What does renting software cost?
Renting software — at Attek Solutions, Custom Software as a Service — typically costs between €1,000 and €1,500 per month. There is no setup fee and no upfront investment. You pay from the month in which you use the software. The first productive version is ready one to two months after the contract is signed. Included are development, hosting, operations, support with an SLA and ongoing changes.
Typically €1,000–1,500, minimum €500.
Why we ask for no money before your software is running
In classic software projects you pay up front. You transfer a six-figure amount and hope that something usable comes out of it in the end. The risk sits entirely with you.
With our Custom Software as a Service model we turn that around. Attek Solutions develops your software at its own cost and therefore carries the entire development risk. You pay only once the software is running productively, and you pay only for as long as it is useful to you.
This works because we do not sell a one-off project but software that runs for years and keeps being developed further. Our interest is therefore the same as yours: that the software really is used day to day and delivers value.
What the monthly price includes
Everything that is needed to keep the software running. There are no additional costs for operations or maintenance.
| Included | Details |
|---|---|
| Development | The full development of your software, with no upfront cost |
| Hosting and operations | Server, database, backups, availability — we make sure operations run |
| Maintenance and security | Regular updates and security patches for the components in use |
| Support with an SLA | Response within 2 hours, Mon–Fri 8am–6pm — service credit for longer outages |
| Two changes per month | Adjustments to existing features, at no additional cost |
| Data export at any time | Your data belongs to you — full export on request |
What the support commits to, specifically
We respond within two hours and fix the problem as fast as possible. We attach concrete consequences to that: if an outage lasts longer, we credit part of the monthly fee back to you.
| Incident | Response |
|---|---|
| Critical — the software cannot be used | within 2 hours of the report |
| Major — work is possible but restricted | within 12 hours of the report |
| Downtime | Credit |
|---|---|
| over 3 to 6 hours | 10% |
| over 6 to 12 hours | 25% |
| over 12 hours | 100% |
There are no hourly rates
Everything runs through the monthly price. Attek Solutions does not invoice hours — not for support, not for maintenance, not for new features.
If you commission a new feature, the monthly price goes up. You are told beforehand by how much, and then you decide. There is no follow-up claim, no effort estimate that gets exceeded later, and no invoice you did not expect.
At every point in time you know what your software costs per month. That is the one figure you have to budget for.
What counts as a “change”?
A change adjusts existing functionality without anything new being created. Renaming a field, adjusting a calculation, reordering a form, rearranging a workflow — those are changes and are included in the monthly fee, two per month.
As soon as a new data field, a new screen or a new interface is added, it is a new feature. New features extend the scope of the software and therefore change the monthly price. We tell you what a request costs before we start — you decide whether it is worth it to you.
This boundary is deliberately kept simple so that you can apply it yourself before you ask.
When does this pay off? And when does it not?
Below €500 per month, the maths for Custom Software as a Service often does not work out. The effort for development, operations, maintenance and support is then out of any sensible proportion — for you and for us. If your process can be mapped with off-the-shelf software, off-the-shelf software can be the cheaper and better choice. We tell you that openly in the intro call, even if it means we make no offer.
Custom Software as a Service fits when:
- Your process differs from what off-the-shelf software assumes — and that is a competitive advantage you do not want to give up
- You work today with a mixture of software, spreadsheets and paper because no product covers everything
- Several people work with the process every day and lose time in manual hand-offs
- You have asked for custom development before and dropped it because of the upfront cost
It does not fit when:
- Your need is covered by an off-the-shelf product and your budget stays small
- You want a one-off solution that nobody touches afterwards
- You have to run the software yourself
Work out beforehand what stands on the other side of the calculation: custom software raises savings and revenue potential that an off-the-shelf solution does not reach — manual work that disappears, a higher degree of automation, staff costs that do not grow along with the business. If €500 per month looks tight today, the calculation can still carry itself. Off-the-shelf software remains the better choice for a small budget and a standard process. Anyone who wants to scale, cut staff or licence costs, or open up new sources of revenue should definitely talk to us.
What €1,250 per month means in comparison
In isolation the amount sounds like a lot. Compared with the alternatives you actually have, it looks different.
| Option | Upfront investment | Ongoing cost | Fit to process | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic software project | €10,000–100,000 | Maintenance contract + hourly rates for changes | Fits if the requirements were captured completely up front | You, up front |
| Hire a developer in-house | Recruiting, onboarding | €4,000–6,000/month | Fits as long as that person stays with the company | You |
| Off-the-shelf software (SaaS) | Licence, rollout | Licence fee per user, plus one per add-on tool | Too many features nobody uses, and too few where it matters. What is missing is added through further tools. A tool zoo emerges. Certain requirements of your business cannot be mapped at all. | You carry the process risk |
| Attek CSaaS | €0 | €1,000–1,500+/month, everything included | Exactly your process, edge cases included — one system instead of several tools | Attek |
Put differently: the monthly price is roughly one to two day rates of an experienced developer. For that you get a month of development, operations, maintenance and support.
Term, exit and purchase option
Minimum term, then extension by one year at a time
Notice period before expiry
Monthly fee as the purchase price, from 24 months of term
Minimum term: 12 months. After that the contract extends by one further year at a time, unless it is terminated three months before expiry.
