Important Announcement! (Licensing and Support Changes)

[netshine]

With the release of version 2.1.0 of nBill approaching, there will be some important changes in the way nBill is licensed and supported.

What is changing?

1) Update: This change is being put on hold for now, but will remain under consideration for the future: The current Lite and Standard editions will continue to be licensed as they are now, however, a new GPL edition of nBill will also be released, starting with version 2.1.0. This will be the complete product with full source code. The price for the GPL edition will be  ?250. This may seem quite steep, but the GPL edition can be installed on an unlimited number of websites without being tied to a particular domain, and without needing to pay a license fee for each one. If you only want to use nBill on one or a few (up to 5) websites, the standard edition will offer better value for money (unless you desperately want the source code).

2) Support for ALL editions of nBill will be on a subscription basis. With the standard edition and the GPL edition (but not the lite edition), all new sales will come with 3 months' support free of charge. If support is required after the initial 3 month period, a support subscription must be purchased (these will probably be available in 3, 6, or 12 month increments). Everybody who has already purchased nBill before the release of version 2.1.0 will automatically be given a free 3 month support subscription, which will take effect from the date of release of v2.1.0.

3) Support for version 1 of nBill is being phased out. I will continue to provide support for nBill 1 until the end of the year (31st December 2010). You are welcome to continue using nBill 1 after that date at your own risk if you wish, and I will keep the documentation and forum topics for version 1 published, so that you still have somewhere to look for help, however, I will not be providing any support for it, and the boards for version 1 in the forum will be locked. It would therefore be a good idea to consider whether you want to upgrade to version 2 (the procedure for upgrading from v1 will not change in v2.1.0).

Why are these changes being made?

Offering a GPL edition of nBill opens up its availability to more people, allows those that really want or need the source code to have it, provides an economical alternative for website developers who want to use it on many of their customers' websites, and also allows us to list it on the Joomla Extensions Directory. By keeping the standard edition running at the same time, this can all happen without impacting on the vast majority of people who just want to use nBill on a single website.

Support subscriptions are being introduced to make the provision of support fairer (some people require lots of support, others don't require any at all) and potentially to free up more time for development. Also, with the GPL edition being released, I could find myself providing support for hundreds of websites after only a single sale, or even providing free support for people who have obtained a copy of the software without paying for it. By implementing a single support subscription policy, it will enable me to provide support to those who are entitled to it without running the risk of bankruptcy! It also brings nBill into line with the standard procedure for most commercial software packages.

When are the changes being made?

The changes will take effect on the date that nBill 2.1.0 is released.

Ok, but when will that be?

It is difficult to be certain, as there is still some development work to do, lots of testing, and I have to sort out the infrastructure for the new licensing and support arrangements ahead of time. My best guess is that it will all happen by the end of September 2010.

[netshine]

Some of the new additions to nBill 2.1.0 are proving to be more complicated than I envisaged. Also, my wife will be having surgery later this month which will of course impact considerably on my time. As a result, I am moving the estimated completion date to the end of October. I'm sure it will be worth the wait though - thank you for your patience!

[Antoine]

Very bad news that the GPL edition won't come up finally. Can you explain a little more on this U-turn ?

[netshine]

Not necessarily a u-turn - for now it is just a postponement. I need to think throught the implications a little more carefully, and make sure it is going to work out ok. A change like this has the potential to bankrupt me if I am not careful, but after some encouragement and pressure I rushed into making an announcement without thinking it through fully. There is also the issue of setting everything up (it will require a separate website, a new distribution mechanism, and all of the license-checking code will need to be stripped out), which, again, I don't want to rush.

[Antoine]

Thank you Russell for your answer.
You indeed deserve to fully think it through, which is not easy.

I use nBill for an insurance broker and I am pretty satisfied with your products which has no rival.
Although to make it very convenient and efficient I would need extra developments.
Among them, native possibility to set up prices as percentage ; extra documentary section for contracts, separated from invoices , etc.
I wrote about these in the Suggestion Section of this forum.
I would also strip some parts, to make the administrations tasks easier and clearer for the business need.

So when I read that you were releasing a GPL version I was very excited with the idea I could come up with a perfectly fitted software !

As far as I can assume, you're the only person working on this project, so it must be very hard to manage all this plus the support.

Keep on doing a good work Russell and make the good decisions for you and all of us.

Best Regards,
Antoine

[one]

I am sorry. Not entirely clear to me. How these changes relate to existing users of version 2.0.X? How will the upgrade to new versions nBill?

[netshine]

Upgrading will remain exactly the same. The only change that affects existing users is that the support will no longer be free indefinitely. 3 months after the release of nBill 2.1.0 stable, one to one support will require the purchase of a support subscription (I intend to keep the cost low). This will apply to everyone, regardless of whether they upgrade to 2.1.0 or not. Of course all of the documentation will still be freely available, and support on the forum will remain free of charge. Also, nobody will ever be charged for support if the problem occurs because of a bug in nBill.

[one]

Clear, thank you for unswering!