Illustrative case study · Private Equity

Customers who use the AI features would accept a bigger price rise.

A value plan built on renewal increases rested on one question: had a tax compliance platform’s new AI features earned room for a price rise? For the private equity investor weighing the platform, we interviewed 200 heads of tax. Delivered in 16 days.

Illustrative scenario

Samplen = 200

Illustrative report

Tax Compliance Software VoC

Have the new AI features earned this platform room for a bigger price rise?

Study architecture

Map the AI useWho knows the new AI features exist, and who uses them

Climb the ladderRenew, push back or review at increases from 2% to 8%

Score the peersPrice perception and a scorecard against Peers A to C

Scope

A price rise holds where customers see more value, and new features add value for the customers who use them.

Sample

200

Heads of tax at mid-size and large companies who sign the software renewal.

Research by

Study typeRenewal pricing study

ScenarioIllustrative

Tax compliance software · Executive reportExecutive summary

Executive summary

The AI features carry this platform’s pricing power, for the customers who use them

A four-step renewal price ladder went to 200 heads of tax, 120 on the platform and 80 on Peers A to C. Customers who use the new AI features hold through an 8% increase, while other customers start opening vendor reviews. The gap survives a control for satisfaction, and fewer than half of customers use the features today.

72%n = 57

of AI users would renew at 8% without a review

33%n = 63

of other customers would do the same

48%n = 120

of customers use at least one AI feature

3.1odds ratio

for AI use at equal satisfaction, renewing at 8%

Figures rounded. Base n = 200 heads of tax unless stated.

Top lines

1Most customers know the AI features exist, and fewer than half use themAwareness and use of the new AI features03

2A 4% rise passes, and at 8% four in ten customers would open a reviewThe four-step price ladder04

3AI users hold through an 8% increase, and satisfaction does not explain the gapThe ladder by AI use, with a satisfaction control05

4Most customers call today’s price fair, and filing accuracy leads the scorecardPrice perception and the peer scorecard06

5Sample, screener and quality controlWho we interviewed and how07

AAppendixQuestion flow, model and data tables09

Sample

200 heads of tax

Segments

120 customers, 80 peer users

Method

AI-moderated interviews with a price ladder

Markets

US mid-size and large companies

Illustrative report. The company, scenario, and all figures are fictional.

Illustrative report02

Illustrative reportExecutive summary

Illustrative example. The company, scenario, and all figures are fictional. They show UserCue’s method and deliverable format. They do not come from any client study.

The engagement

Delivered in

days, with the report, the data file and a live readout.

Interviews

200

Heads of tax who sign their company’s tax software renewal.

Audiences

120 platform customers and 80 users of Peers A to C.

Method

Price ladder

Four renewal increases, 2% to 8%, read by AI feature use.

The brief

Client

A private equity investor

Decision

How much room the AI features give for a price rise at renewal

Stage

Pricing diligence, before close

How we ran it

Approach

AI-moderated interviews with a four-step price ladder

Measured

AI awareness and use, price tolerance, price perception, peer scores

Sample

Mid-size and large companies in the US

Headline figures

AI use48%

of customers use at least one of the new AI features, and 65% know they exist

AI users at 8%72%

of AI users would renew without a vendor review, against 33% of other customers

Reviews at 8%40%

of all customers would open a vendor review at an 8% increase

The question

Have the new AI features earned a bigger price rise?

Two new AI features came with the platform: an assistant that reads tax notices and an automated review of returns before filing. The deal team needed evidence from the people who sign the renewal, comparing customers who use the features with those who do not.

Who knows about the new AI features, and who uses them?

Which size of increase triggers a vendor review, for users and non-users?

How does today’s price compare with peers?

What we did

How the study ran, start to finish.

1Kickoff
The renewal question.
Have the new AI features earned this platform room for a bigger price rise? The kickoff turned it into three questions: who knows and uses the features, which increase triggers a vendor review for users and non-users, and how today’s price compares with peers.
2Design
Users and peers, four price steps.
Heads of tax who sign the renewal qualified: 120 platform customers and 80 users of Peers A to C. A 2% to 8% price ladder offered renew, push back or vendor review, and a satisfaction score let the AI split be read like for like.
3Fielding
200 heads of tax, in their own words.
In median 33-minute interviews by voice or text, quant and qual in one conversation, AI users named the task the features took off their desk. The researcher read all 235 and removed 35 who contradicted themselves on their edition or lacked renewal authority, leaving 200.
4Analysis
Pricing power sits with AI users.
The researcher crossed the price ladder with AI feature use, holding satisfaction level, and found two groups with different break points. At an 8% increase, 72% of AI users would renew without a vendor review, against 33% of the rest.
5Readout
AI users hold at an 8% increase.
The researcher presented a 28-page report on the price ladder, peer scorecard and AI use in a live readout, with the full data file. The value plan stages the increase: 8% at renewal for AI users, and an adoption push before the rest renew.

