Basic user tier change procedure:
-
Client emails Billing to request User Tier increase (or request is moved from another department to Billing)
-
Billing checks to see if client is still in contract, replies to client email and informs them of associated costs, etc.
-
Billing modifies Recurring Amount and users, calculates and manually charges client for prorated spend, and notates.
Billing-specific instructional:
-
Check the proposal on Basecamp for older accounts/HubSpot for newer accounts Use to see if client is still in contract (i.e. has made their contracted number of payments).
-
Compare the term listed on page 15 of the contract (Early Termination of Agreement) with the number of fulfilled payments (Past Invoices) in the CAA.
-
You can also check the Sales Notes thread in Basecamp, or the file name of the proposal document, to see the client's monthly term.
-
-
If they have not yet fulfilled all contracted payments, then their user tier rates will match what is listed on their contract (usually on page 8).
-
If they have already fulfilled all contracted payments, the cost to upgrade is an extra $100/month per every 5 additional users* IDX-Only Accounts, Blocks of 25 Users for $100/month
This upgrade is based off the client's existing pricing and doesn't require them to match Sierra's current base price before upgrading.
-
-
If it is more than a few days before the client’s next billing date, we will need to prorate the price difference to account for the current billing cycle. See Internal Instruct: Prorating charges for instructions.
-
We only prorate the price difference for the upgrade. So if someone goes from $399.95 to $499.95, the prorated spend will be a portion of the $100 upgrade cost, not a full month’s hosting fees.
-
We only prorate upcharges for user tier increases. We do not prorate credits for user tier decreases.
-
If the client’s next billing date is within a few days of the request, you can give them the upgrade without prorating.
-
-
Reply to the client to confirm any associated costs, including new billing amount and prorated charge. Use "User Tier Prorated Upgrade Email" template in HubSpot.
-
If client agrees, run the prorated charge as a Manual Transaction and ensure it goes through.
-
Implement the user tier increase immediately by following these steps:
-
ALWAYS log into the correct database!
-
Select the corresponding website:
-
Go to Hammer/Wrench Icon > Site Permissions
-
Double-check that you’re on the correct DB and site!!
-
Edit “Maximum Number of Active Users” under Admin Permissions:
-
Click Submit at the bottom of the page.
-
-
In the client’s Manage Billing screen, edit the Recurring Amount and Recurring Description to reflect the new price and user tier level. Make sure to stick to the usual numbering scheme. (21-25 Users, not 1-25)
-
Email the client back to advise the user tier increase is in effect and to recap all billing details.
-
Leave notes on the Billing screen in the CAA.
FAQs
-
What if a client is out of contract and decides to stay at their same user tier level? Will we increase their bill?
Nope! They can stay at that same price level indefinitely. Increasing to a higher price only takes place if client is a) out of contract and b) increasing their user tier.
*Out-of-contract clients who upgrade do so at $100/mo per every 5 extra users. Upgrade is based off the client's existing pricing and doesn't require them to match Sierra's current base price before upgrading. -
Can a client go below the base 5 users to decrease their monthly costs?
No. 1-5 users at $399.95 is the lowest we can go for clients on older pricing prior to April 2023. The minimum for Core is $499.95 for 1-5 users and the minimum for Growth is $699.95 for 1-5 users. -
Is there a cap on the max user tier price?
Current Pricing: No, If a client exceeds 45 total users, we want to send them to their CSM (if Growth) or to Scott Selverian (if Core) to have a discussion about potential custom pricing. For upgrades, look at Company property “Service Level” for an easy reference point - Core/Growth should always have standard $100 per 5 users pricing unless IDX Only
Core Pricing for 50+ users (https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1u3MH3pT50EfLnXCOEXBYykqsu9hU9z8U4xzkCvhxk0c/edit#slide=id.g244ff5c6eae_0_6)
Growth Pricing for 50+ Users (https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1u3MH3pT50EfLnXCOEXBYykqsu9hU9z8U4xzkCvhxk0c/edit#slide=id.g244ff5c6eae_0_20).
OLD PRICING: Yes, only if the cap has been offered previously. For Pro Sites which started at $399.95 for 1-5 users, $1,299.95 (50-200 users) is the highest we normally charge per month at the old pricing structure - see our Pricing List spreadsheet for more specifics. If we have offered or told clients this older pricing cap in writing, we can likely offer that pricing but first, confer with a team lead/manager first before proceeding. -
What is the pricing cap for clients who started at different pricing?
The pricing cap will increase accordingly. Think of it like there being 10 separate user tiers that all clients get, and the 10th tier automatically gets the client up to 200 users. Here are examples:-
Old client started at $349.95 for 1-10 users and later upgraded to $499.95 for 11-25 users. New pricing cap will be $1,299.95 for 65-200 users.
-
ACE Site client started at $499.95 for 1-5 users. New pricing cap will be $1,399.95 for 50-200 users.
-
Old Premier Site client started at $499.95 for 1-25 users and never upgraded. Pricing cap goes up to $1399.95 for 66-200 users.
-
-
How do user tiers work for Parent/Child sites?
