Schwarz Software, Perth, WA

Schwarz Software Blog

FileMaker Business Alliance / Claris Partners - Why contact an FBA partner?

Posted 2nd December 2016, updated 2021

Schwarz Software is a FileMaker Business Alliance partner, now called "Claris Partner". What does this mean?

If you don't read the rest of this article then I want to get this one point across - Contact your FBA partner about your FileMaker licenses!!! You may be eligible to renew your licenses much cheaper than you can see on the FileMaker.com website, and may be able to go onto a much better licensing scheme than you are already on! Now that is out of the way, on with the rest of the article.

FBA partners in a nutshell:

- FBA partners are vetted by FileMaker to meet certain requirements before they can join, this requires at least one year of business activity with FileMaker and happy clients.

- FBA partners also can resell FileMaker licenses and receive a discount on licensing.

Purchasing FileMaker licenses from an FBA partner
FBA members receive a discount on the purchase price FileMaker licenses, and are also able to resell FileMaker licenses. You may receive a discount on licensing when purchasing through an FBA partner.

FBA members will evaluate the current way you are paying for licenses and may put you on a much better licensing scheme saving you lots of money!

There is a large range of FileMaker licensing options for new purchases, renewals and maintenance so it is worth having your licensing options reviewed by FileMaker or an FBA member.

FBA partners are also able to purchase and renew FileMaker licenses on your behalf. If you don't want to manage your licensing then you can hand over that responsibility to an FBA partner. This is especially helpful for small to large businesses that don't want to manage their licensing and would prefer to hand this over to their FileMaker consultant.

Software developed by an FBA partner
FBA partners have had their software practices reviewed by FileMaker before joining. FileMaker will review a number of FileMaker Pro files, and will contact past clients to see that expectations have been met. This should give you as a customer security that you are working with a software developer that is able to provide quality FileMaker software solutions.

The FBA partner can also manage your software licensing for you, evaluate the best licensing scheme for you and also buy and renew licenses on your behalf. If you are a medium to large organisation this can save considerable effort on your own part and the FBA member will be able to purchase on your behalf, and manage the downloading and installation of FileMaker software for you. Non-FBA members are un-able to manage licensing on their customers behalf.


Just for reference, here is the official word from FileMaker on the FBA program: https://www.filemaker.com/fba/