What we found

Four findings from the report.

Summary

Most customers know the new AI features exist, and fewer than half use them. AI users price the platform differently: at an 8% renewal increase, they are more than twice as likely as other customers to renew without a vendor review, and the gap holds at equal satisfaction. Most customers call today’s price fair, and the platform leads peers on filing accuracy.

Tax compliance software · Executive reportTop line 1

Top line 1 of 4

Most customers know the AI features exist, and fewer than half use them

¹ Q3. Which of these AI features have you used in the last quarter? Multi-select, n = 120.

² Q2. Before today, did you know the platform offered these features? Single select, n = 200.

Awareness has outrun use. 65% of customers know the new AI features exist, and 48% use at least one¹. The notice assistant is the most used, by 43% of customers, ahead of automated return review at 26%. Customers who know the features but have not tried them most often cite setup time and doubts about accuracy on complex returns.

65%n = 120

know the new AI features exist

48%n = 120

use at least one AI feature

43%n = 120

use the notice assistant

40%n = 80

of peer users know of the platform’s AI features

Awareness and use of the new AI features

Platform customers (n = 120)

AI feature status, platform customers (n = 120)

Use at least oneDo not use

Use at least one AI feature, by company size

Awareness and use asked of the 120 platform customers; use means at least once in the last quarter. Peer users were asked only whether they knew of the platform’s AI features.

Supporting evidence

Aware non-users say the features were never switched on for their returns, and they would try them once set up. § 3.2
Large companies use the features more, mostly the notice assistant. § 3.3²

Illustrative report03

Tax compliance software · Executive reportTop line 2

Top line 2 of 4

A 4% rise passes, and at 8% four in ten customers would open a review

¹ Q4. If your renewal price rose by this amount, what would you do? Asked at 2%, 4%, 6% and 8%.

² Contract-length cuts are directional; see the appendix tables.

Customers absorb a small increase. At 4%, 80% would renew without a vendor review; at 8% that falls to 52%¹. At the top step, 40% would open a review and the rest would push back first. Peer users respond to the same ladder for their own vendor in much the same way, so the curve reflects the category as much as the platform.

80%n = 120

renew without a review at a 4% increase

52%n = 120

do the same at 8%

40%n = 120

would open a vendor review at 8%

55%n = 80

of peer users would renew at 8% without a review

Renewal response at each step of the price ladder

Renew without a vendor review, platform customers (n = 120)

Response to an 8% increase (n = 120)

RenewPush back firstOpen a review

Renew without a review at 8%, by group

Each respondent saw the four increases in rising order and chose renew, push back first or open a vendor review at each. Peer users responded for their own vendor. Shares rounded.

Supporting evidence

Customers who would push back at 8% ask for the rise to come with features they can use. § 4.2
Multi-year contracts soften the curve only slightly at 6% and 8%. § 4.3²

Illustrative report04

Tax compliance software · Executive reportTop line 3

Top line 3 of 4

AI users hold through an 8% increase, and satisfaction does not explain the gap

¹ Q4 by Q3: renewal response at an 8% increase, by AI feature use in the last quarter. n = 57 vs n = 63.

² Model details and the full coefficient table are in the appendix.

Use of the AI features separates two kinds of customer. At an 8% increase, 72% of AI users would renew without a vendor review, against 33% of customers who do not use the features¹. The two groups report similar satisfaction, and with satisfaction held level in a logistic model, AI use still roughly triples the odds of renewing at 8%.

72%n = 57

of AI users renew at 8% without a review

33%n = 63

of non-users do the same

3.1odds ratio

for AI use with satisfaction held level

60%n = 57

of AI users are highly satisfied, against 57% of non-users

Renewing at 8% without a vendor review, by AI use

Renew without a vendor review at an 8% increase

Highly satisfied, scoring eight to ten

What AI users say the features replaced

1Reading and routing tax notices
2Checking returns before filing
3Chasing missing documents

Logistic regression on renewing at 8% without a vendor review, n = 120 platform customers, with satisfaction, company size and contract length included; AI use odds ratio 3.1, significant at 95% confidence.

Supporting evidence

The gap is widest among customers with the most notices to handle, where the assistant saves the most time. § 5.2
Customers who tried the features once and stopped behave like non-users at every step. § 5.3²

Illustrative report05

Tax compliance software · Executive reportTop line 4

Top line 4 of 4

Most customers call today’s price fair, and filing accuracy leads the scorecard

¹ Q6. Is the price of your tax software fair for what it does? Single select, n = 200.

