Studio Manager Prices
What it Costs to Buy Studio Manager 9
[Studio Manager 9 requires FileMaker Pro 9 or FileMaker Pro 10]
All Studio Manager Copies Are Extremely Customizable
The Full Access version of Studio Manager listed at the bottom of the price table gives you the complete source code of Studio Manager. There are absolutely no restrictions on that version. All other copies of Studio Manager listed by number of users licensed are still extremely customizable in adding fields, modifying fields, scripting, and creating and modifying layouts. Just so you know.
Low Risk Startup Option
Some of our prospective customers ask to buy a single seat of Studio Manager so they can start small and customize it a bit to suit their needs before purchasing the full number of seats that they require. When they decide to move forward, they then want to apply the $895 they paid (for the single-user version) to the purchase price for however many seats they wish. This makes sense to us, so...
To help with this, we give you a 90-day grace period during which you can add seats and apply your full initial purchase price to the larger package you choose. You may ultimately decide, for example, to buy the 10-user license for $2495. As long as you make that purchase within 90 days, your additional cost will only be $1600 ($2495 less your initial $895 purchase price).
Our customers often roll out Studio Manager in phases, starting with a single knowledgeable and committed user cracking open the user manual and getting things started. Buying a single-user copy of Studio Manager and a single copy of FileMaker Pro can be a great starting point. You get the full functionality of the product at a very reasonable price. You don't need a dedicated server. You only need a single copy of FileMaker Pro. Of course, all this is up to you. We just want to provide this low risk option to those who like the gradual approach.
You Need FileMaker Pro 9 or 10
The retail list price for a single seat of FileMaker Pro 10 is $299 ($179 tp upgrade). We do not sell FileMaker; you must purchase anew or upgrade from another source. It is available from most software dealers and of course, directly from the publisher. FileMaker offers volume licensing packages to reduce your purchase cost. Check out the FileMaker website to get a break down of their latest deals. Although Studio Manager 9 does run under FileMaker Pro 9, that version is no longer being sold by FileMaker.
If you require 10 or more seats, then you must also purchase FileMaker Server. Depending on your budget and needs, you can also choose to run FileMaker Server on a network with fewer users. We recommend FileMaker Server as a wonderful investment in your infrastructure. It offers automated backup and excellent database management features. FileMaker frequently offers FileMaker Pro + Server Bundles for as few as 5 users. The full retail price for FileMaker Server 10 is $999.
What do you charge for support and training?
By popular demand, we do not BUNDLE support services into the price of Studio Manager and we don't have a monthly or annual maintenance fee. We've been consulting with creative services firms for 20 years and have seen way too many differences from one firm to another. We provide customization, training and support on request. Our rates range from $60/ hour for basic questions that can be answered by our admin staff to $180/hour for the full-strength kinds of questions that Janet, Studio Manager's architect, needs to answer.
Support Packages Available. If you want to buy a block of support to make sure you get off to a good start or to customize Studio Manager, you can. And you'll get a discount. We wrote up a blog post recently on our discounted support packages. Briefly, Janet bills at $180/hour on an ad hoc basis. Scout bills out at $90/hour and Sally at $60/hour. If you buy a block of hours, you pay less. The chart below is denominated in Janet's hours but you can substitute 2 hours of Scout or 3 hours of Sally for 1 of Janet. See our blog post for more information. These rates are effective until further notice.
We provide one hour of free support to answer any quick questions you have as you are getting started. Janet provides the bulk of our tech support in chunks of 10 minutes for $30 each. By judiciously using those 10 minute increments, our customers keep their support costs to a minimum. Although the hourly rate is higher without purchase of a support package, most of our users find that it suits their needs just as well.
As you might imagine, the more a customer gets out of Studio Manager, the more they are inclined to spend on customization so that they can reap even more benefits. On average our customers spend a very reasonable $500 to $1,000 with us on support, training and customization. Some spend thousands and others spend nothing. We've taken a great deal of care designing the product and writing comprehensive user manuals in order to minimize the cost of support.