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by DoreenMichele 3030 days ago
Large companies routinely screw over small ones.

Perpetual sounds like another way of saying unlimited. Every story I have ever read involving an unlimited contract involved bleeding the company that agreed to provide unlimited service.

People who bought unlimited airline flights for life basically live on airplanes. They soak the airlines for all they can get.

I have seen stories of small shops that died largely due to agreeing to give unlimited service to a single client for a fixed fee.

They are asking you to enter a contract where they pay you one time and then service them forever. If that doesn't sound like a deal with the devil, maybe read up on what a bad deal slavery typically is.
1 comments
Spooky23 3028 days ago
Perpetual is just licensed software.

If you sell it for $100/user, you charge $20-30 per year for maintenance annually.

The OP is making no margin on his SaaS already and the client probably knows it. This is an opportunity to actually generate a return.

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DoreenMichele 3028 days ago
A quick skim of articles comparing perpetual and SAAS licensing suggest SAAS is more lucrative. If he's barely making a profit now, this sounds like it only gets worse.

I based my assessment of the scenario in part on this being his largest client. Large companies routinely screw over small ones. It is par for the course. You can basically assume that if a big company wants it, you are likely to lose your shirt if you are overly cooperative with their agenda. They are looking out for number one. They are not looking out for you.

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Spooky23 3027 days ago
YMMV.

It sounds like he didn’t price it right. SaaS is more profitable in general because you own the customers data, guaranteeing renewals, and it’s cheaper to support an app than support a customer on Amazon.

I made a lot of money selling a little application to an enterprise that did some data transformation. That enterprises policies would have prevented them from buying a SaaS from me.

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DoreenMichele 3026 days ago
It is always humbling to learn the limits of one's own knowledge. You've been very kind about it.

Best.

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