# Owen Sound Software Cost Breakdown

**Research date:** 2026-09-13  
**Scope:** Publicly documented applications and contract amounts related to the City's Information Technology budget. This note records evidence; it does not assign every contract to the City's software-maintenance line without a vendor ledger.

The related [software licence seat estimate](software-license-seat-estimate.md) uses the current organization data to estimate likely Microsoft 365 desktop seats and Dynamics GP access users. The published [Stopping Owen Sound's Growing Software Costs](stopping-owen-sounds-growing-software-costs.md) article is archived alongside this evidence note; the tables below remain the source of truth for audited figures.

## Executive finding

The 2026 Mayor's Operating Budget contains a line called **Systems Specialist Software Maintenance Fees**:

| Year | Amount | Change |
| ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 2024 | `$492,371` | - |
| 2025 | `$573,703.28` | `$81,332.28` over 2024 |
| 2026 | `$696,756` | `$123,052.72` over 2025 |

The 2026 budget explains the increase as annual indexing of existing software service agreements plus a new project-management application and EUNA budgeting software. It does not provide a vendor-by-vendor or application-by-application allocation. The line is about **50.6% of the IT division's `$1,377,275` gross cost**, although the budget does not state that the full amount is a property-tax cost.

## Publicly costed applications and contracts

| Application or supplier | Function documented in public records | Public cost evidence | Relationship to `$696,756` |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **EUNA Solutions / Questica Budget** | Operating, capital, personnel planning and budgeting, allocations, financial statements, budget-book production, reporting and what-if scenarios | Five-year agreement approved at `$325,292.46`, including the City's non-refundable HST. Implementation plus first-year SaaS is `$99,738`; years 2-5 are `$225,554`, approximately `$55,500` per year in operating budgets. | Confirmed as one of the new software costs named in the 2026 budget note. The budget does not state its exact share of the maintenance line. |
| **Solution Guidance Corporation project-management system** | Project lifecycle, schedules, staffing, budgets, procurement, documents, communication, analytics and reporting | Five-year award with an upset limit of `$178,049.47`, including non-refundable HST. The City report identifies `$50,770` for configuration and training and `$24,840` per year for licensing and technical support. | Strong match for the new project-management application named in the 2026 budget note. The City report names the supplier, not the product name. |
| **ProjectTeam.com** | Construction and engineering project-management platform | Solution Guidance Corporation describes itself as an authorized reseller and service partner for ProjectTeam.com. | **Likely product identification, pending confirmation from the City's executed agreement.** |
| **Cloudpermit** | Online building permits, inspections, payments, applicant messaging and by-law concern reporting | The City launched building-permit Cloudpermit in 2024 and its by-law enforcement portal in June 2024. The current work plan lists a `$250,000` Cloudpermit planning project. | A named City system and separately listed project. The public records do not assign its recurring cost to the `$696,756` line. |
| **StoneShare / Gimmal Records Management** | Electronic document and records management | Council awarded a two-year project at `$325,500` and ongoing annual costs of `$42,000`, excluding HST, in 2019. | A documented recurring software cost. The 2026 budget does not identify whether this current or successor cost is included in the maintenance line. |
| **BeyondShare information-management program** | Microsoft 365-based records and information management, training, storage rules and workflow improvement | The 2026 work plan budgets `$53,500` in 2026 and `$32,500` in 2027, for an `$86,000` project total. It says the program replaces an old system costing about `$45,500` per year. | Likely related to the records-management cost above, but the current accounting relationship requires confirmation. |

## Named systems in the City's IT assessment

The City's IT Needs Assessment names the following current or planned systems. The assessment gives system directions and rough project estimates, rather than a 2026 maintenance allocation for each application:

| System | Publicly described use or direction |
| --- | --- |
| **Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains** | Central financial information and reporting; extend use and integrate with asset management. |
| **WorkTech 6** | Public Works work orders, purchase orders, timesheets and invoicing; phase out or replace in the long-term assessment. |
| **CityWide** | Asset-management functions; phase out and migrate functionality to a replacement asset-management system. |
| **Penny** | Employee time capture; the assessment says it meets needs and should be retained or extended at that stage. |
| **AMANDA** | Property-management, building and planning functions; suitable for needs but costly to extend, with replacement recommended in the assessment. |
| **PerfectMind** | Recreation functions; extend and integrate with the financial system. |
| **FirePro** | Fire-service functions; retain and extend. |
| **Aladtec** | Fire time-and-attendance functions; integrate with payroll. |
| **AVL** | Automatic vehicle location and transit or fleet reporting; retain and improve reporting. |
| **ESRI GIS / ArcGIS** | Mapping and asset layers including infrastructure, roads, trees and zoning; keep and extend. |
| **SharePoint / Microsoft 365** | Document storage, workflows and knowledge sharing; review configuration and use. |
| **eScribe** | Council agenda, meeting and records processes; review and extend integration. |
| **MESH** | Road-inspection access and mobile work processes; improve remote access or mobile work-order capability. |
| **Stone Orchard** | Greenwood Cemetery records management and public interface. |
| **Cloudpermit** | Building, planning and by-law online services. |
| **EUNA / Questica Budget** | Budget development, cost allocation and public budget-book functions. |

