Term and commitment shape
Perpetual licences and annual support
A perpetual licence grants the right to use software indefinitely and does not expire. The support and maintenance agreement alongside it almost always does have a term, usually annual, and usually renewing. Recording the pair as one item hides the only part of the arrangement that has a deadline.
The Vendor Squeezer team. Last reviewed 2026-08-08. General guidance on contract structures, not legal advice, and not a statement about any particular vendor's terms.
Two agreements wearing one name
People refer to a perpetual licence as if it were a single purchase, and the licence itself often is. What sits next to it is a recurring agreement covering updates, patches, and vendor support, and that recurring part behaves like any other subscription: it has a term, it may renew automatically, and it may increase in price.
Recording them separately means the licence appears as an asset with no renewal, and the support agreement appears in the renewal calendar where it belongs. Recording them as one item means either the licence acquires a fake end date or the support renewal disappears.
What lapsing support actually does
Letting a support agreement lapse does not usually remove your right to use the software, because that right came from the licence. It removes updates, security patches, and the ability to raise a case. The consequence is therefore an operational and security question rather than a licensing one.
Some vendors also charge to reinstate lapsed support, sometimes including the period during which it was not paid. Whether that applies is stated in the agreement, and it is worth knowing before treating a lapse as a saving.
Where the version boundary sits
A perpetual licence is normally tied to the versions available while support was current. That means the right to run the software forever is real, but the right to run next year's version may not be. Check what the licence grants over time, because it determines whether lapsing support freezes you at a version.
Questions to ask about your own agreement
- 1.Is the licence itself perpetual, or a term licence that expires?
- 2.What is the term of the support and maintenance agreement, and does it renew automatically?
- 3.What happens to my right to use the software if support lapses?
- 4.Is there a reinstatement fee for restarting lapsed support?
- 5.Which versions does the perpetual licence cover?
Common questions
Is a perpetual licence cheaper than a subscription?
It depends entirely on the term you compare over and the ongoing support cost, so there is no general answer. What you can do is record both parts separately, including the recurring support amount, and compare over the period you actually plan to use the software.
Do perpetual licences still exist for cloud software?
Rarely, because access to a hosted service ends when the subscription ends. Perpetual licensing is mostly a model for software you install and run yourself.
Put this against your own vendors
Record the term, the notice deadline, and the exit cost against the vendor once, and the next renewal review starts from an answer instead of a search. Free while in early access.