What Hidden LMS Fees All eLearning Pros Must Be Aware Of
One big part of bringing new software into your business is making sure you budget for it adequately. While you may think you have all your costs estimated, there could be some hidden costs involved to unlock the functionality that you need to run your eLearning the way you want to.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common hidden costs involved with Learning Management Systems so you can avoid them, or at least ask about them upfront to ensure you don’t throw your budget off after you’ve made your purchase.
1. Implementation Fee
If you’re installing new software in your business, you want to get it set up as quickly and as stress-free as possible. Your Learning Management System’s implementation team will be able to handle this for you, as they can get you up to speed on how to use the system, and how it can work best for your business.
However, the implementation may take a lot of time, and your LMS implementation team will have to spend a lot of time getting up to speed with your company, and how the software will work best for you, so chances are this is going to cost you an additional fee. This is a vital stage of the process, and so you will want to ask about these fees and take them into account when you’re budgeting for your new LMS.
2. Content Licensing Fees
This fee may not be directly from your LMS provider, but if you buy off-the-shelf eLearning content rather than writing your own, then you may have to pay content licensing fees on top of the initial purchase fee to keep using the material for a specified time period.
Make sure you are clear on exactly what additional fees you have to pay, and how often you need to pay them so you can budget accordingly, and maybe even see if creating custom content would be more cost effective for you.
3. Training Fees
Alongside implementation fees, if you need to train additional members of your team on how to use your new software, this may be an additional cost.
If you have new members of staff starting or need to train a whole new team on how to use the LMS, you may wish to get the LMS provider to run the training instead of doing it yourself. This will ensure that your entire team gets the same level of training everyone received when you first purchased the system.
4. Support Fees
With a lot of products, support comes as standard, but it’s always important to check what level of support you get for free, and if there are additional costs involved if you need more help.
For example, you may get email and phone support during office hours as standard, but if you need help at the weekend or late at night, this may be an additional cost, or you’ll have to wait until you can contact them during office hours.
5. Per-User Fees
Some Learning Management Systems may charge you a small fee for every student you have that signs up for your eLearning courses. You may have a limited number of students included in the set price, and then have a small fee for every user you go over that each month or you may pay on a user by user basis. Either way, make sure you’re clear on which pricing model your LMS provider is using before you purchase so you can work out which will be the most cost-effective system for you.
6. Per-Course Fees
Similarly to the per-user fees, you may be charged for every different eLearning course you upload to your LMS. It’s important to be clear on this as if this is the case, and you run several different courses this may lead to a substantial increase in what you thought the price was going to be.
7. Upgrade Fees
It’s important to pick an LMS that is going to grow with your business, and if you see yourself wanting to add lots more features in the future, you need to see if your LMS provider is going to charge for these additional features.
There is nothing wrong with having to pay more for additional features, as obviously, you are getting more functionality, but it’s is vital to be clear on these costs before going in so you can accurately project how much you will be spending on software in the future as your business grows.
8. Customization Fees
Most Learning Management Systems will usually come with a standard interface, but some will give you the option to customize the LMS to reflect your branding so you can give your students a personalized experience.
If this is something you are keen on doing, then make sure you know if this incurs an additional fee, or if it comes as a standard option.
9. Mobile App Usage
The beauty of eLearning is that your students can learn on their own devices, wherever they want. This means you may want to make sure your LMS is mobile-friendly, so your students can complete their learning on their phone or tablet.
Again, this may be standard, or it may incur an additional cost as your LMS provider will need to ensure all your content is mobile-friendly and displays correctly.
