License cost is the smallest line in a software decision. The real cost is the six months of parallel process while people trust the old system more than the new one.
The six questions
- 01Who owns the data model, and can we change it without professional services?
- 02What happens to five years of historical job costs - migrate, archive or lose?
- 03Which integrations are native, and which are 'available through a partner'?
- 04What does go-live look like including parallel running, in weeks?
- 05Who on our side owns configuration after the implementer leaves?
- 06Can we see a live instance with messy, real-world data in it?
| Line item | Share of year one | On the quote? |
|---|---|---|
| Licenses | 20–30% | Yes |
| Implementation services | 25–35% | Sometimes |
| Internal staff time | 20–30% | No |
| Parallel running / rework | 10–20% | No |
“The demo was flawless because the data was fake. Our data has three spellings of the same vendor.”
IT director, general contractor
Frequently asked
- What is the true cost of construction software in year one?
- Licenses are typically only 20–30% of first-year cost. Implementation services, internal staff time and parallel-running rework make up the rest, and the last two rarely appear on a vendor quote.
- What does 'available through a partner' mean?
- It means the integration is not built or supported by the vendor. Expect a separate statement of work, separate fees and split accountability when it breaks.
