Free renewal check

Before your support tools renew

Your software is renewing. What should you do next?

Check agent licences, AI resolution charges and phone costs. Compare an alternative including the ticket and knowledge-base move, and get a clear next step.

See an example

No account needed. Your figures stay in this browser.

Step 1 of 3Your subscription

Pick it from the list, or choose that it isn't listed.

As shown on your invoice, for example the plan name and the number of agents.

Choose it yourself. The check does not convert currencies.

Use your invoice total, including paid add-ons. We won't multiply it by your seats. For support tools, include AI resolution or outcome charges, phone numbers and minutes, and add-ons from the same billing period.

From your invoice or the billing page of your account.

How the check works

Support bills can change from month to month, so the check works with totals: seats, AI resolutions and phone costs from the same invoice together. A monthly total becomes a 12-month figure by multiplying it by twelve; a yearly total stays as it is and is also shown per month. This is for comparing costs, not a forecast of when money leaves your account.

For another helpdesk, the check takes its 12-month figure from yours to get the difference before switching. Moving tickets, the knowledge base and phone numbers is counted as hours times an hourly value, plus implementation, the extra cost of running both tools during the move, and other one-off fees. A simple payback in months appears only when every one of those costs is known and the new tool costs less.

The result picks one next step by fixed priority: first any amount that is missing or does not match, then a notice date already passed, then the comparison, then agent licences nobody used, then a notice deadline still unknown. It never ranks tools, and it does not call staying the best choice when you have not compared anything.

A worked example

Fictional figures. “Current helpdesk” and “Other helpdesk” are not real products.

What was entered

Current helpdesk, what you pay
$2,140/month — equivalent to $25,680/year (billed monthly)
Other helpdesk, written quote
$1,890/month — equivalent to $22,680/year (billed monthly)
Must-haves in the option
Ticket history import (confirmed); Phone number porting (confirmed)
Tax and scope
Both amounts exclude tax; same users and usage confirmed
Migration
60 hours × $40 an hour
Implementation, overlap, other
$1,200, $1,890, $300
Costs and contract obligations
confirmed

What the check shows

Current cost, 12-month equivalent
$25,680/year — equivalent to $2,140/month
Option cost, 12-month equivalent
$22,680/year — equivalent to $1,890/month
Difference before switching costs
$3,000/year ($250/month)
Estimated switching costs
$5,790
Difference in the first 12 months after switching
-$2,790
Simple payback in months
about 23.2 months

This option may lower your costs. The alternative costs $250 less per month. With switching costs of $5,790, the simple payback is about 23.2 months. This is based on the figures you confirmed. Check the assumptions below.

Also: Find your notice deadline.

Over the first 12 months after switching, the switching costs are $2,790 more than the lower price saves. The simple payback is about 23.2 months. Billing dates and prepayment can change when the saving actually shows.

If exporting tickets and the knowledge base takes 120 hours instead of 60, the switching costs rise to $8,190 and the payback to about 32.8 months. Ask both suppliers what an export contains before you rely on the hours.

What to check before support tools renew

Agent licences

Set paid agent licences against the agents who handled tickets or calls last month. Managers who only read reports may need a cheaper role or none. Ask about a minimum number of licences before you plan a reduction.

AI resolutions and outcomes

AI features can be billed per resolution or outcome on top of agent seats; then the seat price is not the whole bill. Take the AI charges from your last invoices, ask how a resolution is counted, and whether there is a monthly cap.

Telephony

Phone numbers, call minutes, recordings and regional numbers can be billed apart from the helpdesk. Check who holds the numbers, whether they can move to another provider, and what porting costs.

Ticket and knowledge-base export

Ticket history and help articles can take time to move. Ask which formats the export uses, whether attachments, tags and internal notes come along, and whether the new tool can import them without a paid service.

Overlap during the move

If support cannot stop during the migration, you may run both tools for a while. Enter only the extra cost of that period as overlap, not a full year of both.

Support tools with extra questions

Pick one of these in step 1 to see its questions next to your figures. The check works with your own invoice total for them; no list price is shown.

eDesk

Check this first:

  • Priced per user: How many agent licences does the invoice bill, and how many agents handled tickets or calls last month?
  • Usage charges: Which charges on your last invoices depend on usage, such as call minutes, messages or AI resolutions?
  • Paid add-ons: Which add-ons are billed on top of the plan, per agent or per use, such as AI features, analytics or extra channels, and who uses them?
  • What did AI resolutions add to your last invoices, and what total do you expect at renewal?

Read the eDesk review (opens in a new tab)

Aircall

Check this first:

  • Priced per user: How many agent licences does the invoice bill, and how many agents handled tickets or calls last month?
  • Paid add-ons: Which add-ons are billed on top of the plan, per agent or per use, such as AI features, analytics or extra channels, and who uses them?
  • Annual commitment: Is the plan or its agent licences committed for a full year, and by when must you give notice to lower or cancel?
  • Which minimum number of licences applies to your plan at renewal?

Read the Aircall review (opens in a new tab)

Tidio

Check this first:

  • Paid add-ons: Which add-ons are billed on top of the plan, per agent or per use, such as AI features, analytics or extra channels, and who uses them?
  • Annual commitment: Is the plan or its agent licences committed for a full year, and by when must you give notice to lower or cancel?
  • Which currency will your renewal be invoiced in?
  • What did billable conversations, Lyro AI conversations and Flows visitors each add to your last invoices?

Read the Tidio review (opens in a new tab)

What this check does not do

  • It does not convert currencies. Enter both amounts in the same currency.
  • It does not give tax advice. Compare amounts that both include tax or both exclude it.
  • It does not multiply a list price by seats. Minimums, included seats, tiers and add-ons change the bill.
  • It does not work out a notice deadline from a notice period. Use the date your contract states, or ask your supplier.
  • It does not rank or recommend products. A list price appears only as a reference line while it is at most 30 days old.
  • The payback is a simple estimate, not a cash-flow forecast.

Questions about the check

Why not enter the price per agent?

Because agent seats may not be the whole bill. AI resolutions, phone minutes and add-ons can change the total from month to month. Enter your invoice total, or an average of recent invoices, and the check leaves it as it is.

How do I handle a bill that changes every month?

Use the total of your last invoice or an average of the last three, and keep a note for yourself of which one you used. Ask the supplier for a quote for the next term that includes the AI and phone usage you expect.

What should I count for moving tickets and articles?

The hours to export and import tickets and the knowledge base, rebuild macros, routing and integrations, port phone numbers and train agents, plus any fees. Unknown costs stay unknown.

Why can the first year show a loss?

When switching costs are higher than one year of lower prices, the difference in the first 12 months is negative. The payback in months is a simple estimate of how long the lower price takes to cover the switching costs, not a cash-flow forecast.

Does the calendar reminder hold any figures?

No. The file holds one all-day event on a date you choose, titled Review software renewal unless you change it. Whether your calendar sends an alert depends on the app.