Price increases for ERP and POS software: what rights do retailers have?

Why do software providers raise prices?

Price increases for ERP and POS software usually have a combination of several causes. Rising costs for staff, data centers and energy feed through into the calculation. Add to that market consolidation: when providers are acquired, new owners sooner or later often align price lists and contract models.

Another driver is the shift from perpetual licenses to subscription models. Instead of a one-time license plus maintenance contract, customers pay an ongoing monthly fee, which can make existing contracts more expensive at the point of transition. And finally, legal requirements such as fiscalization and e-invoicing create ongoing development effort that providers price in.

Important for context: a price increase is, in itself, neither unusual nor automatically inappropriate. It is, however, a good occasion to read your own contract closely and reassess the value for money.

Renewal and notice period: two different things

An automatic renewal of three months does not mean a three-month notice period. Renewal period and notice period are two separate contract points that often sit in different clauses. Which combination applies to you is stated in your contract.

You buy ERP and POS software as a business. In B2B contracts, the strict prohibition catalogs of Sections 308 and 309 BGB do not apply directly, but they serve as a benchmark via Section 307 BGB. The statutory standards, with renewals of up to one year and notice periods of up to three months, often serve as orientation here; significantly longer commitments must be measured against Section 307 BGB.

Do I have a special right of termination in the event of a price increase?

The starting point is simple: contracts must be honored, and the agreed price applies. A unilateral right to raise prices is the exception and requires a clause that withstands strict review. This review applies to software subscriptions almost without exception, because a maker of ERP or POS software uses the same pre-formulated terms for all customers, in other words standard terms (Sections 305 ff. BGB). Only genuinely individually negotiated terms are exempt (Section 305 (1) sentence 3 BGB), and case law sets a high bar for that.

The transparency requirement of Section 307 BGB requires that the trigger and scope of an increase are described so specifically that you can understand them in advance and, if in doubt, recalculate them yourself. Wording such as “prices may rise by up to five percent per year” does not achieve that: it caps unrestricted discretion but describes no comprehensible mechanism. An adjustment right without a formula is discretion; an adjustment right with a formula is a calculation. Only the latter regularly withstands review.

On top of that come two further requirements. Symmetry: what applies to increases must also apply to decreases; a clause that only works upwards is invalid. And cost linkage: the provider may pass on increased costs, but may not use the opportunity to expand its own margin. Reservation-of-change clauses must also be reasonable for you (Section 308 No. 4 BGB).

And the special right of termination itself? It cuts both ways. The German Federal Court of Justice has ruled several times that a right of termination does not cure a non-transparent price clause: an unclear clause does not become valid just because the customer is allowed to leave. Conversely, for broadly worded reservation-of-change clauses, a special right of termination with a reasonable announcement period is often the minimum requirement for the clause to be reasonable at all. Whether one has to be included therefore depends on the type of clause.

Price adjustment clause in the contract: the two cases

There are only these two cases. Important: even the first case can mean that the price rises and you are bound for the remaining term, for instance with a properly drafted index clause. That is permissible. But then it is about a verifiable inflation adjustment according to an agreed formula, not an increase at the provider's free discretion. That is exactly why it pays to look at the clause: does it contain a formula, or just a percentage cap on free discretion? In practice, software contracts rarely contain such a formula.

What do valid price adjustments look like?

A provider can certainly adjust prices in a legally sound way without leaving you unprotected. In practice, four routes have become established:

1. 1
   Index clause. The price is tied to an objective index such as the consumer price index. Nobody decides unilaterally; the price follows an agreed formula. The details are what make it workable: which index, which base value, on which reference date, in both directions, possibly with a de minimis threshold.
2. 2
   Cost-element clause. The price is composed of named cost blocks with disclosed weighting, for example staff, data center and licenses. If these costs change, the change feeds through according to the formula, again in both directions.
3. 3
   Increase at the renewal date. The most common and cleanest route: the provider announces new prices early enough that you know them before your cancellation window closes. A special right of termination is then unnecessary; your normal one is enough. Whoever does not cancel accepts the new terms for the next period.
4. 4
   Stepped prices. Agreed from the outset, for example one price in the first year and a higher one from the second. That is not a price adjustment but simply the agreed price.

