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Our consulting assistance is always priced separately from our software products.  If you have an Annual Support Contract, you can use up to 15 minutes of consulting assistance during the contract term at no extra charge; all additional consulting services are fee-based, as explained below.  Please read Consulting Assistance on the page Annual Support Contracts - Specifics for the distinction between technical support and consulting assistance.

Our consulting assistance always starts with a Quick Problem Review, which has a very modest fixed price.  This review is an easy and inexpensive way for you to get acquainted with our consultants, and for us to become acquainted with you and your problem.  A Quick Problem Review is designed to answer the question “Will I be able to solve my problem?” using Frontline Systems software.  You'll receive a short written report by email, a brief phone discussion, and if you wish, a proposal for further consulting work (with no obligation, of course).

For further consulting work, both you and we need a clear understanding of the scope of work that we will perform.  We will summarize this for you in a brief written proposal and contract.  In your Quick Problem Review, we will ask you for background information on the business problem you are trying to solve, any quantitative model you have already created and/or written specifications you can provide, and sample data for the model.  We will discuss with you the probable type of model (for example linear, mixed-integer, nonlinear) and its size (number of decision variables, constraints, and uncertain parameters).

We prefer to work on a fixed price basis, with prices (and scope of work) agreed upon in advance.  This allows our full-time consultants to draw upon the deep expertise of Frontline technical staff members who have built our software products and who are not available "for hire" on a specific customer project.  If your organization prefers or requires a variable price, based on daily or hourly rates, please discuss this with our Consulting Practice Leader.

Our consulting efforts are always designed to transfer knowledge to you, so you can proceed further on your own.  We provide you with the model, spreadsheet or source code, with varying degrees of documentation depending on the Scope of Work.  Our Consulting Terms and Conditions provide that you own exclusive rights to the specific model or source code that we develop for you, but that any work we do for you is completely separate from Frontline Systems software products (which are always licensed on a nonexclusive basis), and that such work does not restrict in any way Frontline Systems' right to create, use, license or sell other models that may solve similar problems, or have a similar structure.

To receive consulting assistance, you must provide either a credit card (Visa, MasterCard or American Express) or a previously authorized, open purchase order for consulting assistance up to a specified limit, on Net 30 terms.  We must receive a "hard copy" purchase order by fax or mail.

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