Should we switch to a subscription model for our project management tool?

[John19]

I’m trying to decide if we should switch to a subscription-based model for our project management software, but I’m worried about locking in a monthly cost that might not scale well if our team size fluctuates. Has anyone moved from a perpetual license to a subscription and found a good way to handle the variable user count?

[PaisleyBC]

We switched from a perpetual license to a subscription and built a simple rule: pay for the active seats each month, with an easy add/remove workflow. When our headcount dropped from 12 to 8 mid quarter, the bill fell accordingly and we didn't waste licenses. We also set a standing quarterly review to confirm the baseline seats.

[Hannah88]

We tested a two layer approach: core team on a fixed base, extras on a flex pool. It kept baseline costs predictable but got messy when contractors moved in and out or roles changed, so we had to keep extra process for reassigning licenses.

[JeffreyLH]

Does anyone here actually track inactive users and pause licenses, and did that help?

[ZacharyH]

We worried about price shocks when we scaled up fast, so we asked the vendor about seasonal pricing or pause options; we ended up with a mix of annual prepay for core seats and month to month for ramps, but it still felt rough when a hiring push landed mid quarter.