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Do you need a RTU licence?

Disclaimer - before we get in to the detail...

The Exchequer Lifeline team are advocates of the Exchequer product.  Just like it's users, we love the Exchequer way of working, the easy UI, it's look and feel - all in all, a great product to work with.  That said, the times have changed and it is now no longer being enhanced.  For customers choosing to move on from Exchequer, there has however been mention of a (quite costly) right to use licence (RTU).

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Now, heading off any legal complication that may arise, our team is making no comment as to whether RTU is required, whether it originally formed part of any agreements, or, whether the vendor is using this as a last sales opportunity.  What we can do however, is confirm our understanding of the position and provide answers to the common question we receive from our users.

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Under no circumstances shall Konnekt365 (the team at EL) be held liable for any information provided.  We detail this information as a gesture of goodwill to Exchequer customers and it based purely upon our knowledge and understanding.  Legally, we suggest each customer comes to their own judgement on what action to take, obtaining any legal advice deemed appropriate.

Common questions we receive

  1. What is the Right to Use (RTU) archive licence?
    In planning to end their Exchequer contract, some customers have been informed that they will have to now purchase an Archive Only RTU licence for Exchequer.  The vendor rationale behind this option appears to stem from the need to access accounting records, in case of a VAT inspection etc. 

    With this theory, the vendor offers a read-only, "archive licence", that grants use for 7 years.  Typically, this appears to take the form of a discounted version of the original maintenance - albeit as a one-off multiple (of 7 years) to cover the UK HMRC or accountant inspection period.

    If the customer opts to not take this RTU, as they may have extracted what they need, printed what they need etc - then they are notified that they must prove they have removed the software.

     

  2. Can we just extract the data to Excel and/or print anything out beforehand?
    In short, YES.  Just like any month or year-end, your Exchequer system will let you print or export information.  Typically, the standard report exports are limited, but you can use our Export Tool, to fully extract information (customers, suppliers, document header, lines etc) out to JSON or Excel format.  For users migrating to a new finance system, our extracts also include "open items" (unpaid entries).

    Our export tool module can be run as often as required; there is just a one-off licence.
    Extract wise, you can use this data for backup security, as well as any queries post Exchequer.

     

  3. Can the exported data from your tool be pushed in to another finance system?
    In theory, the answer is YES, but in practice, this can be hard or lengthy to achieve.  All accounting systems tend to have different formats, references or requirements and so, in most cases, you would normally just load  the outstanding entries (plus an opening balance) to your new system.  

    If you have previously run reports, or extracted via our export tool you will always have access to this on paper or in Excel for example.  Should you then need to refer to this information, you can use this source (rather than Exchequer).  - which is a very low cost, low risk option to take - verses the RTU cost.

    If your new system supports it, such as iplicit, you can in fact load our export tool data in to a special enquiry area in the system. Although not exactly an Exchequer view, it provides basic lookup/enquiry.
    (iplicit also detail the RTU scenario and options on their blog)

     

  4. Will Exchequer stop working if we stop the maintenance?
    Strictly speaking, Exchequer has no logic (we are aware of) that will stop it working if you stop the maintenance.  Some software can require a licence code be entered per year, but with Exchequer, it is not designed that way.  Assuming that Exchequer is on your own infrastructure (and not running on the vendors hosted platform), then it will likely just carry on running/let you access it.

    That said, we still suggest you review your software contracts in line with any RTU discussions.  As mentioned previously, the vendor may require you disable/remove it, and you will need to come to your own conclusions.

     

  5. I have a query about getting my data out - do you have details/can we contact you..?
    Of course; for details on our export tool, please check out the module detail page.
    For any other queries, please get in touch - we would love to hear from you.
     

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