New Licensing Policy
Intercode Software will be implementing some changes to our licensing policy for Intercode Payroll. These changes will affect how you activate and use the software and will hopefully improve your overall license management experience.
WHAT’S CHANGING?
Previously, when you purchased a license for Intercode Payroll you received a product license key that was linked to the name of the employer whose payroll you were running on the software. For each new employer you added to the software you had to request a new license key from us. This process was laborious and time-consuming since each employer file’s license key had to be entered separately. This process was also prone to abuse by some bureau licenses holders, who requested license keys for specific employer names from us and then distributed or sold those license keys to third parties.
To address these issues, we are implementing a new licensing model whereby each customer will be issued with a single product license key that uniquely identifies that customer and product. This license key will be hardware-locked to each of the computers that it is activated on and will apply to all employer files used on that computer. This means that you will no longer need to request separate license keys for each employer file you create, because once you have activated your license on a particular computer you will be able to create as many employer files as you want on that computer (provided you have a bureau license of course). However, this also means that you will only be able to activate your product license on a limited number of computers.
Going forward, each new product license that is purchased from Intercode will include only a predefined number of activations, which will determine the number of computers it can be activated on. If additional activations are required they will have to be purchased at an additional cost.
To make the transition for existing customers as smooth as possible however, we have increased the predefined number of activations which will be included in your next annual license renewal as follows:
- For Intercode Payroll Professional (Single License): 3 Computers
- For Intercode Payroll Professional (Bureau License): 5 Computers (Unlimited Employers)
If you need to activate the software on more computers than is allowed by your license’s new activation limit, you will have to purchase additional activations from Intercode.
Note: The current per-company employee limits of all existing licenses remain unchanged.
WHY ARE WE MAKING THIS CHANGE?
We are making this change for several reasons:
- To simplify the licensing process and make it easier for you to manage your licenses and employer files.
- To prevent the unauthorized resale of license keys and ensure that only legitimate users can access the software and its features.
- To align our licensing policy with the industry standards and best practices.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO YOU?
The new licensing model will save you time and hassle by:
- Eliminating the need to request a new license key each time you create a new employer file.
- Eliminating the need to re-enter new license keys for each of your employer files when your annual license is renewed.
- Eliminating the need to request new license keys for all your employer files when your license’s employee limit is changed.
- Having more flexibility and control over how you use the software and how many individual employer files you choose to create.
- Providing uninterrupted service, as your license expiry date will now be auto updated across all your computers when your annual license is renewed.
HOW WILL THIS CHANGE AFFECT YOU?
Your current Intercode Payroll license will remain valid and in effect up to your existing license expiry date. At that time, if you choose to renew your license, you will be issued with a new product license key. You will then need to enter and activate the same key on each of the computers on which you want to use Intercode Payroll. Each computer on which the key is activated will “use up” one of the activation slots on that license. Once the maximum number of activations has been reached, you will not be able to activate that license key on any more computers unless you buy additional activations from Intercode.
Other than that, there is nothing on the software itself you need to change. The new product license keys are “lifetime” keys, which means that the key never changes for as long as you are a customer of Intercode. Once a key has been entered and activated on a computer, you will never need to re-enter the key on that computer again unless the computer’s hard drive is formatted. When your license is renewed, or changes to employee limits are made, your license information will now simply be updated on our web-based license server and will then automatically be updated on your computer the next time Intercode Payroll connects to the license server to verify the status of your license.
HOW WILL THIS CHANGE AFFECT YOUR ANNUAL LICENSE FEE?
If you currently have a Single Employer license, your annual license fee will not be affected at all. You will still be able to use Intercode Payroll on up to 3 computers (sharing the same employer file between the three of course), which should be sufficient for most Single Employer license holders.
If you are currently using a bureau license, your annual license fee might also be unaffected, provided you use the software on no more than 5 computers. If you need to activate your product license on more than 5 computers however, you will need to purchase additional license activations from Intercode.
Additional license activations currently carry a very modest cost of R50.00 (Excl. VAT) per activation per month, payable in advance (equivalent to R600.00 Excl. VAT per year).
Note: We recognise that the new licensing policy might have a negative impact on the annual license fees of very large payroll bureaus. If you need to activate your product license on more than 10 computers, please contact us to discuss custom pricing.
HOW WILL THIS AFFECT THIRD PARTIES USING ILLEGITIMATE KEYS?
Third parties who are not direct employees of the legitimate license holder but who are currently using license keys obtained from the license holder will have to purchase their own licenses from Intercode directly, or risk their licenses being suspended. When a license is suspended, the software will immediately stop functioning ON ALL COMPUTERS where the relevant license key was used, including the computers of the legitimate license holder.
NB: If you are aware of any third parties who are not direct employees of you or your company but who are currently using Intercode Payroll license keys registered to you or your company, please inform them as soon as possible that they need to purchase their own licenses directly from Intercode at www.intercode.co.za before the end of February 2024. Failure to do so will result in them not being able to advance their payrolls into the new tax year and could result in the suspension not only their licenses, but your license as well.
Intercode Payroll license keys may only be used on computers owned by the legitimate license holder or the license holder’s direct employees, and may not be distributed or sold to third parties under any circumstances. Please refer to Intercode Payroll’s End User License Agreement (EULA) for more information.
WHEN WILL THIS CHANGE TAKE EFFECT?
If you are an existing customer this change will only come into effect once your existing license has expired. The next annual license renewal invoice you receive from Intercode will therefore be in respect of a product license subject to the new licensing policy.
For new customers the new licensing policy will apply to all orders placed on our web site as of 01 March 2024 onwards.
PLEASE SEND US YOUR QUESTIONS
If you have any questions, concerns, or feedback about our new licensing policy, please do not hesitate to contact us at support@intercode.com or call us at 012 802 4200. We value your feedback and will try to address legitimate concerns in any way we can.
Thank you for choosing Intercode Payroll as your payroll software solution. We appreciate your business and loyalty, and we look forward to serving you into the future.
Sincerely,
The Intercode Team