Ruben BuijsChatbot agency pricing has three parts: setup, software and ongoing care. Price each around the work and costs you take on. A software discount gives you room for a margin, but it does not pay for unlimited support.
Imagine a web client asks you to add a chatbot and keep it up to date. You need a quote they understand and a fee that covers your work. We'll build that quote using Growth at €588 per year. All figures exclude VAT.
Start with three prices, not one vague monthly fee
| Part of the quote | What it buys | What to define |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Content review, configuration, tests and installation | Approved sources, websites, test questions and launch checks |
| Software | The vendor subscription and selected add-ons | Billing term, domains, chatbots and usage allowance |
| Ongoing care | Answer checks, agreed updates and configuration support | Included time, frequency and extra-work rate |
| Extra work | New integrations, major content changes or extra use | Approval and price before doing the work |
The client should be able to tell a software licence from your service. If you also answer their visitors' live conversations, quote that staffing separately.
A simple example: sell Growth for €588 per year
Your client pays €588 per year for Growth. With the 20% reseller discount, you pay Boei €470.40 per year.
Your software margin is €117.60 per year. All amounts exclude VAT.
That is the difference between the client price and your software cost. It does not include payment fees or the time you spend helping the client. You can charge a different client price.
Charge your setup and maintenance separately. For example, a €450 setup fee pays for the initial work. A €60 monthly service can cover a clearly agreed amount of ongoing care. Those are example service prices, not required Boei fees.
Keep three lines on your quote: software, one-time setup and optional ongoing care. That makes both the client's bill and your own margin easier to understand.
Make your quote easy to approve
That gives you a quote the client can read in one pass. They see the one-time project, the yearly software bill and the optional care service. The service prices below are examples you can adapt.
| Quote item | Client charge | Included scope |
|---|---|---|
| Initial setup | €450 once | Approved content review, configuration, tests, installation and handover |
| Growth software | €588 per year | The selected annual subscription and its stated allowance |
| Ongoing care | €60 per month | One scheduled check and up to one hour of agreed content changes |
| Extra work | Quoted before work starts | New systems, larger content changes or work outside the allowance |
Name the website and account on the quote. List any paid add-ons separately. Explain which prices exclude VAT and how you handle a requested plan change.
Ask the client to approve the scope and payment term. Avoid an open-ended line such as "all chatbot support included" when you have costed one hour a month.
Make sure the service pays for your time
The client-facing quote is clear. Now check the work behind it. Software margin and service income cover different costs.
Check that the setup fee covers your work
Suppose onboarding takes six hours at an assumed internal cost of €50 per hour. That is €300 of delivery cost. A €450 setup fee leaves €150 before sales costs, overhead and tax.
Write the deliverables beside the price. For example: review approved content, configure one chatbot, run the agreed questions, install it and give the client a handover session.
Extra systems can change the work. A contact link is different from an action that changes a booking or order. Inspect the integration before including it in a fixed quote.
Decide what the monthly care fee includes
A €60 fee cannot mean unlimited work. Agree which updates are included and what counts as a new project.
A useful maintenance scope can include one scheduled answer check and a stated time allowance for client-supplied changes. Name the contact who approves new information. Agree how the client requests urgent changes.
Keep the scope concrete. Replacing an opening time is different from training a new product catalogue. Define an extra-work rate or a quotation process for larger changes.
Leave room for a busier website
Identify the plan's billing units before promising an allowance. AI credits are not automatically the same as replies or complete conversations. The model and actions used can affect consumption.
Tell the client who monitors usage, who approves extra capacity and how the bill changes. Don't promise unlimited AI merely because your service fee is fixed.
The Boei reseller discount applies to regular plans and subscription add-ons. One-time AI-credit top-ups, services and Custom Whitelabel are excluded. Confirm the current terms before quoting a special arrangement.
Add a branded portal only when the service needs one
A single business can remove Boei branding through its regular plan or an eligible add-on. A branded agency platform is a separate choice.
Custom Whitelabel costs €99 per month excluding VAT per agency environment. With five paying clients, a simple allocation is €19.80 per client per month. At ten clients, it is €9.90.
Budget this separately from your software margin. A €99 monthly agency fee costs €1,188 per year, regardless of how you divide it across clients.
These are planning allocations, not required client prices. Don't divide a fixed agency fee by clients you hope to sign but who aren't paying yet. See white-label options before adding this cost.
Consider client-owned software instead
An affiliate arrangement keeps the software invoice with the client. You invoice your own setup and maintenance. That can simplify ownership and handover.
Eligible Boei subscription payments earn 30% commission during the client's first paid year. Don't use that temporary commission as the only funding for support you promise indefinitely.
Quote the service so it still works after the commission ends. Compare affiliate and reseller options before deciding who should invoice the software.
Match the payment dates to the bills you take on
The yearly example shows whether the service funds the planned work. It does not show when the money reaches your bank. An annual software bill can arrive before all your monthly client fees.
If your client pays the €588 software charge at the start of the year, it covers the example €470.40 vendor bill. If you spread that client charge over twelve months, you collect €49 at a time. Your agency still needs to fund the upfront vendor payment.
| Client payment choice | What your agency needs to plan |
|---|---|
| Annual software charge upfront | Explain the service term and when renewal is due |
| Monthly software charge with annual vendor billing | Fund the upfront payment and define cancellation terms |
| Client pays the software vendor | Keep your setup and maintenance invoices separate |
Choose the arrangement before sending the quote. A profitable annual total can still create a cash problem if payments arrive late. Do not assume the reseller discount removes that risk.
Use the first few months to improve the next quote
Keep a short monthly record of maintenance time, extra requests and software usage. Compare it with the quote after the first few months. You do not need a complex reporting system to spot a mismatch.
If the client uses very little support, the original scope may be right. If each review needs several hours, find out why. The source content, client approval process or service promise may need changing.
Discuss a revised scope before renewal rather than quietly doing unpaid work. The goal is a service you can keep delivering when you have more clients. A one-off setup fee does not fund ongoing work forever.
The quote should work for your agency as well as your client. See Boei's agency plans and partner options for the software side of your next proposal.
Frequently asked questions
Is the reseller discount my profit?
It is a software price difference. Your labour and other expenses still need funding. Call it software margin until you have counted those costs.
Should I copy another agency's monthly price?
Use it as context, not as your cost calculation. Their scope, labour, usage and contract can differ from yours.
Can I include the subscription in a maintenance package?
Yes, if the client understands what is included. Keep the software term, usage allowance and service obligations clear even when the invoice has one total.
Do I need a long contract?
Choose terms that cover the costs you take on. An annual vendor payment creates a different cash commitment from a monthly client invoice. Explain that before signing.