10 Things to Consider Before Buying Procurement Software: Part 1

Part 1: Here in this article we will look at the first five things to consider when it comes to buying procurement software. Some are more obvious, but others may bring up some valid points to consider in your search.   1. Pricing of software: How is the software priced? Is it a flat rate? Is it based on functionality or number of users? Drilling down further is it based on not simply a raw number of users, but how many concurrent users will be accessing the software in the course of a day? Do you have a large up front cost or do you pay smaller monthly fees? The same company may offer multiple pricing options. Your needs and level of use may determine which pricing model works best for you.   2. Services available with it: Before even buying the procurement software, make sure to ask all about the on-site services that they will be providing. Does the price include set up and training? Customization? See what is included in the base price and what services may required an additional expense.   3. Guarantee of Satisfaction: In today’s world you can take back just about anything and get a refund. But software works differently and you will want to ask specifically what type of satisfaction guarantee is in place for the software purchase. Is a refund possible if you are unsatisfied? You will need to decide how important this is before proceeding.   4. Trouble-shooting Response Time: Let’s be honest; no software is perfect. Glitches and bugs are guaranteed. What the company does when you have a problem is what is important. Do they respond quickly to help you trouble shoot problems? If a bug is discovered do they begin working on the repair or does it get added to the next quarterly update?  Understanding how this works will help ensure that your expectations are met and avoid frustrations when problems do occur.   5. Procurement Software Updates: Ask about planned updates to the software. When updates do occur how are existing customers notified? This also ties back into pricing to some degree. Are updated included in the pricing package or will you have to pay to receive updates? When purchasing software as a service your monthly subscription should include all software updates as that is one of the advantages to purchasing in this format. Or is it somewhere in the middle where you receive updates for a specified time after which you would need to pay. This could be a good area for negotiation; make sure your contract includes free updates for as long as possible.