IBM Cloud Docs
Defining your pricing model for software

Defining your pricing model for software

When you onboard your product to IBM Cloud®, you must define a pricing model for your software in Partner Center. Currently, IBM Cloud supports free, usage-based, and bring your own license (BYOL) plans.

Usage-based pricing plans are available only for software that are onboarded with the virtual server image delivery method.

After you add a pricing plan to your software version in Partner Center, you can manage it in your catalog as well. This means that you can change the state of your plan to publish it, add features to it, deprecate it, or update certain plan details. For more information, see Managing software plans in catalogs.

Before you begin

Before you submit a pricing plan for approval, you must sign the required agreements, documentation, and provide the Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) and United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC) that applies to your product. The prerequisites might differ depending on the pricing plan type.

For free plans:

  • Provide the ECCN that applies to your product.
  • Provide the UNSPSC that applies to your product.
  • Confirm the digital platform reseller agreement.

For usage-based plans:

  • Provide the ECCN that applies to your product.
  • Provide the UNSPSC that applies to your product.
  • Submit your tax and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) information for paid plans to set up and receive payment disbursements for usage.
  • Confirm the digital platform reseller agreement.

For BYOL plans:

  • Provide the ECCN that applies to your product.
  • Provide the UNSPSC that applies to your product.
  • Confirm the digital provider agreement.

Depending on the type of plan you're adding, complete each prerequisite by using the following instructions.

Submitting tax and EFT forms

For products that you offer on IBM Cloud with a paid, usage-based pricing plan, you receive disbursements based on the usage in accordance with your pricing structure. To receive disbursements, you must complete and submit the EFT form and tax documentation.

To provide tax and EFT information, complete the following steps:

  1. In the IBM Cloud console, click the Navigation Menu icon Navigation Menu icon > Partner Center > Payments to me.

  2. Download the relevant EFT form, and complete it.

    One of three types of bank documents is required to be submitted with the form. You can submit a scanned copy of a voided check or a bank letter that is signed and stamped by the bank. If you are outside of the United States, you can alternatively provide an online bank statement. The document that you provide must include the bank name, account number, routing number (or bank key or ABA), and the account holder's name.

  3. Download the relevant tax documentation, and complete it.

  4. Submit the completed documentation and bank document by email to apremit@us.ibm.com. Include cloud.onboarding@ibm.com on the email.

  5. Select I confirm that I completed and emailed all of the required documents..

Providing the ECCN

To start defining your pricing model, you must provide the Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) that applies to your product. The ECCN is required for free, usage-based, and BYOL pricing plans. If you don't have your ECCN, you can find it on the Commerce Control List.

You must submit your tax and EFT documents and receive approval before you can provide the ECCN if you're using a usage-based pricing plan.

  1. Go to Partner Center > My products.
  2. Select your product and go to Pricing.
  3. Click Add ECCN and provide the ECCN for your product.
  4. Click Add.

If you need to update your ECCN after you add it, you must contact IBM Cloud Support. To contact support, you can use the following methods:

  • If you have a valid Pay-As-You-Go or Subscription account, you can click Chat with IBM to connect with a support engineer.
  • Pay-as-you-go or subscription accounts can also contact support by phone: +1-866-403-7638.

Providing the UNSPSC

You must provide your ECCN before the UNSPSC.

In addition to ECCN, you must provide the UNSPSC that applies to your product. The UNSPSC is required for free, usage-based, and BYOL pricing plans. If you need help with selecting the UNSPSC for your service, see How to select UNSPSC codes?.

To provide the UNSPSC code that applies to your product, complete the following steps:

  1. Go to Partner Center > My products.
  2. Select your product and go to Pricing.
  3. Click Add UNSPSC and select the UNSPSC code for your product.
  4. Click Add.

Accepting agreement terms and conditions

Depending on the type of plans you are adding for your product, you must sign the agreement that outlines the terms and conditions of providing a product in the IBM Cloud. Or, you can upload a custom digital provider agreement in .pdf, .doc, or .docx file format.

Custom digital provider agreements must be reviewed and approved by IBM, which increases the time it takes for you to complete the onboarding process. The uploaded files are scanned for viruses, which might take a few minutes to complete. If a virus is detected, it is recommended to run another virus scan on your file, and then try uploading it again.

Digital platform reseller agreement

If you plan to offer free or usage-based pricing plans, it is required to review and submit the IBM Digital Platform Reseller Agreement. This legal agreement sets the terms and conditions under which providers can onboard and sell products in IBM Cloud.

Complete the following steps to review and submit the IBM Digital Platform Reseller Agreement:

  1. Go to Partner Center > My company.
  2. Click Edit.
  3. Choose I plan to offer free and usage-based pricing plans from the Agreements section.
  4. Click the IBM Digital Platform Reseller Agreement link to review the agreement.
  5. Select I have read and agree to the IBM Digital Platform Reseller Agreement., and click Save.

