Free PAT Testing Software?

You have arrived at this page because you have either searched for Free PAT Testing Software or you clicked the link on our web page to find out why SimplyPats is not free.

Peoples perception relating to the worth of software varies greatly.  Some people think it should be free, while others think it’s too cheap for what it does, and there are of course those people in the middle who don’t mind paying for software as long as it is priced at their perceived value.

We are aware that you can possibly download free software for almost any purpose if you search around enough, but this page is aimed at going some way to explain why SimplyPats is not free.

Below we have listed just a few reasons why SimplyPats is not free at this current time.  Who knows, in the future we may find a way of making our PAT Testing software freely available while still maintaining a viable business, it is certainly something that we have looked at and continue to look at.

• We provide free support for all users using the current version of SimplyPats.

• Regular updates containing extra functionality, new features and support for New PAT Testers (if released) are offered to users of the current version free of charge.  Existing users of older versions are offered upgrades at a reduced price.

• Large investment in PAT Testers (10’s of thousands of pounds), we have had to purchase almost every PAT Tester that SimplyPats supports to aid in development and support.  In some cases these need to be maintained by having the Firmware updated and Calibrated.

• We have a large ongoing investment in Development Software and Controls to aid development which is critical to keep up-to-date with the latest technology and operating systems.  Our IT equipment and operating systems must be kept up-to-date for development and support purposes.  Older platforms also need to be available where users are running older systems.

• The costs of maintaining our website & forum are significant due to the amount of traffic and data transferred across the server.

• Communication costs, multiple phone lines at Local or geographic rate, mobile phones, instant chat available on our web site together with Exchange Server Push Email for out of office support.  We also log inbound calls during normal working hours, if we miss a call and the number is displayed, one of our support staff will try getting in touch.

• Our remote access software also has an initial cost associated with it followed by yearly support charges.

• Our Company’s sole interest is in SimplyPats, we are dedicated to offering and developing the best PAT Testing software solution available together with unrivalled levels of support.

• The SimplyPats software has over 30,000 lines of code and over 10 years development behind it, and due to continued development and support this continues to grow.

• There are also the usual costs of running a business on a day to day basis together with the associated overheads of running an office.

Due to the very nature of the way PAT Testing is required or carried out, some individuals or companies may only have the need to use PAT testing software once or twice a year, this is especially true where a small company chooses to carry out in-house PAT Testing.

Larger companies carrying out in-house PAT Testing or Companies and Electrical Contractors specialising in PAT testing on a large scale will use it to manage their PAT Testing data on a day to day basis, this makes it easier to justify the investment in software and also the importance of dedicated support with quick response times.

With that in mind it’s only natural to maybe question the price of PAT Testing Software if you are using the software very infrequently.  We have looked into the possibility of offering our PAT software on a Pay as You Go or Rental basis and this is certainly achievable but would ideally require the services of a 3rd party company to manage the deployment, licencing and collection of payment.

Producing a SimplyPats Lite Version aimed at the casual user is also a possibility, however the release of the SimplyPats Manual Edition already offers an extremely cost effective solution for users of non-downloadable PAT Testers which are ultimately designed for mainly low volume or infrequent PAT Testing.

In most cases, the initial outlay of purchasing SimplyPats will be paid back many times over, and if PAT Testing on a regular basis the software should have paid for itself after just a few contracts.

If you would like to comment on the above, please sign up to our PAT Testing Forum and start a new post.

Try SimplyPats yourself, download the Demo
(Please note that certain features have been disabled in the Demo Version)

All information correct at the time of publication 13/01/2011