Support, Procedures & Pricing FAQs
Answers to common questions regarding QuantityWare customer support, pricing and procedural questions
Does QuantityWare have specific contract conditions?
QuantityWare offers a “usage” package of the Bulk Calculations Solution (BCS) to its customers. The contents of this package are summarized in this FAQ.
All offers of usage are based on two agreements:
- QuantityWare Annual Usage Agreement
- QuantityWare Mutual (bi-directional) Non-Disclosure Agreement
These agreements have been crafted and refined since 2006 and are based on German law (law of Codex).
- Our NDA is a “standard” Bi-Directional agreement.
- The Annual Usage Agreement has been adopted to reflect the usage model and that we offer e.g.
Price adjustment 2025 Q2 - what are the details?
Since its initial release in 2006, the QuantityWare Solution BCS and its component products BCP and BCG have grown and diversified with the addition of many new and revised quantity conversion standards. This includes existing industry products and those gaining increasing visibility e.g., industrial gases, hydrogen.
Additionally, many of the valuable internal management and GRC functions available within the Petroleum and Gas Measurement Cockpits have been revised and extended, heightening quality and giving customers access to increased functionality.
After 10 years of price stability, QuantityWare is announcing a 10% price rise of all products.
How does the QuantityWare procurement process work?
Your organization is interested in using QuantityWare BCS (Bulk Calculations Solution).
QuantityWare GmbH in Germany is the single source for the purchase of usage agreement rights.
1. Usage Questionnaire
Prospective customers should initially complete an on-line “Usage Questionnaire” in order to have a general idea as to where their business requirements position them on the BCS pricing matrix.
2. Test Usage Key Request (TUKR)
If the customer wishes to pursue test usage or purchase of the package, after a “Usage Questionnaire”
Can I use a "Purchaser" organization?
Principally, QuantityWare GmbH sells annual usage agreements directly to end-customers. QuantityWare has no general re-sellers authorized to re-sell it’s software to any customer – all exceptions to direct purchase must be regulated on a per-customer basis.
We understand that in certain circumstances, end-customers may have internal procedures and requirements which restrict their ability to purchase an annual usage agreement for QuantityWare’s BCS (Bulk Calculations Solution) directly from QuantityWare. In this case, QuantityWare supports customer needs by allowing the use of a “Purchaser” organization. This organization must be selected independently by the end-customer and assigned to their QuantityWare support portal presence.
Why do we require consultants to be certified in the products before offering non-chargeable test licenses?
As part of our standard practice, we require at least one consultant to be certified in the products you will be demonstrating/configuring (BCP, BCG, or both) before providing non-chargeable test licenses. This certification ensures that the consultant possesses the necessary expertise and knowledge to effectively showcase and configure our solutions. A correct implementation is crucial for showcasing the software, and it helps prevent potential issues that could impact your project, future business, and QuantityWare’s reputation.
How can I access the required certification training courses?
We conduct a limited number of training courses each year,
What is the difference between LPG and NGL?
From a BCS measurement standard point of view (considering the basic thermodynamical properties of temperature, density, pressure / vapor pressure) , LPG and NGL (high vapor pressure) are covered by the same group of supported BCS measurement standards*. Thus, either a BCG or a BCP license is required for quantity conversions of LPG and NGL, but not both.
From a business point of view, considering the financial values, there are considerable differences:
- In a nutshell, LPG are – in many countries – defined by using a chemical composition analysis.
When will the next BCS 3.0 CSP be available?
Starting in 2017, QuantityWare delivers a new BCS 3.0 CSP every second year*.
The 2023 BCS 3.0 CSP ( BCS 30B-02 / BCS 30A-03) has been released in Q4 2023.
The 2025 BCS 3.0 CSP (BCS 30B-03 / BCS 30A-04) is scheduled for release in Q4 2025.
For each CSP, release notes are published, which document the content of the CSP. All release notes for the delivered BCS CSPs (from BCS 1.0B onward) are available in our Knowledge Base.
What is the QuantityWare support procedure concerning "General / Software" tickets?
Via tickets with the category “General / Software” customers and consultants may raise questions concerning features and functions of QuantityWare BCS or other related software products. The support staff will answer such inquiries by pointing out the relevant information sources on our website or support portal.
What is the QuantityWare support procedure concerning "Calculation Issue" tickets?
If you encounter a SAP QCI or MQCI related error message during a BCS implementation project, or if you question a calculation result, you can raise a ticket with the ticket category “Calculation Issue” via the QuantityWare Service Portal.
The QuantityWare support procedure for such tickets is defined in the QuantityWare Remote Support Manual.
Read Note 000052 and the Support Service Priority Definition Manual – page 11 – Calculation Issue – for additional details.
Note 000073 provides all information concerning the automated test scenarios,
What support response times (SLA) does QuantityWare offer?
In the Knowledge Base, there is a document titled “Support Service Priority Definition“.
This document described the various levels of ticket priority that can be opened with QuantityWare, the fundamental requirements for such tickets and a detailed definition for the ticket classification “Very High”.
What is included in "Annual Usage"?
A valid Usage Agreement provides the following benefits:
- Usage of our software to the extent defined by the Usage Questionnaire answers
- Access to the QuantityWare service portal, providing:
- Ticketing system for issue reporting and resolution
- Self-service usage key generation
(for every requested SAP System within the scale of the agreement) - Portal user management
- Installation files
- Maintenance files
- Agreement data
- Maintenance request support (see here for details and priorities).