Digital provider agreement

If you plan to offer BYOL plans, it is required to review and submit the IBM Digital Provider Agreement. This legal agreement sets the terms and conditions under which providers can onboard and sell products in IBM Cloud.

Complete the following steps to review and submit the IBM Digital Platform Reseller Agreement:

  1. Go to Partner Center > My company.
  2. Click Edit.
  3. Choose I plan to offer bring your own license pricing plans from the Agreements section.
  4. Click the IBM Digital Provider Agreement link to review the agreement.
  5. Select I have read and agree to the IBM Digital Provider Agreement., and click Save.

Adding a free plan

By adding a free plan, you are indicating that your product does not require any payment or license to use.

  1. In the IBM Cloud console, click the Navigation Menu icon Navigation Menu icon > Partner Center > My products.
  2. Select the product that you're onboarding, and click Pricing.
  3. Click Add plan > Free.
  4. Provide a name for your pricing plan. This name refers to the plan name that appears in the pricing plan list on your product's catalog page when your customers select a pricing plan.
  5. Provide a programmatic name for your pricing plan.
  6. Select your software type.
  7. Enter your software version. You must select whether you want to validate only one version or a range of versions, or add a semantic version string to match the versions you want to validate.
  8. Provide a description for your pricing plan.
  9. Click Save.

Adding a usage-based plan

By adding a usage-based pricing plan, you are indicating that you offer your product as a paid integrated product, and customers need to pay to use it. Usage-based pricing plans that you add to your product are available in the IBM Cloud catalog only if the delivery method of your software is virtual server images.

When you add a usage-based pricing plan, you provide your suggested retail pricing information. However, IBM reserves the right to set the final pricing for any product that is offered to customers in the IBM Cloud catalog.

  1. In the IBM Cloud console, click the Navigation Menu icon Navigation Menu icon > Partner Center > My products.
  2. Select the product that you're onboarding, and click Pricing.
  3. Click Add plan > Usage-based.
  4. Provide a name for your pricing plan. This name refers to the plan name that appears in the pricing plan list on your product's catalog page when your customers select a pricing plan.
  5. Provide a programmatic name for your pricing plan.
  6. Select your software type. Usage metrics available within your plan depend on the type of software that is deployed under the plan.
  7. Enter your software version. You must select whether you want to validate only one version or a range of versions, or add a semantic version string to match the versions you want to validate.
  8. Provide a description for your pricing plan.
  9. Click Save.

Before you can submit your pricing plan for approval, you must complete the following tasks:

  • Add metrics to your plan to determine how customers are charged, and request pricing approval. For more information, see Adding metrics to your software.
  • Add plan features to describe why a customer might want to choose a specific plan.
  • Test the pricing and usage from a customer's perspective and provide evidence from your testing to get the final approval for your pricing plan. For more information, see Review your metrics and provide evidence of your testing.

Adding a BYOL plan

By adding a bring your own license plan, you are indicating that customers need to purchase a license to use your product. You are required to provide the name of the license and a URL where customers can purchase the license.

  1. In the IBM Cloud console, click the Navigation Menu icon Navigation Menu icon > Partner Center > My products.
  2. Select the product that you're onboarding, and click Pricing.
  3. Click Add plan > BYOL.
  4. Provide the name of the license. Customers use the license name to find and purchase the license.
  5. Provide the URL that customers can use to learn about and purchase the license.
  6. Provide a description of your license. Explain why customers need to purchase the license and what access they receive.
  7. Enter your software version.
  8. Click Save.

All information that is entered in the Add plan panel is displayed to customers in the IBM Cloud catalog to help them purchase the required license.

Adding pricing plan features

If you completed the steps to define your pricing plan, you must add a list of features for the plan. These features uniquely identify and differentiate your pricing plan and help customers choose the most suitable plan.

To publish your plan, you must add features to it.

To add features for your software plan, complete the following steps:

  1. In the IBM Cloud console, click the Navigation Menu icon Navigation Menu icon > Partner Center > My products.
  2. Select the product that you're onboarding, and click Pricing.
  3. Click Add metrics.
  4. Click Add feature.
  5. Provide a descriptive title and a brief description for each feature.
  6. Click Save.

Publishing a plan

After your pricing plan details are approved in Partner Center and you added features to your plan, you can publish your plan by completing the following steps:

  1. In the IBM Cloud console, click the Navigation Menu icon Navigation Menu icon > Partner Center > My products.
  2. Select the product that you're onboarding, and click Pricing.
  3. Click the Actions icon Actions icon for the plan that you want to publish.
  4. Click Publish plan.