## Great Plains and Microsoft 365

The public records identify both technologies, but do not disclose a current annual licence price for either one:

| System | What the public record establishes | Cost evidence and confidence |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains** | The IT Needs Assessment identifies Great Plains as the City's current financial system for central financial information and reporting. A 2025 capital project also describes process improvements involving the financial system and explicitly refers to a GP process review. | The 2025 capital plan assigns **`$164,200`** to the combined **WorkTech / Great Plains** transformation project. This is a project budget, not an annual Great Plains fee, and it cannot be split between the two systems from the public material. The IT assessment's rough order of magnitude for extending Great Plains was **`$7,500–$17,500`** implementation, **`$0`** ongoing cost, and **`$81,600–$190,400`** in other estimated costs. Those are planning ranges, not invoices or a current licence quote. |
| **Microsoft Office / Microsoft 365** | A City IT helpdesk posting lists Microsoft Office among the software supported for staff. The 2026 BeyondShare project says it will use Microsoft 365 technology the City already owns. A separate City report describes Teams as integrating with Office 365. | No current City-wide Office or Microsoft 365 licence total was found. The 2018 capital budget contains an **`$80,000`** Microsoft Office upgrade and **`$40,000`** generic software-licence line, but these are historical capital amounts rather than current recurring costs. A 2019 records-management report says Microsoft licences and Great Plains had annual fees comparable to its **`$168/user/year`** records-management cost; it does not disclose either comparator's amount. |

### What can be said safely

- **Great Plains:** the best current public figure is a **combined `$164,200` WorkTech/Great Plains transformation project**, plus a separate current ERP transformation budget of **`$770,000`** whose public description does not name the vendor. The records support a connection to the City's financial-system modernization, but do not support assigning either total entirely to Great Plains.
- **Microsoft 365:** the City uses Microsoft Office/Microsoft 365 technology, and at least some current projects rely on the City's existing M365 environment. The public records support an inference that Microsoft licensing is part of the City's software environment, but provide no defensible current annual amount.
- Both systems may be included in the **`$696,756`** 2026 software-maintenance line, but the budget does not identify each application's share. A vendor invoice and licence ledger are required before presenting a precise savings figure.

### Published price benchmarks

The following are Canadian list-price benchmarks available in September 2026. They are useful for testing the reasonableness of a vendor invoice, but they do not identify the City's plan, seat count, discounts, government agreement, add-ons, hosting, support or implementation costs.

| Product | Published price before tax | Approximate annual price per user |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | `$9.50/user/month`, annual billing | `$114.00` |
| Microsoft 365 Apps for business | `$14.20/user/month`, annual billing | `$170.40` |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard | `$19.00/user/month`, annual billing | `$228.00` |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium | `$29.80/user/month`, annual billing | `$357.60` |
| Office 365 E1 | `$13.60/user/month`, annual billing | `$163.20` |
| Office 365 E3 | `$35.30/user/month`, annual billing | `$423.60` |
| Microsoft 365 E3 | `$52.90/user/month`, annual billing | `$634.80` |
| Microsoft 365 F3 | `$10.90/user/month`, annual commitment | `$130.80` |

For scale, 100 seats would cost approximately **`$22,800/year`** at Microsoft 365 Business Standard list price, **`$42,360/year`** at Office 365 E3, or **`$63,480/year`** at Microsoft 365 E3, before tax. A City-wide total requires the actual plan mix and number of assigned licences. Microsoft states that enterprise customers can receive volume pricing, so list price is an upper benchmark rather than a prediction of the City's invoice.

There is no current public Microsoft list price for the City's existing Great Plains arrangement. A Canadian Dynamics partner publicly posts a benchmark of approximately **`$6,167 CAD`** for a three-user perpetual starter configuration, approximately **`$3,100 CAD`** for each additional full user, and approximately **19–20% of the original licence value per year** for maintenance. The same source describes subscription pricing starting at approximately **`$65 CAD/user/month`**. Treat these figures as a partner-market benchmark, not a City quote; the City may have legacy terms, modules, a different licence model, hosting and separate support costs. Microsoft states that new customers could no longer license GP subscriptions after **April 1, 2026**, while existing customers can continue under the applicable terms. [Canadian GP pricing benchmark](https://www.gestisoft.com/en/blog/dynamics-gp-vs-dynamics-365-business-central) · [Microsoft GP licensing terms](https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/spur/productoffering/MicrosoftDynamicsGP/all)

For comparison, Microsoft's current Canadian list price for the likely successor category, Dynamics 365 Business Central, is **`$108.50/user/month`** for Essentials, **`$149.20/user/month`** for Premium, and **`$10.90/user/month`** for Team Members, paid yearly before tax. That is a replacement benchmark, not evidence of what Owen Sound currently pays. [Business Central pricing](https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/dynamics-365/products/business-central/pricing)