² Q7. Rate your tax software on each of eight criteria. Five-point scale.

60% of customers call the price fair for what it does, against 45% of peer users about their own vendor¹. On an eight-criterion scorecard the platform leads on filing accuracy, 82% against 64% for peer users’ own vendors, pooled. Support response is its weak point: 43% of customers rate it good or excellent, against 65% of peer users for theirs.

60%n = 120

call the price fair for what it does

45%n = 80

of peer users say the same of their vendor

82%n = 120

rate filing accuracy good or excellent

43%n = 120

rate support response good or excellent

How customers rate the platform, criterion by criterion

Rated good or excellent, platform customers (n = 120)

Price for what it does, platform customers (n = 120)

FairToo highNot sure

Rated good or excellent, platform against Peers A to C

Eight criteria on a five-point scale, five shown, top-two box. Peer users rated their own vendor; Peers A to C are pooled because each has too few users in the sample to show alone.

Supporting evidence

Customers who call the price too high are concentrated among non-users of the AI features. § 6.2
Peer users cite support response most often as a reason they would stay with their own vendor. § 6.3

Illustrative report06

Top line 1 of 4 · page 03Illustrative report · top line 1 of 4 · swipeIllustrative report

Question 1 · AI use

Most customers know the AI features, and fewer than half use them.

65% of customers know the new AI features exist, and 48% use at least one. The notice assistant leads at 43%, ahead of automated return review at 26%. Customers who know the features but have not tried them most often cite setup time.

Know the AI features exist65%

Use at least one48%

Use the notice assistant43%

Use automated return review26%

Platform customers · n = 120

Question 2 · The ladder

A 4% rise passes, and 8% sends four in ten toward a review.

At a 2% increase, 91% of customers would renew without a vendor review, and 80% at 4%. That falls to 67% at 6% and 52% at 8%, where 40% would open a review and the rest would push back first.

2% increase91%

4% increase80%

6% increase67%

8% increase52%

Would renew without a vendor review · platform customers · n = 120

Question 2 · AI users

AI use, more than satisfaction, predicts who renews through 8%.

At an 8% increase, 72% of the 57 AI users would renew without a vendor review, against 33% of the 63 who do not use the features. With satisfaction held level in a logistic model, AI use still roughly triples the odds of renewing at 8%.

72%AI users

33%customers who do not use them

Renew without a vendor review at an 8% increase · n = 57 vs n = 63

Question 3 · Price and peers

Most call the price fair, and filing accuracy leads peers.

60% of customers call the price fair for what it does, against 45% of peer users about their own vendor. Customers rate filing accuracy highest, 82% against 64% for peer users’ own vendors. Support response is the weak point, 43% against 65%.

Filing accuracy82%

Jurisdiction coverage74%

Ease of use62%

Support response43%

Rated good or excellent · platform customers · n = 120

“The notice assistant took the worst part of my month off my desk. I would argue for a bigger renewal on that alone.”

Head of tax · Illustrative quote

Illustrative quotes

Three themes behind the numbers.

AI in use

“Every notice used to sit in someone’s inbox until they had time to read it. Now it is summarized and routed before I get in.”

Tax director

The ladder

“Eight percent for the same software we had last year goes straight to a vendor review. Show me what changed for us first.”

Corporate tax manager

Untried features

“I know the AI tools are in there. Nobody has shown us how to switch them on for our returns, so we carry on as before.”

Tax controller

What the investor did

Three moves made with the report.

1The price plan · from finding 3

Priced renewals by AI use.

The value plan prices renewals by use: 8% for customers on the AI features, and an adoption push for the rest before their renewal comes up.

2The adoption push · from finding 1

Funded onboarding for aware non-users.

The value plan funds a customer-success team to switch the notice assistant on for customers who know it but have not tried it, starting with mid-size companies, where use trails at 35%.

3The service gap · from finding 4

Set a support target ahead of the price rise.

Support response, rated good or excellent by 43% of customers against 65% for peer users’ own vendors, gets a response-time target before the first 8% renewal goes out.

Illustrative example. The company, scenario, and all figures are fictional. They show UserCue’s method and deliverable format. They do not come from any client study.

Bring us your next pricing question.

A senior researcher designs and presents every study.

Talk to our team

More private equity studies

Category demand study

How the study ran, start to finish.

1Kickoff

The renewal question.

