How to calculate the price of sources ?

The subject says all.

Imagine a custom application for one client (used in multiple computers and locations) that is sold $6000.

If the client want the sources, how to compute (or how to set) a price for them ?

Yes, not so off.

I would say 5x to 10x but I did not face the “problem” until now…

I’d say at least 2-3X. You need to figure out how much you can loose since you’re no longer “needed” for future development.

I would say one million, if it solves an one million problem. Or free, if you desire to solve one million problems for all. At the end, it’s up to you and how valuable it is for you and others, and how comfortable you will be with your software running away from your control. Let’s imagine you have ONE customer with 1000 computers needing your software, and he buys one copy of your very rare and necessary app for $6000, then he asks for the source, if you give it to him for $60000 (10x, amazing sale, congratulations), he pays the equivalent of 11 licenses, and now he solves 1000 problems. You’ve potentially lost $5,934,000.00 or 989 valued $6000.00 licenses. Whatever path you follow, it’s a personal decision; measure the values, impacts and results, there is no “one answer fits all”.

Not quite. That‘s what we call in Germany a “Milchmädchenrechnungl.

If you price it too high then it might be worth for your customer to hire a programmer instead and create his own solution.

There are two balances at play here - yours, and your customers - and both need to be taken into consideration.

You could also give your customer some choice: get the source for the equivalent of 10 licenses, or get it for the equivalent of 5 licenses but stipulate that he can’t sell the code or sell competing apps based on the code, and changes to the code (bug fixes, new features) have to come back to you.

of course if you sell the sources, a non disclosure agrement is mandatory.

Sure. Some people price their sources very high, expecting just that, it’s a kind of polite “no”, but in case of you being extremely rich and wanting it anyway, it’ll be a sort of jackpot that maybe never will occur.

I didn’t say any kind of “do this or that way”, I did say “it’s up to you to decide your path” based on the value of your product, value of the problems it solves, what you want to you, want you want to others, your humor that day you made your decision, and whatever. :wink: Sources can be included from Free to a Zillion Dollars.

[quote=380198:@Emile Schwarz]The subject says all.

Imagine a custom application for one client (used in multiple computers and locations) that is sold $6000.

If the client want the sources, how to compute (or how to set) a price for them ?

Yes, not so off.[/quote]

First off… Have you already bled this customer dry? or is there a potential for selling more licenses to them? If so, how many?
Is this the only customer likely to purchase this application? If not, make sure you retain the right to continue to sell it.
Was there any prior discussions about potentially supplying the source code?

The answer(s) to these questions will help determine the value to you and to this customer… you want to make sure that you both end up with a value that satisfies you both

sometimes the customer wants the sources only to have something even if you disappears…
he won’t use it otherwise.
sometimes it’s to replace you, or try to.
the price is not the same.
may be deposit the source by a lawyer and write that you give the sources if something bad happens to you ?
there are different patterns to consider.

… if a hitman is much cheaper then also factor in the cost of a good life insurance (won’t do YOU much good but will be appreciated by the rest of the family …) :wink:

Agree with other comments, and want to add that it can matter why you are being asked this?

Does the client really want the source code? Or did boss A ask manager B to tell sub manger C that they “need to find about getting the source”?

Depending on context, a fair but very expensive reply might check that box, so C can tell B who can tell A “We asked, it’s too expensive.”

Also, make sure you include the yearly cost of Xojo itself and any plugins or third party licenses you may have used as they’ll need their own licenses if they ever want to compile it themselves, Even if just to show that there is additional cost for that as well.

@Greg: Good advice. I already “included” in my post-it note to remember to add the cost of an upgrade of the Xojo license.
IMHO: saling a software created with a 3 years old Xojo is not something to do (my license is for Xojo 2015r1).

All: (THANK YOU)
Various answers, good to very good answers.
My question have too few data included, I understand.

The client ask for the sources only because: “What happens is I die or gone crazy or… this kind of things”
The client never buy custom tailored software.
The client will use the software on around 15 computers on one plant, and there are 3 targeted plants (IMHO)… or the whole French organization (I do not know what tomorrow, next month, year will be).

General: as usual, a good price have to be find; too high the client will not buy, too low the developer (me here) will feel swindled.

The client already use (starting in May 2013) a custom made software of mine in a daily basis (one macOS, one Windows). The “getting process” was different.

The developments were done on MY computer. I keep every pieces of paper where I wrote ideas to improve it since the beginning, etc. The only client addition was the list of data imported in the data base (sqlite). It was my idea to add a statistic window (and they appreciate it).

For the current project, I started with notes from two Post-it notes. (I take some minutes / hours here and then to put ideas in the project; most of the time ideas that comes to my mind: in anciant greece, they will say “a muse told to my ear…”). I do ot want to loose a good idea.

I display to them my idea of what they need.The software actually knows how to populate the ssqlite db (read / write / import / export) and do a minimum in taking meetings + skeleton of some other needed functions.
In short: “Look how some parts of the software works”. Something like “Did it smell good ?”

The idea is to sell it to them and they will used at will. My interest is to get some money / to be able to show the software as “Look, I’ve done it” / help them a bit. But I do not want to be croked / to undergrade custom created software value.

Back to Xojo.
To someone @ Xojo: can you ask to someone (as a student work ?) to take this subject, put it in better reading order, enhence it and post it in Xojo’s web site (for everyone use) ?
This is IMHO something every developer who want to sale applications (custom made or else…) have to know, have ideas about the subject.

@Marlus: thank you for the smile !