Why people never trust when it is FREE..???

[altax]

Hi,
Can anyone suggest me how to promote my Online accounting software. We have all the features like other accounting softwares but when it comes to price ours is completely free. So my question is, Why people never trust when it is given for Free. Instead they spend lot of money for paid services. Why is this so???
I need suggestions, or else we too are planning to give it for some $$ so that they at least believe in us.

 

[gurianco972]

These days, "Free" anything is a big keyword. I think your software maybe needed, but most CPA's are probably loyal to a particular software and must have a big reason to switch to yours. Maybe you need to emphasize more on what your software does that the others don't.

 

[CPA Tech Nut]

Because we're dealing with accountants, not politicians. Nothing's free. You're getting SOMETHING for your labor. By calling your software "free" all you're really telling me is you're afraid to tell me what my consideration for your product is going to be.

 

[banderson]

I've never received anything for free, theres always a catch

as with almost all software downloads, free means no money to download it. this doesn't mean that the software company isn't going to try and nail you with a fee later. the other option for free is pirated software. So basically 99% of free software downloads are either a bait and switch tactic or just plain illegal.

the only software i have seen to be completely legitimate is the dynacom accounting software which i am not even sure they offer anymore. It is essentially just like quickbooks. Heres where it gets tricky though. Alot of companies start using dynacom, quickbooks, peachtree and end up growing out of it really quick because their business just needs more than what that basic free software is capable of. This is where they make their money. THE UPGRADE! All of these software companies offer the next step like quickbooks enterprise eddition and dynacom's silver, platinum eddition.

The real key to choosing a free accounting program is to choose one that can grow your business from your garage to a large corporation without having to do a "sloppy bellyflop" from one software to another. upgrades are easy but moving from Quickbooks to SAP(Most popular large scale enterprise software) is extremely dificult and can have a huge disruption of your business.

So what i aam getting to is, don't just pick any old software you can find for free off the internet. search for one that starts out free and can grow along with your business all the way up to the giant corporation you see it being in 5 to 10 years or so. It is very rare for a software company to offer such a large array of upgrades, but it does exist. I have worked with alot of these different software brands so if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

 

[essexaccountant]

Because we're dealing with accountants, not politicians. Nothing's free. You're getting SOMETHING for your labor. By calling your software "free" all you're really telling me is you're afraid to tell me what my consideration for your product is going to be.

someone is always paying somewhere. nothing in this life is for free

 

[QBCPA75]

I always suggest to my clients QuickBooks because it has a history with being reliable and secure. Free software is prone to security breaches and crashes, which means more time and money lost in the long run.

 

[addy digit]

When it has to do with something like that, they're probably afraid of a scam or that you will be really pushy in trying to get them to sign up for paid lessons later. Unfortunately, in today's world, we learn that "there's no such thing as a free lunch" and "there's usually a catch".

 

[Accounting Marin]

When it has to do with something like that, they're probably afraid of a scam or that you will be really pushy in trying to get them to sign up for paid lessons later. Unfortunately, in today's world, we learn that "there's no such thing as a free lunch" and "there's usually a catch".

I do agree. Lots of people are already victims of these so called scams. Like what addy said there is always a catch.

 

[TMB Solutions]

Hi Altax,

Most people follow the rule of thumb that nothing really comes for free. The hours to build good quality software, to keep it up to date with rules and regulations and secure and safe is considerable.

Most people would perceive a free item to either have hidden catches or be poor quality (not suggesting yours is). Most people running a business would then also require support to back up the solution as well which is not an option with something that is free.

I don't know many businesses who would place any trust in something free.

Regards
Richard

 

[David James]

Hi Altax,

I think you will find the reason is not to do with the quality of the software, its that basically people dont appreciate free things,that's the long and short of it.

If one is not giving nothing for something of value they may feel a guilt about it,- no exchange no appreciation.

This theory is true in any field, another example would be online gaming, when people dont have to pay to play (exchange) then they either look for cheats or hack it or abuse it generally.

Thats the bottom line

 

[AccountantSalary]

It might help to get reviews by columnists who are trusted in the accounting and/or software community. Also having a third-party assure potential downloaders that your product has no hidden trojans or viruses would be helpful.

 

[accountingguru]

Mint.com is free and that is a decent personal budgeting software.

 

[rickmac]

Hi,
Can anyone suggest me how to promote my Online accounting software. We have all the features like other accounting softwares but when it comes to price ours is completely free. So my question is, Why people never trust when it is given for Free. Instead they spend lot of money for paid services. Why is this so???
I need suggestions, or else we too are planning to give it for some $$ so that they at least believe in us.

I have been in the software and Information Tech (IT) business for almost 30 years now and have never seen anything IT for free. Free demos and free trials yes, but online software, and the services that has to go with it, for free... Hum. They spend a lot of money for IT service because everyone knows a free business model in the IT world, is a model to go “out of business” or even worse… half way do the job. Customer data is important and should be treated with care and protected. The simple fact is no one is going to do that right for free. There is a price for everything. There are ways to create amazing value using cloud, open source and other tech. However, free always means there is a catch. Always.

You see I also provide online software (OpenCloudSoft.Com) and I would never offer it for free. However, I offer great services and a great price and expect to be paid for it.

 

[bookkeeping_monster]

Well as Management of business finances is gaining true management attention, no one wants to take a chance if a free stuff could be credible. Also, when some thing is free, you cannot held responsible the vendor when it does not meet your expectation. Hence, i guess, a free thing is not appreciated in true sense when it comes to managing business finances.

 

[chinweike]

Hi,
Can anyone suggest me how to promote my Online accounting software. We have all the features like other accounting softwares but when it comes to price ours is completely free. So my question is, Why people never trust when it is given for Free. Instead they spend lot of money for paid services. Why is this so???
I need suggestions, or else we too are planning to give it for some $$ so that they at least believe in us.

I don't think the problem is with it being free, I know some free accounting software that are widely used, waveaccounting for example. The issue might be coming from wordings that you chose, let your prospective subscribers know where you intend to get value or reward for your labour.
I love the way wave accounting it, "you get it for free, our advertisers pay" This way, your target audience would not have the fear of hidden clause that would eventually trap them into what they never bargained for.
Another reason why some people tend to shy away from free stuff especially when technology is involved is the fear of not have the vendor around in the near future.
I suggest you read this article on what to consider before chosing free accounting software, this will help you tailor the benfits of your software to address the issues identified in that article.
Goodluck!!!

 

[chinweike]

There is an assumption that one does not get free with a good quality.That may contradict gmail services,youtube which is free...

People know that youtube is making cool money from adverts, so there is no such fear of losing anything. Also, people dont feel as if anything is at stake, most people post on youtube for social reasons.

 

[Michael Myers]

Hi Altax - I know what you mean have my own software but I think SEO is the only way and it doesn't hurt to get SEO for Dummies and figure out some strategy yourself. If it's free people will always think unsupported, unreliable - can't change that. So charge something and be proud to do so! SEO takes time - PPC probably a waste of money for small business - good luck to you Search Engime Optimisation does work - Regards Michael Myers