Ask HN: Prospect needs a proposal? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Prospect needs a proposal?

3 pointscuriously5 comments

I'm running a SaaS that mines data from video files.

I spoke to a client who wants it. However, it requires some improvements to the product that will take development efforts about 3~4 weeks.

I say, if you commit for a year, we'll do it for free.

Prospect agrees and asks for a proposal of what we talked about on the phone...

Now this is where I am lost. What the hell is a proposal? What do I write in it. Is there a sample template I use for SaaS?

Even more worrisome, what if I'm end up having to do so much more work than what was anticipated?

However a competitor's software apparently does the job but they are worried about the total cost where as my pricing is a lot simpler (unmetered usage for high $$$ / month X 12 months). I estimate about 100 hours of work on product but I am willing to do it because my competitor's product does it smoothly and I need to be up there in terms of quality.

I just never saw this coming?! Like the other day I was thinking, who in the world would end up paying this for an entire year up front.

It's a SaaS I bootstrapped, worked on the product by myself, so I don't want to blow this off, and they seem to want this because of the pricing being low....

Maybe there's a way to get my foot in the door and raise prices or be able to change it in case I end up losing money?

All this is very new to me, please help!

My deal-flow (as a contractor not as a SaaS provider) typically goes: meeting(s) > proposal > negotiation > master service agreement > statement(s) of work.

Once you're at the MSA + SOW phase, here are the templates I based mine off of: www.masonpelt.com/free-scope-of-work-template/

If you're truly at the proposal phase, this typically takes a less rigid form. No legalese. It should read almost like a sale brochure. Who you are, what you're providing, what you can do for the client (maybe some diagrams, charts, etc). And finally the cost. The proposal is typically an early-stage device though. In many cases it is the tool that first introduces you to a potential client (who has posted a Request for Proposals on their site, for example).

It sounds like your deal is pretty much closed. Your client might be using the word "proposal" incorrectly, and they may actually mean that they want you draw up an agreement. It sounds like you guys are past negotiation, and the terms are already agreed upon.

I highly recommend checking how much your competitors are charging to make sure the client you have is not getting 'deal too good to be true'. If you are not charging enough to produce what was promised it could hurt your reputation and inhibit the ability to gain more high quality clients in the future.

A proposal normally lays out the product or service requirements in extreme details (the black and white). Normally this details that you will retain minimum of x amount of project managers for project management tasks, minimum x amount of software developers for software development tasks, minimum x amount of cyber security (administrators/engineers) for securing the product, minimum x amount of x for clerical and administrative duties, minimum x amount for helpdesk support (don't forget surge availability (24 hours at times)), minimum x amount for 24/7, 365, on-call Network Operations Center support, minimum x amount for network administrators and the all mighty how long it will take to back fill positions if someone has been let go, fired, retired, on vacation or promoted to another position.

SLA requirements for product/service uptime and details on what happens in emergencies or how outside events are calculated (forgiven/not forgiven).

A list of the minimum internal software version support requirements, and external browser/client hardware supported. This also included milestones and what happens if the milestones are not meet by a certain date or how to handle planned/unplanned extensions.

Shutdown procedures in case the client request their service be shutdown, who owns the product or is it a rent to own type service (what happens after the first 12 months is over). What happens if payment is not completed in full on time or what happens if there are breaches of contracts.

This in summary is the proposed black and white of the What, When, Where, How of what is needed by the client and what you will provide and possibly for how much (your rates). It can also serve as something you would draft up and possibly modify if you were to sub contract the work out to contracting companies or independent contractors.

This also helps you and the client come to mutual agreement on the specifics of what each of you are wanting.

is there a template that's around.

what you described covers a lot, but in my case, I'm the only guy running the show so I don't think I can have all those things so probably won't be able to charge a high figure.

Hi Google for a master services agreement and you will hopefully find one that is related to software development. Adjust for SaaS and have an attorney review it for your state. You can also look for service order that will be attached to the MSA.

What is your yearly charge for the service? You can calculate your development time into the yearly cost. Don't forget to add project management hours.

So your systems scrapes metadata from video clips?

Chuck

yearly charge is 9000 usd.

server fees will be 600~800 for the year.

total development time will be 80~100 hours @ 45/hr.

they insist that the additional integration to their database won't take a lot of time, but I raised some doubts there.

it does a variety of things on the video but thats part of it.

this seems rather good http://www.saasmadeeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/MSA.p...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com