Number of Seats/Users: Watermark offers discounts based on the number of users or seats. A higher volume typically leads to a better discount structure, especially for enterprise-level usage.

Commitment to a Long-Term Contract: Discounts are often provided to companies that commit to using the service for a longer period (e.g., 1-year or 3-year contracts). A longer commitment shows Watermark that the company is serious and willing to invest in the platform long-term.

No Active Discounts: Companies that are not already receiving other active discounts may have a better chance of qualifying for additional discounts from Watermark. Watermark reserves discounts for new customers or those not currently under promotional pricing.

Volume or Usage Commitment: Watermark offers discounts if you agree to a minimum amount of usage or transaction volume. This could be based on data storage, transactions, or other metrics tied to how much you will use the platform.

Enterprise-Level Negotiation: Companies that qualify as “enterprise” due to their size or complexity (e.g., having large teams, multiple departments, or geographical presence) may be eligible for additional discounts from Watermark. Such companies are often in a position to negotiate for better pricing.

Early Renewal or Prepayment: Watermark often offers discounts if you renew early or prepay for the entire contract period. This is a common approach to securing a lower price.

Here at Spendbase our internal data shows that Watermark tends to perform very well for institutions that care about structured reporting and long‑term academic planning, especially around faculty activity and assessment.

From what our Spendbase clients share, the strongest outcomes cluster around:

• Centralized capture of faculty activities
• Streamlined annual evaluations
• Better visibility into scholarly and research output
• Support for accreditation and institutional reporting

Key strengths our clients highlight

• Strong for faculty activity reporting
  Many institutions use Watermark as the single place to capture:
• Teaching load and course responsibilities
• Scholarly publications and presentations
• Grants and funded projects

• Service and community engagement

• Useful for institutional and college productivity reporting
  Our internal data shows that academic leaders appreciate:

• Easier generation of reports for deans and provosts
• Quicker turnaround for accreditation evidence

• Consistent data across departments

• Integrated approach across academic workflows
  When more modules are adopted, clients typically see:

• Smoother assessment and accreditation cycles
• Better alignment between curriculum mapping and outcomes
• More actionable data for student success and retention initiatives

Common friction points

Spendbase clients most often point out:

• Value depends on breadth of adoption
  If only one unit (for example, just faculty activity reporting) is used:
• Data remains fragmented across other tools
• Reporting potential is underutilized

• Users feel they are not getting full ROI

• Change management and feature usage
  Our internal data shows that teams sometimes:

• Underuse advanced reporting features
• Need structured onboarding to standardize data entry
• Miss out on cross‑module benefits by staying in “old habits” tools

Discount and optimization opportunities we usually see

As a Spendbase discount specialist, the biggest levers we typically find for Watermark are:

• Bundling more modules (assessment, evaluation, student success) to unlock better pricing per module
• Aligning contract terms with academic cycles to avoid paying for idle months
• Removing legacy tools that Watermark replaces to show clear net savings
• Negotiating implementation and training packages upfront so adoption is maximized and not paid for twice through extra consulting later

Overall, our clients who commit to using more of the platform and standardizing processes across departments see the best value for money and the smoothest reporting experience.