Glossary
Software renewal terms, defined
25 plain-English definitions of the language of software renewals, licensing and asset management, from the cancellation deadline to contract liability.
- Annualised costA tool's cost expressed as a yearly figure, so monthly and annual subscriptions can be compared and totalled on one basis.
- Auto-renewalA contract term that renews an agreement automatically for a further period unless you cancel before a set deadline.
- Billing cycleHow often a subscription is charged, monthly, quarterly or annually, which sets both when the cash leaves and the multiplier needed to compare tools.
- Cancellation deadlineThe last day you can give notice to stop a contract renewing, worked out by counting the notice period back from the renewal date.
- Co-terminationAligning several contracts with the same vendor onto one shared end date, so they renew together and are negotiated once rather than piecemeal through the year.
- Contract liabilityThe total an organisation is still committed to pay under its current software contracts, useful for budgeting and audits.
- Effective end dateThe date a contract actually ends once notice has been given, as opposed to the renewal date it would otherwise roll past.
- Lifecycle statusWhere a tracked contract currently sits in its renewal cycle, from active through the notice window to notice given, expired or cancelled.
- Multi-year contractA software agreement that commits you for longer than a year, usually in exchange for a lower price than an equivalent annual deal would carry.
- Notice of non-renewalThe formal notification telling a vendor a contract will not renew, delivered in the form and by the deadline the agreement requires.
- Notice periodThe minimum warning you must give a vendor to cancel or change a contract before it renews, often 30, 60, or 90 days.
- OverageA charge for going beyond what a plan includes, such as extra storage, API calls or seats, applied on top of the subscription you already pay for.
- Perpetual licenceA licence bought once that lets you use a specific software version indefinitely, often with a separate optional support fee.
- Renewal dateThe date a contract term ends and renews for another period. It is the anchor from which the cancellation deadline is calculated.
- Renewal upliftThe price increase a vendor applies when a contract renews, often built into the agreement as a fixed annual percentage.
- Rolling contractA contract with no fixed end date that continues from one period to the next until either side gives notice, rather than running a term and renewing.
- SaaS (Software as a Service)Software delivered over the internet on a subscription, rather than installed and owned outright, usually billed per seat.
- Seat (per-seat licensing)A single user's licence to a piece of software. Per-seat pricing charges by the number of seats you buy, not by usage.
- ShelfwareSoftware an organisation has paid for but does not use, whether unused seats or whole subscriptions nobody owns.
- Software asset management (SAM)The practice of tracking an organisation's software licences, subscriptions, costs, and compliance across their whole lifecycle.
- Software registerA single record of every piece of software an organisation uses, with its owner, cost, renewal date, notice period, and contract.
- Software renewalThe point at which a software subscription or licence reaches the end of its term and either continues, is renegotiated, or ends.
- Subscription (term licence)A licence that grants access to software only for as long as you keep paying, billed on a recurring monthly or annual term.
- Total cost of ownership (TCO)The full cost of a piece of software over its life, including support, implementation, and admin, not just the headline price.
- True-upA reconciliation that bills you for what you actually deployed or used above what you licensed, usually settled once a year rather than at the point of use.
Put the terms into practice
Add your tools with their renewal dates and notice periods, and StackTrackr will work out every cancellation deadline and watch it for you.
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