The free tiers on the register

A free plan usually limits something, such as the number of users, invoices or contacts. Those limits are where a free plan stops being free, and the vendor's pricing page states them.

A free plan is not a free trial

A free trial gives you the whole product for a short time, then asks for money. A free plan gives you part of the product for as long as the vendor keeps it. The first is a test. The second is something you could run a business on, if the limits suit you and the vendor does not change them.

Limits to look for

• The number of users, and whether your accountant counts as one.
• Caps on invoices, contacts, projects, storage or automations.
• Features that are missing, such as VAT reporting, bank feeds, exports or integrations.
• Support: a free plan often means no support, or only help articles.
• Revenue limits. Some plans are free only while your turnover stays under a stated figure.

Who a free tier suits

• A freelancer or a very small business with a handful of invoices a month, who needs a ledger and not a team.
• A business that wants to learn a product before it pays, and that will move to a paid plan on purpose.
• A small team trying a CRM or a project tool, where the free seats cover everyone who needs to log in.
• A business that already pays for other software from the same vendor and wants one more tool alongside.

Why vendors offer them

A free plan is a way to get you in the door. It is honest to say so: the vendor hopes you will grow into a paid plan, and most free plans are built so that growth is the point at which you start paying. That is not a problem. It is a reason to read the paid plan above before you commit your records to a product.

Before you build on a free tier

• Find the limit that would force an upgrade, and price the plan above it.
• Check what that next plan costs per user per month in rand, with VAT shown.
• Check whether your data can be exported if the vendor changes the free plan.
• Remember that your data still counts under the law, whatever you pay. See POPIA and your software vendor.

Where to find the limits

Keep your exit open

• Export your data on a schedule, and keep a copy that you can open without the product.
• Do not build a process that only works on the free plan's quirks.
• Keep your customers' details in a form you can move, and tell the vendor to delete them if you leave.
• Note the date a free plan was last checked on its own page. The register records it for every product.

A plan for outgrowing it

Most businesses outgrow a free plan, and the cost of that moment is the price of the next plan. Look at the first paid plan before you commit, and work out what you will pay when you have the team you expect in a year. If that price is out of reach, a different product's entry plan may be the better start. See what business software costs in rand for the whole table.