Mick Berg Posted November 14, 2009 Posted November 14, 2009 I thought that the regular version of Express Invoice was free. I am now getting a "Trial Version Expired" notice and cannot start the program although I have invoices in it. Can someone please clarify the situation. BTW If I could edit the description field, I might purchase the program, but without that feature, absolutely not. Thanks, Mick Berg.
Labs Posted January 17, 2010 Posted January 17, 2010 I've just discovered the same issue with Express Accounts as well as Inventoria which I thought were free, with some abilities removed after the trial period.
GrahamW Posted January 17, 2010 Posted January 17, 2010 Hi guys, just go to uninstall the program and it will pop up a box asking if you want to downgrade or uninstall the software. I know what you mean though it is marketed as FREE and very missleading
lfp Posted January 18, 2010 Posted January 18, 2010 In Version 2.23 there was an option to keep the free version installed. I've just found that there is a v2.24 (Mind you the updates page still lists 2.18 as the most recent), so I installed 2.24 and the first thing it did was told me that my trial period had ended, gave me the list you mention, but didn't have the keep free version option. So I cancelled the uninstall and got the free version running anyway. Few bugs in the system. I don't need the stuff you get if you pay for it, but I'd pay for the program if Accounts/Invoices/Inventoria were all connected, and had a BAS facility, since the ATO is abandoning their free e-Records I'm now looking seriously for something that'll help me out with BAS!
GrahamW Posted January 19, 2010 Posted January 19, 2010 I have been requesting BAS for some time now and nobody from NCH has even acknowledged they have got my suggestion. I actually have the paid version however the registration of it is the most unreliable I have ever seen. Being a pc tech I often change my hardware and keep my hdd intact with my software. It's very frustrating becase it appears everytime you either add some new hardware to the pc EI detects a change and your registration expires and you can't re register again and it tells you to contact NCH. So I just downgraded to the free one now and gave up on the registration of it.
lfp Posted January 19, 2010 Posted January 19, 2010 I guess it's a double edged sword situation isn't it. We don't want to pay for a product which doesn't have all the features we need, & seems to have poor support with it. While they don't want to keep working on a product no-one wants to buy!
mrhasbean Posted November 19, 2010 Posted November 19, 2010 I have the same problem and must say I'm pretty annoyed. I installed the free version because I don't need the features of the Pro version. It worked fine for a few months but started to have a few glitchy issues after a MacOS upgrade, so I decided to visit the site to see if there was an update. EVERYTHING ON THE SITE indicated that I was downloading the STANDARD version of the software - there is still even an FAQ saying something about how to buy the Plus version. So I downloaded and installed the new version - during which there were absolutely no warnings whatsoever that it was in fact installing a TRIAL of the Pro version. Now I have all of my current financial year's data in an application that I can't access unless I pay. To make matters worse I then though I might just bite the bullet and buy it. So I went to the purchase page and was presented with a "November Special" price of $79.99 - 15% discount. During this time I was telling a friend on MSN about the fact that I felt ripped off that the free version had obviously been scrapped with no warning - forcing me to purchase the Pro version if I want my data. He visited the site, clicked the Purchase link and said to me "It's only $50" because on his screen it was showing a purchase price of $49.95. A little bit of experimentation by both of us discovered that as we opened different browsers on different computers we were presented with different prices - the cheapest being $39.95 going up to $79.99. Clearing the cookies and refreshing the page can result in a different "November Special" appearing. This to me is an extremely dodgy practice. To say I'm incredibly annoyed at this would be an understatement. I think there are two very dodgy business practices going on here. The most annoying part is that I now have all of this financial year's data in an application that I can't access without paying a company that I believe is trying to deceive me on various levels, so if I pay how can I be guaranteed I'll even get a license code!?
djakober Posted November 19, 2010 Posted November 19, 2010 Hi, The free version of Express Invoice is not widely available - there are only certain paths that can get you to the correct page. You need to see the following copy for the free version that will downgrade properly: "Get it Free. A free version of Express Invoice invoicing software is available for home user or businesses with fewer than 5 staff members. Download the free version which does not expire and includes most of the features of the professional version." Try typing "NCH Software Express Invoice Free" into your search tool. There is no other direct path I can offer. And yes your offer price can differ based on many factors, including the number of times you have been to our website, the time of the month you visit our website, etc. This is not meant to be deceptive, but to provide loyalty and short term purchase discounts for our customers. We also have a current offer where you can purchase it for $39.95 at any US Office Depot in a retail package. Many of our free product versions will offer all features during the trial period and then reduce to the basic features for the free version after 14-days. If sales of the paid version are not successful, there would be no free version at all, or if there was a free version there would be no proactive development. Hope this helps you to better understand some of the things that you are wary of... DJ
debdp Posted November 28, 2010 Posted November 28, 2010 I still have a copy of 1.37 and when I got a new computer I figured I'd just download from NCH for the free version and ended up with 2.25 which I hated. So I uninstalled and installed the older version which I really liked. I did one invoice a couple weeks ago and it did say it was version 1.37 but this morning it popped my trial version expired and said it was version 2.25. So it may have auto updated over the interent or something in the registry. You can find older versions...I found a site that has versions 1.31 to 2.28 available for download. But you really have to look. On the Office Depot note, there's one around the corner and I have no issues paying for software, but not for something I don't like. And unfortunately the newer version isn't compatible with my needs where the free basic was perfect.
lsangel Posted January 20, 2011 Posted January 20, 2011 Hi, The free version of Express Invoice is not widely available - there are only certain paths that can get you to the correct page. You need to see the following copy for the free version that will downgrade properly: "Get it Free. A free version of Express Invoice invoicing software is available for home user or businesses with fewer than 5 staff members. Download the free version which does not expire and includes most of the features of the professional version." Try typing "NCH Software Express Invoice Free" into your search tool. There is no other direct path I can offer. And yes your offer price can differ based on many factors, including the number of times you have been to our website, the time of the month you visit our website, etc. This is not meant to be deceptive, but to provide loyalty and short term purchase discounts for our customers. We also have a current offer where you can purchase it for $39.95 at any US Office Depot in a retail package. Many of our free product versions will offer all features during the trial period and then reduce to the basic features for the free version after 14-days. If sales of the paid version are not successful, there would be no free version at all, or if there was a free version there would be no proactive development. Hope this helps you to better understand some of the things that you are wary of... DJ
lsangel Posted January 20, 2011 Posted January 20, 2011 Hello DJ When you say that if purchased it can be used by upto 5 office personell does this apply to seperate computer terminals. My Husband and I both run seperate businesses so would we be able to access our different ID's on different PC's and also then we would have only our personal invoices on each PC? My Husband got both of our free versions under his email address If I buy the latest version for £49 will it automatically update my current invoices into the new system and then how will my Husband transfer his invoices over to the new system? Hope you can help. Many thanks L's angel
netlaw Posted November 20, 2011 Posted November 20, 2011 QUOTE Hello Thank you for contacting NCH Software. The MAC versions do not have a free version you can downgrade to unfortunately. This only works on the PC versions. Let us know if you need any other information. Regards, NCH Customer Service Team UNQUOTE
Lucyann8 Posted September 20, 2021 Posted September 20, 2021 This same thing is happening to me. We have had a free version of Express Invoice for years and now it will not open, saying the trial has expired. Does anyone have help for this?
n1x1 Posted November 25, 2022 Posted November 25, 2022 @Lucyann8 @Mick Berg You should contact technical support and ask again for the free software. They should provide you with a free version. Open a ticket on the following page: https://www.nch.com.au/support/index.html
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