There must be a reward to the beta testers because they are really doing YOUR job for you. It is difficult to emulate 'live use' in the development environment so the beta testers are crucial in my opinion. What is the return on their investment? It can take quite a bit of time and create quite a bit of frustration for your beta testers during the first couple of versions while they are testing. I'm assuming they are using the beta-version 'live' correct? There is potentially a risk to their business by doing this. What if a beta version creates a problem with their data or prevents them from accomplishing a task that is required? What if a customer is standing in front of them when this problem occurs? Now they appear unprofessional. If the beta testers are using two versions of your product (live released version and beta version for testing only) then they are duplicating their efforts by keying in both and will probably not dedicate as much time as you need to truly test it. That time is time that could be spent making money...

I guess what I am saying is that it depends on the value of your product, the value of your customers, and the return to your customers for beta testing. What do your beta testers say? How many are you looking at? We typically have 2 but no more than 3 beta test sites. What they would they willing to beta-test for in return?

Support must be free to them during the beta test process. They should also receive some free support when they receive the final release for a period of time also. If you do not want to give a substantial discount on the released version of the product itself, then what about a period of free support? It must be enough to justify the risks your beta testers will take on in balance with the benefits you receive by them testing your product for you and isolating issues.

>>SNIP
>>>How about they pay full price for the license to use the software but the bug updates and upgrades are free? Or is that too little?
>>>
>>>TIA.
>>
>>I disagree with this. The purpose of a beta tester is to find bugs. They should automatically get all bug updates for free. They should also find enhancements that could be added that would streamline the product and make it more 'user-friendly.' In the longrun, the fewer bugs and the more your application is efficient and easy to move around, the happier your clients will be so you benefit, not the beta tester.
>>
>>When we are in beta testing we are communicating with the testers everyday-sometimes numerous times a day. They get immediate assistance and we determine if their 'issues' are truly bugs or just user preferences. Our beta testers get free use of our product during the beta test period and a discounted price for our product when the final version is released.
>>
>>Just my .02 cents...
>>:o)
>
>Tracy,
>
>Points well made. Tks.
>For example, let's say that when we licensed our s/w we did not require (or envision) beta testers. Everyone pays full price as well as a 15% annual service plan that includes bug updates and new features.
>Next, we develop a new version of our s/w.
>We are now looking for beta testers.
>In your opinion, what is fair and reasonable (to both parties) under these circumstances?
>TIA.