Fair, bold, sustainable: why income-based pricing pays off

Shopping for a new CRM can feel like a minefield. Flashy offers, ‘free’ licences and eye-catching slogans promise the world, but all too often come with strings attached.

It’s not always easy to spot a genuine good deal – something that will offer value in the years to come.

Some of the big CRM providers attract charities by offering free licences or huge initial discounts. But let’s be honest – big corporations aren’t famous for their generosity. They know they’ll make their money back later, through paid add-ons, extra support fees or complex contracts that can be expensive to escape.

So, before you sign on the dotted line, it’s worth asking a few questions:

• How much will ongoing support actually cost – and who’s providing it?

• Can we use the new system as-is, or will we need to pay for it to be customised?

• What happens when we need extra features or user licences?

• How hard (and costly) will it be to leave, if things change?

For charities, these questions matter. Free licences are often limited, and systems built for commercial sales teams rarely fit nonprofit needs out-of-the-box. Customising them can be pricy and time-consuming – frustrating if all you really need is a reliable contact management system that tracks outcomes and supports your work.

So much for the big multinationals with their special deals and freebies. What about other pricing models?

Well, with most CRM companies, you’ll pay either per user, or per contact.

And that might suit businesses, but it’s not a logical fit for how charities operate.

Why traditional pricing doesn’t work for charities

• Per-user pricing can quickly eat into your budget if you have a larger team, lots of part-timers, or (as charities are increasingly doing) you want your volunteers logging their work on the system too, with appropriate access controls.

  Some of your workers might only need to log in sporadically – so it’s expensive to have to pay for a full user licence for them. And if your team expands, you’ll have to factor in the cost of more licences.

• Per-contact pricing charges you for every client record, even when a person is just on your books but isn’t currently receiving support. That doesn’t make sense for most charities, where clients often become active or inactive as their needs change.

  Should you really be paying just for having their details sitting in your CRM?

A fairer alternative: income-based pricing

At Charitylog, we do things differently.

Our standard plan price is based on your charity’s income (or, if you’re just using Charitylog for one or two services, then just the income of those services), not how many users or contacts you have.

This fee includes:

✅ Unlimited users

✅ Unlimited, ongoing customer support from in-house, trained experts. Our support team are charity specialists, not a generic call centre.

It’s a fairer, simpler model – one that keeps costs predictable and proportional so charities of all sizes can get on with their work supporting people, without having to worry about hidden charges or user limits.

Want to see how it works? Check out our plans or get in touch – no obligation, and no hard sell.

If we don’t think our CRM would be the right fit for you, we’ll tell you. As simple as that.