See the FAQs on this article: Parent and Child Site Explanation [Internal Instruct] -
What if a client only wants 1 extra user?
If client is at the current pricing structure where each upgrade gets them 5 extra users, they have to pay the standard costs to upgrade.If the client is still in contract at a pricing structure where they’d have to upgrade by 15+ users just to add one person, you can check with your Team Lead for an exception. However, this situation is currently unlikely since Sales stopped issuing new contracts with that pricing structure in 2019.
The only time we will definitely add a courtesy user is if a client subscribes to a platform partner such as GGMS, or if a client needs a Roster Only user (see next question).
A couple notes from Ryan (former Sales Manager) about this:
1. Sierra is still the best value product in our space, i.e. clients aren’t getting a better deal anywhere2. Because of the manual nature of our billing process, we open up the ability for clients to try to negotiate. If account upgrades were handled by the client within the billing admin, these types of conversations wouldn't happen nearly as often. We always need to draw a hard line here, our business model is dependent on it. The only time we may decide to flex on this policy is when a client is just rolling off previously contracted pricing and just missed the opportunity to move into a higher user limit with the prior structure.
-
What about partner platform users (Hatch, GGMS, etc.)?
For any clients who subscribe to GGMS or our other platform partners, our partner needs to have a standard user on the client's account in order to implement their library of action plans, do coaching, and the like. This does take up a standard user slot on the client's account, so Sierra can grant GGMS clients a courtesy user to compensate. See this article for more information: "Can I Get a Free User?" - Courtesy User Requests and GGMS/Hatch/Partner Platforms -
What is a Roster Only or Display Only user type? How do we note them?
See here: Roster Only/Display Only Users
-
What if a client requests an increase just after fulfilling their contract?
If it’s still within the final contracted billing cycle, they can upgrade at their contracted rate. So if their final payment was charged on 12/1 and they request an upgrade on 12/6, that’s fine. Otherwise, they’ll need to move to current pricing. -
A client is currently at 1-10 users for $349.95/mo but is out of contract. They request to upgrade to 11-25 users for $499.95/mo, which is listed on their contract. What to do?
The cost to upgrade is $100 extra per every 5 additional users, so 21-25 total users would be $649.95/month. We can no longer match the 11-25 pricing on their contract for the upgrade. -
An out-of-contract client is currently at 11-25 users for $499.95/mo and requests to upgrade to the next tier. What is their pricing?
Since upgrades are based on the client's current monthly pricing and user tier, it'd be an extra $100/mo per every 5 additional users. This client's next level up would be 26-30 users for $599.95/mo.
-
A client is currently at 11-25 users for $499.95/mo and is out of contract. They request to decrease to 10 users. Do they need to match our current pricing?
Generally, if a client is out of contract, we will meet them in the middle and reduce their pricing by $100 per every 5 users they remove, with the limit being that we can't go below our current base pricing ($399.95).
A general rule of thumb for downgrading is that we cannot decrease a client below our current base pricing, unless the client started at a discounted price, such as $359.95 for a second site. So if a legacy client is paying an old rate of $179.95 for 11-25 users and then requests to decrease to their original rate of $99.95 for 1-10 users, we cannot do that - they can stay at their current rate indefinitely, but we are unable to lower them further. -
What if a client is angry about a price difference?
Advise that one way to reduce a bill is via referral discounts. They can also stay at their current user tier level indefinitely, even if they’re out of contract, and they can delete any inactive users to free up space and stay at the current tier. If applicable, and based on the client’s reaction and prior conversation history (aka if the client’s a butthole), you can even offer to waive the prorated charge.
Beyond that, though, this is just the way that it is—we can’t reduce their fees if they want to increase user tiers, and we have to match the current pricing structure if they aren’t in contract.
If client is angry enough to threaten cancellation, check with your Team Lead or Manager about possibly offering a credit or other solutions. -
Can a client at an old pricing structure increase to new pricing structure, even if they’re still in contract?
[FYI, this is no longer applicable since basically every client either signed up on our current pricing structure or has fulfilled their contract. - RP 5/13/22] Yes, but that means the new user tier pricing structure will be in effect for any future changes. Sometimes clients will ask to do this because they only want to increase by 5 users (instead of the former 15).
Saved Reply
Hi ,
We can certainly increase your user tier!
It looks like your account is currently at __ users for $XXX.XX/month, and the next step up per your contract would be __ users at $XXX.XX/month. Bear in mind that we would also need to issue a prorated charge to account for the price difference on the rest of this billing cycle.
If that sounds good to you, please just reply with your confirmation and I can apply the change right away. Also let me know if you have any other questions.
Thank you!
- - -
Hi ,
Got it. Confirming I've upgraded your account to the __ user tier effective immediately, so feel free to start adding users at any time!
Your new monthly pricing of $XXX.XX will officially take effect on your next billing date, MONTH DATE. For now, I have charged $XX.XX to your CARD on file to prorate the price difference for the next __ days of service (DATE - DATE). You should have received an email receipt as soon as that charge went through.
Let me know if you need anything else. Thanks again and have a great day!