When Kognisia is not the right choice: cases to know
Control of the code, selling courses to the public, very small numbers: where another solution serves you better, and where Kognisia is a good fit.
Read the articleA head of learning receives two proposals for the same training platform. The first shows a lower annual price. The second is more expensive, but it talks about "tiers", "active users" and a "standard scope". She closes the file without knowing what to reply, because the two documents do not measure the same thing.
A SaaS LMS is rented: you pay for a right of use, and the supplier hosts, maintains and develops the tool. The licence is therefore the contract that describes all of this. It is read with six questions.
1. On what basis is the licence calculated?
This is the most important question, and the one asked least often. A licence may count accounts created, learners who logged in during a period, learning paths or brands managed.
Take "active learner". For one supplier, it is someone who logged in at least once during the year. For another, someone who completed a module within the month. The two phrases look identical, and the invoice does not. Insist on the written definition. To go further, our article on the active learner returns to this point.
At Kognisia, the licence is annual and paid by tier of active learners. Whichever supplier you choose, the precise definition must be set out in black and white in the contract.
2. What is included in the scope?
A licence that includes only access to the tool leaves everything else as an option. List what you need, then tick what the contract really covers.
- hosting, backups and maintenance;
- platform upgrades, not just fixes;
- customisation to your brand, which is an option with us, see white label;
- progress tracking and dashboards;
- support, with a stated response time.
In France, for distance training, the decree of 20 August 2014 relies on three elements to establish attendance: evidence of the work requested, tracking and assistance data, and specific assessments. Check that the licence gives you access to this tracking data.
What is not included ends up as an extra line on the invoice. Better to know before you sign. The other cost items are covered in how much does an LMS cost.
3. Does the licence follow your activity?
Your activity will not be the same in September as in July. One training session opens, another ends. Look at what happens when you go over a tier, and above all when you come back down.
Ask three precise questions. Does the change of tier take effect immediately or at renewal? Is there an automatic overage, and how is it billed? Can you step back down? A contract that goes up easily but never comes down only runs in one direction.
4. What are you committing to?
Initial term, notice period for termination, automatic renewal. These three lines are often slipped into the terms and conditions. An automatic renewal with a three-month notice period can tie you in for another year if you miss a date.
5. What do you get back on exit?
This is reversibility: being able to leave without losing what you have built. Your content, your assessment results, your tracking evidence.
Data protection law touches this directly. The GDPR, the European regulation on personal data, requires in its Article 28 that the contract with a processor provides, at the end of the service, for the deletion or return of the data, at the choice of the controller. In your case, you are that controller. The UK GDPR, which applies in the UK, follows the same structure in its Article 28. So check the export format, the lead time and any price. An unreadable file is not a return of data.
6. Is the invoice readable?
The last test, and the simplest: can you explain to your business partner, in two sentences, what you pay for and why it may go up? If the answer takes a spreadsheet and three emails to the supplier, the licence is too opaque. Our view: a well-designed price can be understood without a guide.
Here are the six criteria in summary, to print before your next meeting.
| Criterion | What to obtain in writing | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing basis | Definition of the active learner | A term never defined |
| Scope | List of what is and is not included | "As needed" |
| Scalability | Rules for moving up and down a tier | Overage billed with no cap |
| Commitment | Term, notice, renewal | Notice longer than the period |
| Reversibility | Format, lead time and cost of the export | Export on request, no detail |
| Clarity | An invoice you can explain | Lines with internal names |
And outside France?
What is specific to France in this article is the decree of 20 August 2014 on distance training. If you are reading from the UK, note that the UK left the EU: EU regulations such as the GDPR and the Data Act do not apply to you as such, but they matter if you also serve customers in the EU. Your own reference point is the UK GDPR, which a licence contract must refer to by name.
| Country | Equivalent or rule | Reference | Key point |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | UK GDPR, Article 28: same logic as the GDPR for the processing contract. Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, which amends the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 | UK GDPR art. 28; Data Protection Act 2018; Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 | The contract must refer to the UK GDPR, not only the GDPR. The ICO states (update of 19 June 2026) that all the data protection provisions of the 2025 Act are in force. Transfers of data between the UK and the EU have not been verified: take advice, especially if the supplier hosts in the EU. |
| European Union | GDPR: contract with the processor, deletion or return of data at the end of the service. Data Act: switching between cloud service providers | Regulation (EU) 2016/679, art. 28; Regulation (EU) 2023/2854, art. 23 and 29 | Switching charges abolished on 12 January 2027. A recital places SaaS within these services: application to an LMS remains to be confirmed. |
| Germany | Review of general terms and conditions even between businesses; ZFU approval for a paid distance course that is mostly asynchronous, with a check of learning outcomes | § 310 Abs. 1 BGB; §§ 7 and 12 FernUSG | A licence copied from a French template is not immune to a review of its clauses. Without ZFU approval, your customers' contract is void, even between businesses (BGH, 12 June 2025). Repeal planned for 1 July 2027: draft not adopted. |
| Spain | Distance training: at most 20% classroom-based, platform with continuous tracking and assessment | Real Decreto 694/2017, art. 4 | Check that the licence gives access to tracking data, as in France. |
| Italy | Health and safety training by e-learning: the LMS must record each activity, its duration and the assessments | Stato-Regioni Agreement of 17 April 2025, annex A, part IV | Rule limited to health and safety training. |
These rules change: have your situation checked by a local legal adviser before making any decision.
Frequently asked questions
Why an annual licence rather than a monthly one?
An annual licence simplifies management and suits training sessions, which follow the calendar of a year. Monthly gives more flexibility, at the price of an invoice that varies. The right choice depends on how regular your activity is.
What if my learners go over the tier?
Read the clause before you get there. Some contracts move you to the next tier, others charge a per-unit supplement. Ask for how it works in writing.
Can a SaaS licence be negotiated?
Often on term, notice and exit conditions, more rarely on the pricing basis. Ask your questions before signing, not after.
Where can I see Kognisia's tiers?
Start with the pricing page. For a specific case, the demonstration lets us discuss it with your volumes.
Summary
Comparing SaaS licences means checking six points: pricing basis, scope, scalability, commitment, reversibility and clarity. The displayed price comes last. Your next step: ask each supplier for the written definition of the active learner.
Sources
- CNIL (French authority): European data protection regulation, chapter IV (Article 28, processor), accessed on 13 October 2026.
- Centre Inffo: decree of 20 August 2014 on open or distance training, accessed on 13 October 2026.
- Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), Article 28, Official Journal text, accessed on 13 October 2026.
- Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 (Data Act), Official Journal text, accessed on 13 October 2026.
- Germany: § 310 BGB, general terms and conditions between businesses, accessed on 13 October 2026.
- Germany: ZFU, frequently asked questions on approval and the draft repeal, accessed on 13 October 2026.
- Spain: Real Decreto 694/2017, text from the BOE, accessed on 13 October 2026.
- Italy: Ministry of Labour, Stato-Regioni Agreement of 17 April 2025, annex, accessed on 13 October 2026.
- United Kingdom: UK GDPR, Article 28, accessed on 13 October 2026.
- United Kingdom: Data Protection Act 2018, accessed on 13 October 2026.
- United Kingdom: ICO, what the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 means for organisations, accessed on 13 October 2026.
The Kognisia team
Kognisia designs a SaaS learning platform, with a training catalogue and white label as options.
Kognisia designs a SaaS learning platform, with a training catalogue and white label as options.