Your data always belongs to you. At the end of the contract you receive a full export in a common, further-processable format. That applies regardless of why the contract ends. There is no deadline within which you have to request the export, and no additional cost for it.
Purchase option from 24 months of term. After two years you can take over the software. The purchase price is 24 times the monthly fee valid at that point. At a monthly fee of €1,250 that is €30,000. You thereby receive the non-exclusive right to run and further develop the software yourself.
This means there is no vendor lock-in. Your software is developed with standard technologies, not on a platform only we can operate — unlike off-the-shelf software, low-code or no-code builders, where the application can never leave the vendor. After the purchase, hosting, operations, maintenance and continued development sit with you: in-house or with a provider of your choice who knows the usual stack. So you are not permanently tied to us; you stay because the collaboration works for you.
What moves the price up or down
The price follows scope and operating effort, not the size of your company.
Up
- Number of processes and screens covered
- Interfaces to existing systems (DATEV, ERP, payroll software, marketplaces)
- Number of users and data volume
- Elevated requirements for availability or data protection
- Every feature added later on
Down
- A clearly bounded initial scope instead of “everything at once”
- Doing without interfaces in the first stage
- Reusable building blocks we have already built
We almost always recommend starting small. A tight initial scope means a lower entry price, a faster first release, and the option to decide on the basis of real usage what gets built next.
Frequently asked questions about the pricing model
Is there really no setup fee?
No. Attek Solutions develops your software at its own cost and carries the development risk. You pay the first monthly fee once the software is in productive use. There are no hidden setup, onboarding or project costs.
What does Custom Software as a Service at Attek Solutions cost specifically?
Typically between €1,000 and €1,500 per month. The minimum is €500. The exact price depends on the scope and is fixed after the requirements workshop — in the form of a statement of work with a fixed monthly price.
Why is there a minimum of €500?
Below that amount the effort for development, operations, support and continued development does not add up. We would not be able to deliver good software to you. In such cases we recommend off-the-shelf software and say so openly. Before you wave it away, it is worth looking at the other side: when manual work disappears through automation and staff costs do not grow along with the business, the monthly price is often carried by the saving. We do that calculation with you in the intro call.
How many changes are included?
Two per month, each to existing features. Unused changes expire at the end of the month and are not carried over.
What is the difference between a change and a new feature?
A change adjusts something existing without a new data field, a new screen or a new interface being created. Anything beyond that is a new feature and changes the monthly price. We tell you the impact before we start.
Does the price rise over time?
No. There is no price-adjustment or indexation clause. The agreed scope keeps its price permanently. The monthly price changes only when you commission new features.
How long does the contract run?
The minimum term is 12 months. After that it extends by one further year at a time, unless you terminate three months before expiry.
What happens to my data if I terminate?
Your data belongs to you and is exported in full and handed over at the end of the contract — in a format you can keep working with. At no additional cost.
Can I buy the software later?
Yes. After 24 months of term you can take over the software. The purchase price is 24 times the monthly fee valid at that point — at €1,250 per month that is €30,000. You receive the non-exclusive right to use and further develop it yourself. This means there is no vendor lock-in: the software runs on standard technologies, and you can take over operations and continued development yourself afterwards or hand them to a provider of your choice.
What does a new feature cost?
New features are not billed individually; they raise the monthly price. We tell you by what amount beforehand, and you decide. There are no hourly rates and no follow-up invoices.
Are there costs that are not included in the monthly price?
No. Development, hosting, operations, maintenance, security updates and support are fully included in the monthly price. Attek Solutions does not invoice hours.
What support do I get for the monthly fee?
Attek Solutions GmbH responds within two hours to critical incidents and within twelve hours to major ones, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm, and fixes them as fast as possible. If an outage lasts longer than three hours, the monthly fee is credited pro rata — in full from twelve hours.
What happens if the software goes down?
For an outage of more than three hours within service hours you receive a credit of 10% of the monthly fee, from six hours 25%, from twelve hours the full monthly fee. The credit is applied automatically.
How long does it take to reach the first productive release?
Between the contract being signed and the first productive version, one to two months pass depending on the scope. You pay from the month in which that version is in use. The scope of version 1 is defined together beforehand and documented in the statement of work — it deliberately covers the core process, not everything at once.
What happens if Attek Solutions ceases operations?
You do not have to rely on that. Two mechanisms cover you at no additional cost: you can export your data in full at any time, and from 24 months you can take over the software. Anyone who wants to go further can arrange source-code escrow with an independent escrow agent — that costs a one-off €4,500 for setup and €2,000 per year, charged by the escrow agent. For most projects the first two mechanisms are enough.
Is Custom Software as a Service cheaper than a classic project?
In most cases yes. Operations, maintenance, support and continued development arise in every software project — depending on the availability and response commitments, those running costs alone sit between €1,000 and €3,000 per month. With a classic project the one-off development comes on top as an upfront investment. With Custom Software as a Service you essentially pay what you would have to pay anyway; development is included in the monthly price and barely registers alongside those operating costs.
Tell us where things are stuck.
I run the intro calls myself. 30 minutes, free of charge, with no sales pressure — you find out whether custom software pays off for you and what it would cost. If it does not, I will tell you that too.
Book an intro call
Jan Klädtke
Managing Director, Attek Solutions GmbH