Have the new AI features earned this platform room for a bigger price rise? The kickoff turned it into three questions: who knows and uses the features, which increase triggers a vendor review for users and non-users, and how today’s price compares with peers.

2Design

Users and peers, four price steps.

Heads of tax who sign the renewal qualified: 120 platform customers and 80 users of Peers A to C. A 2% to 8% price ladder offered renew, push back or vendor review, and a satisfaction score let the AI split be read like for like.

3Fielding

200 heads of tax, in their own words.

In median 33-minute interviews by voice or text, quant and qual in one conversation, AI users named the task the features took off their desk. The researcher read all 235 and removed 35 who contradicted themselves on their edition or lacked renewal authority, leaving 200.

4Analysis

Pricing power sits with AI users.

The researcher crossed the price ladder with AI feature use, holding satisfaction level, and found two groups with different break points. At an 8% increase, 72% of AI users would renew without a vendor review, against 33% of the rest.

5Readout

AI users hold at an 8% increase.

The researcher presented a 28-page report on the price ladder, peer scorecard and AI use in a live readout, with the full data file. The value plan stages the increase: 8% at renewal for AI users, and an adoption push before the rest renew.

Four findings from the report.

Summary

Tax compliance software · Executive reportTop line 1

Top line 1 of 4

Most customers know the AI features exist, and fewer than half use them

¹ Q3. Which of these AI features have you used in the last quarter? Multi-select, n = 120.

² Q2. Before today, did you know the platform offered these features? Single select, n = 200.

65%n = 120

know the new AI features exist

48%n = 120

use at least one AI feature

43%n = 120

use the notice assistant

40%n = 80

of peer users know of the platform’s AI features

Awareness and use of the new AI features

Platform customers (n = 120)

AI feature status, platform customers (n = 120)

Use at least oneDo not use

Use at least one AI feature, by company size

Awareness and use asked of the 120 platform customers; use means at least once in the last quarter. Peer users were asked only whether they knew of the platform’s AI features.

Supporting evidence

Aware non-users say the features were never switched on for their returns, and they would try them once set up. § 3.2
Large companies use the features more, mostly the notice assistant. § 3.3²

Illustrative report03

Tax compliance software · Executive reportTop line 2

Top line 2 of 4

A 4% rise passes, and at 8% four in ten customers would open a review

¹ Q4. If your renewal price rose by this amount, what would you do? Asked at 2%, 4%, 6% and 8%.

² Contract-length cuts are directional; see the appendix tables.

80%n = 120

renew without a review at a 4% increase

52%n = 120

do the same at 8%

40%n = 120

would open a vendor review at 8%

55%n = 80

of peer users would renew at 8% without a review

Renewal response at each step of the price ladder

Renew without a vendor review, platform customers (n = 120)

Response to an 8% increase (n = 120)

RenewPush back firstOpen a review

Renew without a review at 8%, by group

Each respondent saw the four increases in rising order and chose renew, push back first or open a vendor review at each. Peer users responded for their own vendor. Shares rounded.

Supporting evidence

Customers who would push back at 8% ask for the rise to come with features they can use. § 4.2
Multi-year contracts soften the curve only slightly at 6% and 8%. § 4.3²

Illustrative report04

Tax compliance software · Executive reportTop line 3

Top line 3 of 4

AI users hold through an 8% increase, and satisfaction does not explain the gap

¹ Q4 by Q3: renewal response at an 8% increase, by AI feature use in the last quarter. n = 57 vs n = 63.

² Model details and the full coefficient table are in the appendix.

72%n = 57

of AI users renew at 8% without a review

33%n = 63

of non-users do the same

3.1odds ratio

for AI use with satisfaction held level

60%n = 57

of AI users are highly satisfied, against 57% of non-users

Renewing at 8% without a vendor review, by AI use

Renew without a vendor review at an 8% increase

Highly satisfied, scoring eight to ten

What AI users say the features replaced

1Reading and routing tax notices
2Checking returns before filing
3Chasing missing documents

Supporting evidence

The gap is widest among customers with the most notices to handle, where the assistant saves the most time. § 5.2
Customers who tried the features once and stopped behave like non-users at every step. § 5.3²

Illustrative report05

Tax compliance software · Executive reportTop line 4

Top line 4 of 4

Most customers call today’s price fair, and filing accuracy leads the scorecard

¹ Q6. Is the price of your tax software fair for what it does? Single select, n = 200.

² Q7. Rate your tax software on each of eight criteria. Five-point scale.

