Per-user or per-business pricing: how distributor software is charged, and which costs less

Two software sellers can quote the same distributor ₹2,000 and ₹6,000 a month and both be telling the truth. The difference is usually not the software. It is what the price is counted against: people, vans, computers, or the whole business. Once you know which, you can work out what you will really pay next year, not just this month.

The four ways distributor software is charged

1. Per user. A monthly fee for every login. Most field-sales apps (the ones that track salesmen, attendance and orders) are sold this way. The cheap end of the Indian market is around ₹250 per salesman per month.
2. Per van or per device. A fee for every van or every handheld. Some van sales tools charge per van; some billing software charges for each extra computer or user. Marg’s own price list, for example, says: “licence by edition, then a yearly renewal (ARC); extra users ₹3,000 each”.
3. Per computer, with a licence. Accounts software is often sold for one PC. TallyPrime Silver is priced for one PC (Silver); multi-user is the Gold edition.
4. Per business (also called per workspace). One fee for the whole company, with a limit on salesmen and vans. This is how Mulberry Sales is priced.

None of these is a trick. Each suits a different business. The mistake is comparing two prices that count different things.

What it costs for 3, 5, 10 and 25 salesmen

Here is a per-user app at ₹250 per salesman next to the Mulberry plan that fits the same team. Mulberry adds no GST to its price.

Read it honestly: for a small team, the per-user app is cheaper. Per-user only costs more than Business from about 16 salesmen. If you run three salesmen and only want to see where they are, a per-user app may be the right buy.

The table leaves out one thing: what each price includes. Many per-user apps track the field team but do not make bills or keep stock. Then you also pay for billing software, and the cheap per-user price is only half your cost. Every Mulberry plan includes billing and stock. Compare the total you will pay for everything you need, not the cheapest line.

The per-user figure is the low end of published Indian guidance of ₹200–300 per user per month (published indian sfa pricing guidance of ₹200–300/user/month, checked August 2026). Real quotes vary; ask for yours in writing. Tally and Marg figures are from their own pages, checked 2026-09-22.

What makes the bill change

With per-user pricing, the bill follows your headcount. Hire for the festival season and it goes up; let someone go and it comes down, as long as you remember to remove the login. Nothing is wrong with that. It just means next year’s cost depends on next year’s team.

With per-business pricing, the bill stays the same while your team fits the plan. It is not unlimited. On Mulberry, each plan has a limit on salesmen and vans:

• Starter, ₹1,799 a month: up to 3 salesmen, 2 vans included, and up to 1 more van at ₹200 each a month.
• Growth, ₹2,499 a month: up to 5 salesmen, 5 vans included, and up to 5 more vans at ₹200 each a month.
• Business, ₹3,999 a month: up to 25 salesmen, 12 vans included, and up to 13 more vans at ₹200 each a month.

Go past the salesman limit and you move to the next plan. So the honest promise of per-business pricing is not “add anyone free”. It is that adding the sixth or the twentieth salesman does not add a fee of its own, until you reach the plan’s limit.

Seven questions to ask before you sign

1. What exactly is counted? Salesmen only, or the owner, accountant and godown staff too?
2. Does a phone or van cost extra? Some prices are per user and then per device on top.
3. What happens when someone leaves? Can you move the login to the new person without paying again?
4. Is billing and stock included, or only field tracking?
5. Is GST added on top? A price “+ 18% GST” is 18% more than the number you see.
6. Are setup, training or data import charged separately?
7. What will next year cost? Ask for the renewal price in writing, at the team size you expect next year, not this year.

Put every quote into the same shape: total cost for one year, for the team you will have next year, including billing, devices and GST. Then the cheapest option is obvious, and it is not always the one with the smallest number on the website.

For the published prices of Tally, Marg and Vyapar, and which field-sales platforms quote only on request, see what distribution software costs in India. Mulberry’s full plan list is on the pricing page.

Questions people ask