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Methodology & monetization principles

Core rule: vendor compensation must never determine scoring, ordering, recommendations, or benchmark calculations.

Who is responsible for software contracts?

BuyerSide is an independent, free quote-analysis tool. We do not currently offer paid plans, sell third-party software subscriptions, sign contracts for users, process vendor payments, guarantee a vendor's price, or assume a user's commitments to a software vendor. Quote amounts and terms are entered by the user as estimates; the relevant software vendor supplies the actual contract and service.

What the prototype does

It calculates recurring cost, first-year cost, 36-month cost projection, estimated term total, cost per field user, setup burden, and change versus current software cost.

What it does not do

It does not claim a price is fair, overpriced, or below market. It does not yet have a proprietary benchmark dataset and does not submit leads to vendors.

Future referral relationships

If activated, compensated relationships should be disclosed clearly near the relevant link or recommendation.

Future benchmark rules

We should distinguish vendor-published prices, user-reported quotes, document-verified terms, negotiated final prices, and renewal outcomes—and show sample size and date ranges when publishing benchmarks.