Sage News and Discussion

I was just told by my Partner Territory Manager from Atlanta that according to our Partner agreement, we are not supposed to support Sage products if the customer is not on plan. That's news to me!

Sounds like another great Sage-5 Year Plan. ""How to lose every last customer you have."" Who's the CEO?

Can anybody validate that?

Was this from the same source that had one of the Atlanta tax credits tell me they couldn't give me a customer's license info?

Anyone have a current Partner agreement?

Is Sage going to pay my mortgage?? First no commission... now no service revenues!!! Got to love them!!!!

I did have a customer who told me that Sage said we (the reseller) couldn't support them if they do not stay on plan. I confronted the Sage employee who told him that and said that he couldn't make statements like that for what our company can and can not provide to the customer. He apologized and said he misspoke. Makes me think that this is a line that someone has put on a script for them to say to customers.

I do not have the current partner agreement, but technically, the most current EULA applies to all versions, and a customer would not be in compliance if not on a current plan - either perpetual or subscription. I say technically, because it is extremely unlikely Sage will go after those customers.

One of my customers last week renewed because the Sage person that calked him told them is ehat mandatory to renew their subscription.... great selling technique!!!!!

What is the definition of support anyways?

But this is not a question of the customer being in compliance. This is a question of a partner supporting a customer that is on or off plan.

From the EULA ""Customer Support"" means Software assistance You receive by phone, email, chat, access to on-line information, or by similar means because You purchased a Service Plan or an On-Premise Subscription License.

I agree that it is about a partner supporting their customer. If the letter of the EULA is followed, however, customers who are off plan should not be using the software, except for ""read only"" inquiries.

John where do you see that EULA statement? I see if you fail to comply it will be read only but where is the part about not paying business care? It states you may Use the Software only if You pay the required On-Premise License fee or fees when due. For perpetual the license fee is paid at time of Sale. Business Care is support and maintenance not license. for those that have Subscription License you may Use the Software only for the subscription period for which Sage has received Your On-Premise Subscription License fee.

@ToddMartin To me it depends on the interpretation of the term ""license fees"". That may be the original on-premise license or may also include the maintenance which allows upgrading the version and downloading product updates. That may be triggered by those upgrades. A material breach of the agreement includes failure to pay license fees when due.

Well I see it like this, they sell it as Sage Business Care or Maintenance and Support. EULA shows that as ""Maintenance Software"" means Software that Sage delivers because You have purchased a Service Plan or an On-Premise Subscription License. ""Customer Support"" means Software assistance You receive by phone, email, chat, access to on-line information, or by similar means because You purchased a Service Plan or an On-Premise Subscription License. In both of these cases it doesn't refer to License except by Subscription License. ""On-Premise Subscription License"" means a license to Use the Software and a Service Plan according to this Agreement until the specified term or subscription period ends or Your license or this Agreement terminates as described herein.

I have reviewed the versions of EULA's many times, and it seems that the current wording was intended to be open to interpretation, which is a bad decision on Sage's part. If you look back on the very old versions of the EULA before subscription licensing, it was definitely a perpetual license not tied to on-plan maintenance, which fits with your view.

Facebook isn't the only one who needs to be told ""Your user agreement sucks. I'm going to suggest you go back home and rewrite it.

@ToddMartin Wouldn't the EULA - the customer's agreement be moot, here? And the partner agreement being what would be violated by the partner when we support an unsupported app? And another thing, as a partner, you may not even have access to whether a customer had an active subscription or not. I don't see that line, IF it exists,standing up.

Can we have the name of the hotel where you stayed last night, Mr. McIntosh? Zuck was flabbergasted. LOL!

A known strategy for all of these large companies is to calculate the probable risk of litigation and their ability to keep it in court as long as it takes to win out over the plaintiff(s). They know they have more money to throw at it and almost no one would bother to take legal action knowing this. So they do the next best thing - they change software!

@RhondaMcNamara That was my point earlier in the thread. This is about the partner and if the partner was able to support a customer off plan and remain in good standing as a partner with Sage. Later in the thread I was referring to the EULA because there was question about the the customer being required to be on plan to be in compliance . I don't see where that is stated in the EULA that On-Premise License requires a plan. I do see the plan being part of On-Premise Subscription License.

Sorry about that, missed that link. I've dug around for our agreement and it seems like everything related to the partner agreement really happened through Sage U. Is there even really an agreement? I have one from 2010 with no such restrictions on it as I read it.

Sage U is specific to the Consultant/user isn't it? I didn't think there was anything specific to the partner/company

I have a copy of the Sage Channel Partner Agreement, and I would share it but there is a Nondisclosure clause in it. However, the only thing I see related to this subject reads, ""Partner shall fulfill all its obligations under contracts with Customers relating to any Product, including rendering, in a timely and proper manner, all services reasonably required to analyze needs, plan, install and configure Products, render hardware support, and render on-site technical support for Products."" Unless I missed it, I do not see anything related to off-plan customers or expired EULAs.

We have and will support off-plan clients with consulting services and technical assistance. We don't/won't install any software they are not entitled to including Tax Table Updates. The latest EULA covers both On-Premise and Subscription licenses. (Also an Evaluation license which I'm unfamiliar with). Section 9 Term and Termination, is fun reading. The license kicks in at installation click thru. The notion that Partners not support off-plan clients is ludicrous. We just sold a Sage 100cloud system to a client off-plan for 15 years BECAUSE we supported them through all their hard times.