HR software pricing: what each model includes
By Deibson Silva · Reviewed on
HR software pricing depends on the charging model: per person on the payroll, per plan with modules included, per use, or with a separate implementation charge. To compare two proposals you have to bring them to the same year of use and add what each one leaves out: set-up, training, add-ons and leaving.
Why can two proposals not be compared at a glance?
Because each provider charges for a different thing. One gives a figure per person per month, another an annual amount per plan and a third an amount per report. Set side by side, the three figures do not tell you which is dearer.
On top of that comes what does not appear on the first page: implementation, the modules that sit outside the plan, taxes and what it takes to leave. The comparison is only fair when it is made on the same scope and for the same period.
Which charging models are there?
Six, sometimes combined in one proposal. The table explains how each is worked out, when it fits and what to ask.
| Model | How it is worked out | When it fits | What to ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per person on the payroll | An amount each month for every person registered | Stable workforces and similar use across the company | What happens with joiners and leavers mid-year |
| Per plan with modules included | A fixed amount, monthly or annual, according to the plan | When you want to know the spend in advance | Which modules sit outside the plan |
| Per use | You pay for each report or each person assessed | One-off needs, or projects with a beginning and an end | Whether there is a minimum order and whether unused credit expires |
| Implementation charge | A single payment at the start | Projects with configuration and support | What it covers and whether it also applies on the annual plan |
| Add-ons | Added to the plan when they are needed | Functions that not every client needs | Whether the amount for each is published |
| Bespoke | Negotiated case by case | Large accounts with requirements of their own | What is put in writing, and for how long |
Monthly or annual?
The annual payment is made in one go and usually comes to less than twelve monthly payments. In exchange, you commit the whole year. Paying monthly lets you leave earlier and works out dearer if you stay.
For a first year, the sensible course is to start monthly with the module that solves the decision that weighs most, and move to the annual plan once you know it is being used. Some providers have plans that can only be taken annually; ask which ones before you compare.
Look at how it renews, too. Automatic renewal with a short notice period is a term of the proposal, just as the figure is.
And check the currency. If the provider invoices in another currency, ask who bears the exchange rate and whether the amount is fixed when you sign or moves with every bill.
What is usually left out of the published figure?
First, VAT. In Spain providers usually publish their amounts without the tax, which is then added on the invoice: Article 88 of the VAT Act obliges the supplier to pass it on to the customer. Always compare figures without tax against figures without tax, and remember that every country applies its own rules.
Second, set-up. Some plans carry an implementation charge and others do not. Ask what work it covers and who does it.
Third, training. If the tool uses artificial intelligence, Article 4 of the EU AI Act asks whoever deploys it to take measures to support AI literacy among their staff. It is worth knowing whether the provider helps with that or whether it falls to you.
Fourth, the add-ons: own branding, extra credits, candidate sourcing seats. Fifth, leaving. Article 28(3)(g) of the GDPR obliges the processor to delete or return the data when the service ends, at the controller's choice, and the Spanish data protection authority's guidelines ask for the contract to spell it out. If returning the data is charged separately, it is part of what you pay.
How do you work out what you will pay in a year?
With a sheet of five rows per provider.
In the first, the modules you will really use in the next twelve months, leaving out the ones you might use one day. In the second, how many people will take part: how many you will assess, how many vacancies you will open, how many managers will sign in to the tool.
In the third, the amount for the plan that covers those modules, monthly or annual. In the fourth, the one-off payments: implementation and training. In the fifth, the add-ons you need for the plan to do what you were shown in the demonstration.
Add up the five and repeat the sum for the second year, without the one-off payments. The difference between providers usually lies in that second figure.
What does the way of charging say about the provider?
Quite a lot. A provider that publishes its amounts lets you decide whether it fits before you book a meeting. One that only gives them after a call tends to adapt them to what it thinks you can pay.
Charging per person on the payroll pushes you to register as few people as possible, and that clashes with what a company wants from these tools: that everyone who manages a team uses them. Charging per plan removes that brake, although it asks you to choose the plan well.
Charging per use is transparent and suits short projects. For continuous use, check from what volume a plan works out better.
What should you ask before you sign?
Bring these questions in writing and ask for the answers in the same document as the proposal.
Do the amounts include taxes? Exactly which modules does the plan include? Is there an implementation charge, and does it also apply if I take the year? Which add-ons do I need for what I saw in the demonstration? What happens if my workforce grows mid-year? How does it renew, and how much notice do I need to give to leave? In what format will you return the data at the end?
Keep the written answers with the contract. A year later, when the renewal arrives, they are what lets you check that you are paying for what was agreed.
Where can you see what iPersonality charges?
On the pricing page, which shows every plan and add-on, in euros and, for the United Kingdom, in pounds. Each plan page also sets out which modules it includes.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
- Do published amounts include VAT?
- It depends on the provider. iPersonality publishes them excluding VAT: for clients in Spain the tax is added, and in the rest of the EU it is calculated at payment according to the country and the VAT number.
- What is an implementation charge?
- A single payment at the start that covers configuration and initial support. Not every plan carries one, and on some it is waived if you take the year.
- What is a report credit?
- At iPersonality, one credit issues one of the three individual reports: cognitive-behavioural profile, multiple intelligences or spiritual intelligence. Credits bought as an add-on never expire.
- Is the annual plan worth it?
- Once you know the tool is being used. To try it out, paying monthly or per use commits you to less.
- What happens to my data if I stop paying?
- The GDPR obliges the processor to delete or return it when the service ends, at your company's choice. Ask for the contract to state the deadline and the format.