## Separately identified future software projects

These amounts appear as capital or implementation projects and should remain separate from recurring maintenance until the City provides lifecycle accounting:

| Project | Public amount | Planned year or context |
| --- | ---: | --- |
| Software Transformation - HRIS | `$248,000` | 2027 capital plan |
| Software Transformation - Mobile Technology + AVL | `$52,800` | 2028 capital plan |
| Software Transformation - Asset Management | `$110,550` | 2030 capital plan |
| Water SCADA computer and software upgrade | `$90,000` | 2029 capital plan |
| EUNA budget software configuration and implementation | `$50,000` | 2026 work plan detail |
| Cloudpermit planning project | `$250,000` | Current work plan detail |

The capital projects above total `$801,350`, but that total is not a software-maintenance total and should not be added to the `$696,756` operating line. Some projects may contain hardware, integration, consulting, migration or implementation work in addition to software.

## What is confirmed

1. The City pays for a multi-application software environment, not one single product.
2. The 2026 budget explicitly identifies `$696,756` in software maintenance fees.
3. The budget attributes part of the year-over-year increase to indexed existing agreements, a project-management application and EUNA budgeting software.
4. EUNA/Questica Budget and the Solution Guidance project-management system have publicly documented contract amounts.
5. Cloudpermit, Stone Orchard, Great Plains, WorkTech, Penny, AMANDA, PerfectMind, FirePro, Aladtec, ArcGIS, SharePoint, eScribe and MESH are publicly named City systems or system projects.

## What remains unallocated

The public material does not show:

- the application or vendor assigned to each dollar of the `$696,756` line;
- whether each amount covers licences, SaaS subscriptions, hosting, maintenance, support, implementation, integrations or consulting;
- renewal dates, user counts, licence counts and actual usage;
- the split between City tax support, water, wastewater, building, police or other internal allocations;
- current charges for Great Plains, WorkTech, Penny, AMANDA, PerfectMind, FirePro, Aladtec, ArcGIS, SharePoint, eScribe, MESH or Stone Orchard;
- whether the `$45,500` records-system cost described in the BeyondShare project is included in the IT maintenance line;
- the product name and executed pricing schedule for the Solution Guidance award.

## Records needed for a complete breakdown

Request a machine-readable three-year vendor and application ledger containing purchase orders, invoices, contracts, renewal schedules, licence counts, users, hosting and support charges, implementation and integration charges, department allocations, funding source, and the service or system supported. Reconcile it to the general ledger and the City's internal cost allocations before claiming a specific application-level saving.

## Campaign-safe summary

> Owen Sound's 2026 budget identifies `$696,756` in software-maintenance fees, up `$123,053` from 2025. Public records identify major systems including EUNA/Questica Budget, a Solution Guidance project-management system, Cloudpermit, Great Plains, WorkTech, records management, GIS, finance, recreation, fire and timekeeping systems. The City has disclosed several contract amounts, but it has not published the application-by-application breakdown of the `$696,756` line. A transparent administration should publish that schedule and review usage, overlap, contract terms and lower-cost ways to deliver the same services.

## Sources

- [2026 Mayor's Operating Budget](https://www.owensound.ca/media/lujd1fw3/2026-mayor-s-budget.pdf)
- [City Staff Report CR-25-047 - EUNA/Questica Budget](https://pub-owensound.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=48172)
- [City Staff Report CR-24-082 - project-management system](https://pub-owensound.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=42584)
- [City Bids and Tenders entry for RFP-24-005](https://owensound.bidsandtenders.ca/Module/Tenders/en/Tender/Detail/d372f1dc-ecc8-4fc5-a25d-562c5f6c005a)
- [Solution Guidance Corporation](https://www.solutionguidance.com/)
- [Cloudpermit building and renovation page](https://www.owensound.ca/business-building-development/building-permits-inspections/building-and-renovating-cloudpermit/)
- [Cloudpermit by-law enforcement announcement](https://www.owensound.ca/news-and-public-notices/posts/city-launches-new-online-option-to-report-by-law-concerns/)
- [City IT Needs Assessment](https://pub-owensound.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=34603)
- [2025-2029 Capital Plan](https://pub-owensound.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=41454)
- [2026 Organizational Work Plan and Appendices](../owen-sound-municipal-reading-list/organization/2026-annual-organizational-work-plan-with-appendices.txt)
- [City IT Help Desk Analyst posting](https://www.owensound.ca/media/yo1f0tqa/2025-07-it-help-desk-analyst-summer-student.pdf)
- [2018 City capital budget](https://www.owensound.ca/media/x0pnv0ss/2018-cos-capital-budget.pdf)
- [Microsoft Teams integration staff report](https://pub-owensound.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=44172)
- [2019 electronic records-management award](https://pub-owensound.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Agenda=PostMinutes&Id=eb71d4d7-60ad-8fa8-689d-536148380a83&lang=English)
- [Local extracted 2026 organizational work plan](../owen-sound-municipal-reading-list/organization/2026-annual-organizational-work-plan-with-appendices.txt)