How Competera prepaid or deposit-based pricing model works

In this article (~4 min read):
1. How Competera subscription works
2. Advantages of the usage-based billing

How Competera subscription works

As of December 2018, most clients of Competera currently use a prepaid or deposit-based pricing model introduced in April 2018. It ensures transparency and control over account's balance as well as provides visibility into the way an account is debited for the platform use. 

Under the prepaid pricing model, an organization chooses the subscription period deemed the most convenient of the three options Competera offers: 3, 6, 12 months, and pays for the selected number of months in advance. 

The first invoice comprises a setup fee and a deposit for the number of months a client subscribed for. Every issued invoice contains the information about the subscription period and the invoice detail/description.

As soon as they receive the client's payment, the Competera Billing team emails them a confirmation of receipt. Among other things, this email contains a link to the financial statement – a spreadsheet which helps to keep track of how client's funds are used, and contains the fee structure and breakdown. The Billing team updates every spreadsheet on the first business day of the month. 

The statement includes details on the way the client's monthly fee is formed, which is based on the quote from Competera Pricing Expert or a Customer Success Manager.

The following components contribute to the final monthly fee: 
- platform flat fee (sections used, data spider support, etc.),
- delivered data points and processed product matches – these numbers do vary from month to month,
- one-time services (addition of a store for monitoring, modification of a repricing rule, etc.).

Besides that, there is a table with the client's monthly charges, as in the example below (a client has been using Competera from 3 months):

Advantages of the usage-based billing

After the first payment, both the monthly fee and the amount to be credited to the client's account are not limited or fixed. 

Consequently, Competera billing is becoming usage-based for more and more clients, what results in the monthly fee being proportional to the platform usage. It is possible to modify a current configuration of features and services on a monthly basis, adjust the scanning schedule, add products and data spiders. 

Furthermore, the usage-based billing and a forecast of when the account will run out of funds (based on historical data about previous months expenses) enables a client to plan their budget for the presumably low and high season.

For personalized information on Competera pricing models or to request to switch over to the deposit system, please reach out to your dedicated Customer Success Manager.