60%n = 120

call the price fair for what it does

45%n = 80

of peer users say the same of their vendor

82%n = 120

rate filing accuracy good or excellent

43%n = 120

rate support response good or excellent

How customers rate the platform, criterion by criterion

Rated good or excellent, platform customers (n = 120)

Price for what it does, platform customers (n = 120)

FairToo highNot sure

Rated good or excellent, platform against Peers A to C

Eight criteria on a five-point scale, five shown, top-two box. Peer users rated their own vendor; Peers A to C are pooled because each has too few users in the sample to show alone.

Supporting evidence

Customers who call the price too high are concentrated among non-users of the AI features. § 6.2
Peer users cite support response most often as a reason they would stay with their own vendor. § 6.3

Illustrative report06

Top line 1 of 4 · page 03Illustrative report · top line 1 of 4 · swipeIllustrative report

Question 1 · AI use

Most customers know the AI features, and fewer than half use them.

Know the AI features exist65%

Use at least one48%

Use the notice assistant43%

Use automated return review26%

Platform customers · n = 120

Question 2 · The ladder

A 4% rise passes, and 8% sends four in ten toward a review.

At a 2% increase, 91% of customers would renew without a vendor review, and 80% at 4%. That falls to 67% at 6% and 52% at 8%, where 40% would open a review and the rest would push back first.

2% increase91%

4% increase80%

6% increase67%

8% increase52%

Would renew without a vendor review · platform customers · n = 120

Question 2 · AI users

AI use, more than satisfaction, predicts who renews through 8%.

72%AI users

33%customers who do not use them

Renew without a vendor review at an 8% increase · n = 57 vs n = 63

Question 3 · Price and peers

Most call the price fair, and filing accuracy leads peers.

Filing accuracy82%

Jurisdiction coverage74%

Ease of use62%

Support response43%

Rated good or excellent · platform customers · n = 120

Three themes behind the numbers.

AI in use

“Every notice used to sit in someone’s inbox until they had time to read it. Now it is summarized and routed before I get in.”

Tax director

The ladder

“Eight percent for the same software we had last year goes straight to a vendor review. Show me what changed for us first.”

Corporate tax manager

Untried features

“I know the AI tools are in there. Nobody has shown us how to switch them on for our returns, so we carry on as before.”

Tax controller

Three moves made with the report.

1The price plan · from finding 3

Priced renewals by AI use.

The value plan prices renewals by use: 8% for customers on the AI features, and an adoption push for the rest before their renewal comes up.

2The adoption push · from finding 1

Funded onboarding for aware non-users.

The value plan funds a customer-success team to switch the notice assistant on for customers who know it but have not tried it, starting with mid-size companies, where use trails at 35%.

3The service gap · from finding 4

Set a support target ahead of the price rise.

Support response, rated good or excellent by 43% of customers against 65% for peer users’ own vendors, gets a response-time target before the first 8% renewal goes out.

Illustrative example. The company, scenario, and all figures are fictional. They show UserCue’s method and deliverable format. They do not come from any client study.

Have the new AI features earned a bigger price rise?

Who knows about the new AI features, and who uses them?

Which size of increase triggers a vendor review, for users and non-users?

How does today’s price compare with peers?

How the study ran, start to finish.

The renewal question.

Users and peers, four price steps.

200 heads of tax, in their own words.

Pricing power sits with AI users.

AI users hold at an 8% increase.

Four findings from the report.

Most customers know the AI features, and fewer than half use them.

A 4% rise passes, and 8% sends four in ten toward a review.

AI use, more than satisfaction, predicts who renews through 8%.

Most call the price fair, and filing accuracy leads peers.

Three themes behind the numbers.

Three moves made with the report.

Priced renewals by AI use.

Funded onboarding for aware non-users.

Set a support target ahead of the price rise.

Bring us your next pricing question.

AI Assistants in IT Service Desks

Outsourced Receivables Recovery Market

Fitness Studio Management Software

Have the new AI features earned a bigger price rise?

Who knows about the new AI features, and who uses them?

Which size of increase triggers a vendor review, for users and non-users?

How does today’s price compare with peers?

How the study ran, start to finish.

The renewal question.

Users and peers, four price steps.

200 heads of tax, in their own words.

Pricing power sits with AI users.

AI users hold at an 8% increase.

Four findings from the report.

Most customers know the AI features, and fewer than half use them.

A 4% rise passes, and 8% sends four in ten toward a review.

AI use, more than satisfaction, predicts who renews through 8%.

Most call the price fair, and filing accuracy leads peers.

Three themes behind the numbers.

Three moves made with the report.

Priced renewals by AI use.

Funded onboarding for aware non-users.

Set a support target ahead of the price rise.

Bring us your next pricing question.

AI Assistants in IT Service Desks

Outsourced Receivables Recovery Market

Fitness Studio Management Software