Seat, user, employee
- Employee. Someone you pay. The payroll count.
- User. Someone with a login. In most tools, every employee.
- Seat. Someone you pay the software vendor for. In most tools, every user.
When all three are the same number, the software bill scales with headcount whether or not the people added do anything in the tool beyond clocking in.
Why counting employees is the wrong model
Take a civil crew of twenty. Two people run the business: they quote, roster, approve time and send invoices. Three supervisors manage jobs on site. Fifteen people clock in, read their shifts, request leave and sign the occasional induction.
Under per-employee pricing, all twenty cost the same. The business pays for fifteen people whose entire use of the software is one screen on their phone. Worse, when the bill grows with every hire, the temptation is to leave the crew out of the system entirely, which is how paper timesheets survive.
Two kinds of people in any business
| People who run the business in the software | People who use it for themselves |
|---|---|
| Quote, roster, assign jobs, approve time, run payroll, send invoices, manage people | Clock in, see shifts, log time to a job, request leave, read and sign documents |
| Need the full web app and modules | Need one screen on their phone |
| Usually 10 to 25% of headcount | Usually the rest |
| Should be a seat | Should be free |
How RovrDS counts seats
- Base plan: A$20 a seat a month, first three seats free. A seat is a person who runs the business in the software: People, Work, Scheduling, Systems and Integrations.
- Personal is free for every employee. Clock in, My Time Card, My Team, My HR, My Documents. No seat required.
- Add-ons are seats for the people who run them. Finance, HR, Sales, Marketing, Documentation and Reports are A$15 to A$20 a seat a month, bought only for the person who does that work. Smart is A$45 a seat with 400 units a month included.
Prices include GST and are billed monthly with no lock-in.
A worked example
That civil crew of twenty, with two owners, three supervisors and fifteen on the tools:
| Who | What they need | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 2 owners | Base seats, free (first three) | A$0 |
| 3 supervisors | Base seats: 1 free, 2 at A$20 | A$40 |
| 1 owner also runs Finance | Finance add-on, 1 seat | A$20 |
| 15 on the tools | Personal, free | A$0 |
| Total | 20 people in one system | A$60 |
Twenty people, every one of them in the system, for less than most tools charge for five. Count your own the same way: who runs it, who uses it, and only pay for the first group.
Questions people ask
How many seats do I need in RovrDS?
Count the people who run the business in the software: owners, managers, office staff, supervisors who approve time or manage jobs. That is your base seat count. Everyone else uses Personal free. Add-on modules are extra seats only for the specific people who run that module.
Are the first three seats really free?
Yes. The Basic plan includes three seats at no charge, then A$20 a seat a month including GST. A business of eight where two people run it pays nothing for the base plan.
What is included in a free Personal account?
My Time Card, My Team, My HR and My Documents: clock in and out, see shifts and the team, request leave, see pay-related records, and read and sign what has been sent. It is the whole employee side, on their phone.
What happens when someone leaves?
Remove them from People and their seat is free for the next person. Their records stay on the organisation for your history and compliance.
Try RovrDS
Pay for the people who run the business. Everyone else is free. First three seats on us.