Magento 2 license fee during the development

[mikalai_melchan]

Hey there,
We're a digital agency that is considering Magento 2 for one of the projects.
Question: we will have six months of development, at what time our client needs to start paying the license fee? After going live? Thank you for the clarification in advance

[Robert Rand]

If they're like the majority of Magento users, which are on Magento Open Source (formerly known as Magento Community Edition or CE), then there is no license fee. It's free, open-source software. 

If they're going to be on Magento Commerce (formerly known as Magento Enterprise or EE), then they will need to procure a license. How much dev time, if any, the Magento team will give is something that should be discussed with the Magento sales rep that's involved.

I'll add that, if your agency is an official Magento Partner, you may have access to the Magento Commerce software that you can use for development purposes... but I would not recommend using that to build a site on the hopes that the client will come to an agreement on the licensing fee with the Magento sales team. It's best for the merchant to come to terms on the licensing fee first. Magento does not publish its licensing fees - they custom quote each business - so there can sometimes be some sticker shock, or some disagreements, such as when cloud hosting is bundled in.

Best of luck!

[variuxdavid]

Mikalai, happy Tuesday. It has been my experience in the past that Magento does not give any grace period for development time. The license fee begins upon agreement regardless of the status of the site. This has been point of frustration for any licensed client I have spoken with. 

What kind of project are you working on? 6 months sounds like a pretty big undertaking. Is this a new site or a re-platform?

[mikalai_melchan]

Robert, thank you for such a fast reply, appreciate that!
Unfortunately, we're not Magento partners, so in this case, you recommend that the client needs to agree on the license fee first, then we can start developing the platform?

Let's say they've decided on the license fee, so they're starting to pay it immediately or after the website is done? Thank you for your help

[Robert Rand]

My pleasure!

If they want to lock in a price now (which they should want to), they may be given a limited amount of time to sign the contract and make a payment. Proposals expire. They'll most likely sign an agreement and pay now. There is no one right answer since Magento negotiates contracts on a case-by-case basis, but the sales team is not known for selling a license and chasing for payment later. They will most likely have to pay (or at least start paying) immediately.

[variuxdavid]

Happy New Year @mikalai_melchan ! Has your client been able to get good advice and insight on choosing Magento Commerce edition? Have you gotten to start the project yet? Did you have any success in getting a development grace period for their license costs?