The decisive difference lies in the timing: an increase at the next renewal date, announced before your notice period expires, is fair and common. An increase in the middle of the term is only supported by a valid clause.

What happens if I do not react to the announcement?

This is where the real trap of the topic lies, and it has nothing to do with clauses: whoever simply accepts an announced increase over a longer period can thereby tacitly consent. The question of whether the clause was valid is then practically settled, because the new price counts as agreed.

In practical terms: if you do not want to go along with the increase, react promptly and check your termination options, from the special right of termination to ordinary termination. That way you keep all routes open.

What happens if I reject the increase?

Rejecting does not mean the old price forever. If you reject the increase, the provider cannot enforce it, but it can terminate the contract at the next ordinary date and offer you a new one at the higher price. That is its right. For you this means: you pay the old price until then and have the decision back in your hands. Rejecting takes nothing away from you; it merely moves the decision to where it belongs: to you.

You should not rely on the old price, though: the provider can terminate at the next ordinary date, and by then at the latest you need an answer. That is exactly why the price increase is the right moment to examine alternatives while there is no time pressure. Data export from the old system has been legally guaranteed since the EU Data Act, and systems like DezemberHub take over the data free of charge and automatically, so you can test with your real data alongside your current contract.

Which deadlines and contract details should I check?

You should write down these six points from your contract before making any decision:

1. 1
   Term. Until when does the contract run for a fixed period? Multi-year initial terms are common for industry software.
2. 2
   Automatic renewal. Does the contract renew tacitly for another period if you do not cancel in time?
3. 3
   Notice period. How many months before the end of the term do you have to cancel? Whoever misses the deadline is often bound for another period. Put the deadline in your calendar with plenty of lead time.
4. 4
   Price adjustment clause. Which type is it: index linkage, cost elements or free discretion with a percentage cap? Does it work in both directions, and does the increase take effect in the middle of the term or only at the renewal date?
5. 5
   Data export rights. In which format can you get your item master, customer data, stock levels and history out, and does the export cost extra? That determines how free your choice really is.
6. 6
   Maintenance contract. Does software maintenance run as a separate contract with its own term and its own notice period? Then you have to keep an eye on both contracts.

What does switching really cost?

To be fair, the calculation includes not only the price increase but also the effort of switching. You should realistically plan for three items: data migration, meaning getting the item master, customer data, stock levels and open transactions into the new system. Training, because your team has to operate the POS and ERP system confidently in everyday use. And a transition phase in which the old and new systems run in parallel for a while.

When it comes to data export from the old system, the legislator now helps: since the EU Data Act (Regulation (EU) 2023/2854) it has been regulated by law: exportable data must be available in a structured, machine-readable format, and switching charges will cease entirely from January 12, 2027. The details are in the article on the EU Data Act and the new rights when switching providers. DezemberHub takes the rest of the data migration item off your hands: we import the data from your existing system free of charge and automatically.

A switch therefore needs to be planned and is not worthwhile in every case. Run the numbers on both scenarios soberly: the increased price over the next contract term versus the one-time switching costs plus the running costs of the new system. The best time for this calculation is now, while the notice period is not yet pressing.

How does DezemberHub do it?

DezemberHub is the ERP system with POS and AI assistant for shoe, fashion and sports retail in the DACH region. On contracts, we deliberately take the opposite approach to long commitments: DezemberHub can be cancelled monthly, the price list is publicly available and entry starts at €50 per month.

The 30-day trial is free and ends without automatic renewal. Data migration from your existing system is also free and runs automatically; you enter nothing by hand and test DezemberHub during the trial directly with your real items, customers and stock levels.

Legal framework: the content review of standard-terms clauses under German standard-terms law is governed by Sections 305 to 310 BGB, in particular Section 307 BGB (as of 2026). This article is general guidance and is not a substitute for legal advice.