can I find similar products for sale to compare price? I'll search on ebay, but other than that the only accounting applications I've ever seen for sale are major programs like quickbooks and etc.

Thank you once again for all of your input; I'm looking forward to my first potential sale!

[james8547]

You should also be aware that most top management have time-aggressive schedules (mostly due to golf). You should check if a live demonstration is appropriate for the time allotted.

I know that a couple of local CPA firms provide accounting software setup and spreadsheet templates to their clients. However, those services are usually included in their monthly fee.

I am guessing that the best way to get pricing is to ask a consultant (which is basically what you are IMHO).

[TwoRails]

..... I'd love to charge more for service, but I'm hesitant. The owners are notoriously stingy, and turnover for most of the skilled positions is very high on account of low wages. On the other hand, their contractors are able to get away with much higher hourly rates. I guess the worst that can happen is that they'll negotiate......There have been times where I'd take any job, and times I was very selective. There are a lot of factors that play into it, like the immediate need to put food on the table. But, either as a contractor or employee, it is most typical that the worse places to work for / with are the ones that have high turnovers. Usually there is more to it than just money, often there is too much BS involved even if the money was higher. And, like raftero sez, you lose some intangibles when you are priced too low... it often scares people, except for the ones that like to exploit you.... or so it seems.