November 13, 2001 -
Summary
Notes on future pricing
We've gotten many inquiries recently with respect to future pricing of
our products, particularly NAIC Online Club Accounting (NOCA, at
http://www.naic-club.com). This notice is intended to answer as many of
these questions as currently possible.
NOCA will remain free of charge until further notice. We guarantee that
it will be free of charge at least through the upcoming tax season, which
ends April 15, 2002. This applies to NOCA's full investment club
accounting (all reports except tax returns), message boards, club
calendars, file sharing, voting, and email support.
NOCA will include full functionality for 2001 tax reports. As in past
years, access to these tax reports is not free. This year, the online tax
reports at NOCA will cost $36 per club.
As in past years, users of desktop versions of NAIC Club Accounting
(Windows v.1.04 and v.2, or Mac v.1.04) may purchase add-on tax printers
for these products. This year, the desktop tax printer will cost $49 and
will include full access to NOCA's online tax printer as well.
At some point next year, we'll probably start charging a reasonable
subscription fee for full access to NOCA, although some portion of the
site will remain free to all NAIC clubs. This fee will cover everything
on NOCA, including tax reports and telephone support, such that any club
that signs up for the service will not have to pay separate charges for
access to tax functionality. Customers of NAIC Club Accounting (for
Windows or Macintosh) current on the annual maintenance fee described
below will likely be exempt from this fee, and will continue to have full
access to NOCA.
We expect to structure this NOCA fee such that it's affordable for
smaller and newer clubs as well as their larger and richer brethren. This
will probably take shape as an annual fee based on number of members,
with a cap of no more than $99 to keep it economical for larger clubs as
well. This will make it easier for smaller clubs to obtain access to club
accounting software. (For new clubs, we're also looking to expand our
partnerships with popular brokers to offer steep discounts on accounting
software to clubs that open accounts.)
Also sometime after tax season, we expect to implement a single, flat
annual charge for users of desktop versions of NAIC Club Accounting. This
optional fee will include full support service, tax printers, updates,
and more. The exact fee is not determined, but it will be no more than
$99.
We have not yet worked out all the details of this pricing plan but
expect to have done so by early next year. We will announce details of
the plan then and guarantee all NOCA users will have a minimum of three
months explicit notice before we institute any subscription fees. In the
meantime, we are still very interested in your suggestions on this issue,
as they help us craft policies to meet your needs. Please write to
ideas@iclub.com to share your thoughts.
Recap
- NOCA free through 2001 tax season
- 2001 NOCA online tax printer - $36
- 2001 NCA desktop tax printer - $49
- Next year: per-member NOCA fees including taxes and support; cap of
no more than $99
- Next year: flat NCA maintenance fees of no more than $99 including
support, updates, tax printers, more
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Spin-off and merger support pages
Users of NAIC Club Accounting and NAIC Online Club Accounting frequently
have questions about how to handle a particular spin-off or merger.
Our online support site includes detailed explanations on proper
procedures for dealing with unusual transactions. For this informational
area on spin-offs, mergers, and more, click here or post the following
URL into your browser:
http://www.iclub.com/support/desktop/faqs/transactions/.
If you have a question about a particular transaction but don’t see
information about it on the site, feel free to drop us a line through our
online support system (http://www.iclub.com/support/request.html), let us
know what's missing, and we’ll post the appropriate information as
soon as possible.
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