- Upgrade rights (i.e. from BCS 30A (NetWeaver) to BCS 30B (S/4)).
What is your value proposition?
From the earliest days, we have made a Value Proposition document available to our customers – it can be found in the Knowledge Base and lists all benefits from the offloading of development cost and maintenance to GRC aspects.
How is “National / Simple” pricing determined?
Maximum Support – Minimum Hurdle
Sometimes prospective customers ask us why is there such a large “step” in our pricing matrix between the “National / Simple” and “National / Standard” positions. As our prices are openly available on our website, we have decided to publish this question and its answer in a public text as well.
SAP Oil, Gas, and Energy customers have always had to use a third party solution for bulk goods quantity conversion calculations.
We have always aimed to serve the entire industry with our solution,
Can we obtain QuantityWare BCS test usage keys without charge?
Yes.
Follow the appropriate path:
- Prospective customers can first apply for non-obligatory, fully-functional test usage keys, for one SAP system, without charge, which can be requested online via our Service Portal.
All BCS pricing information for productive usage is openly available in the pricing section of our website.
- Existing customers should follow the Portal Systems Manager documentation – Do not submit a Test Usage Key Request form (TUKR).
What is the QuantityWare support procedure concerning new quantity conversion requirements - "Development" tickets ?
New requirements for supported products must be raised via a ticket (category “Development”) in the QuantityWare Support Portal.
QuantityWare experts analyze such new requirements and perform a feasibility appraisal upon which an implementation decision is made. If a new implementation is to be provided, one of the following delivery options will be supported:
- New implementations are shipped within the next planned CSP. See note 000086 for details concerning the BCS support and release lifecycle.
- If the new requirement needs to be solved faster, it may be solved either via:
-
- Advanced Development (AD) –
What are the reasons and benefits for the engagement of a QuantityWare Certified Consultant?
QuantityWare has defined itself to be a software company, for this reason we offer no direct consulting services; however we are aware that the area of quantity conversions, when using SAP Oil, Gas, and Energy (SAP OG&E) bulk materials, is fundamental, complex and often subject to business-specific requirements.
For this reason we work with QuantityWare Certified Consultants (QWCCs) – a list of which is provided on our website here. The QWCC training is open to all suitably qualified and experienced personnel, thus customers also have the option to send their own staff for certification.
How do we assign a QuantityWare Certified Consultant to our QuantityWare service portal presence?
All QuantityWare Certified Consultants (QWCCs) have a QuantityWare service portal user. If assignment is required, a customer user with either the portal “Manager” or “Cust. Admin.” role (the two roles that allow customer user maintenance within the portal) should open a “Portal Issue” ticket requesting the assignment of the QWCC to the customer.
Once QuantityWare portal administrators have confirmed this assignation with the QWCC concerned, the QWCC will be assigned as requested.
This will allow the consultant to rise / view / edit the following customer ticket types:
- Calculation Issue
- Development
- General Software
- General Non-Software
- Installation / Technical
- Portal Issue
- Security
After the QWCC has ceased to work with the customer,
Why is it necessary to use the QuantityWare service portal?
It is defined in QuantityWare usage contracts, that the QuantityWare Service Portal (https://service.quantityware.com) is the single channel of communication for all service issues.
Note: QuantityWare internal security policies explicitly forbid QuantityWare staff to send e-mails with attachments to customers or prospective customers.
The QuantityWare Service Portal provides the following advantages:
- Secure (HTTPS-encrypted) document transfer and communications
- Monitoring by multiple members of the QuantityWare team
- Easily accessible history of past queries
- In-line with good business practices (transparency and accountability)
Contact your organization’s “Cust.
I need to raise a ticket to QuantityWare support. How do I decide on the priority of my ticket?
Read the support service priority documentation, which is available in our Knowledge Base.
Where can I find information about the QuantityWare BCS release (lifecycle) and maintenance strategy?
Detailed Information about the release and maintenance strategy is available in QuantityWare Note 000086 and the FAQ on the next CSP delivery date.
What are the QuantityWare work days and public holidays?
Work Days
QuantityWare work days are defined as:
Monday to Friday 08:00 – 18:00 CET, excluding public holidays.
Public Holidays
QuantityWare is based in Baden Württemberg, Germany. Therefore, the public holidays for this region apply:
2024 Public Holidays 1 Jan Mon New Year’s Day 6 Jan Sat Epiphany 29 Mar Fri Good Friday 1 Apr Mon Easter Monday 1 May Wed Labour Day 9 May Thu Ascension Day 20 May Mon Whit Monday 30 May Thu Corpus Christi 3 Oct Thu Day of German Unity 1 Nov Fri All Saints’How do we renew our annual usage agreement?
Other terms: renewal, extension, license.
All agreement correspondence should be conducted via the service portal by opening an “Agreement”-ticket. To open and process such tickets your user must have one (or more) of the following roles:
- Agreement
- Management
- Purchaser
In the ticket header, there is a description as to how to proceed.
The process overview is:
- Customer confirms / modifies contact details
- Customer confirms / modifies the current Usage Questionnaire (previously License Questionnaire)
- Customer defines if:
- a quote is needed
- anything has changed since the last invoice from QW,
