The Knomart Setup Fee Pays for a Person's Time, Not for Software
If the software is free, why does a new merchant still pay a setup fee?
It is a fair question. A free business software plan can make the idea of an upfront payment seem contradictory.
The answer in Knomart's model is simple: the setup fee is not a charge for unlocking the software. It pays for the human work involved in getting the merchant started.
Someone Still Has to Do the Setup
A small business may need help getting its account ready, understanding the system and moving from a blank account to a working business setup.
That work takes a person's time.
Knomart's model separates that human service from the software itself. The Free tier can remain free while the person who performs the setup is still compensated for the work they do.
What Does the Setup Fee Pay For?
The fee is connected to the merchant onboarding process. An agent signs the merchant, helps with the installation and supports their own merchants as part of the agent model.
For the Free tier, the setup fee is $10. Standard is $20 and Premium is $40. In each case, the setup fee is kept entirely by the agent.
This is different from charging a merchant simply to access software features.
Why Pay an Agent?
The agent model exists because software alone does not answer every practical question a small business owner may have when getting started.
A real person can help the merchant move through the initial setup and become familiar with the system. The same agent can continue supporting their own merchants, while technical issues can be escalated through the Knomart support structure.
Free Does Not Mean Nobody Works
This distinction matters.
If Free means the merchant pays nothing at all while someone is expected to spend time onboarding and supporting them, the system eventually creates a difficult question: who pays for that person's work?
Knomart's answer is to keep the software free while paying the agent for the service they actually provide.
The Fee Has a Purpose
A setup fee should be understandable. It should not feel like a hidden software charge or a forced upgrade.
In the Knomart model, the principle is straightforward: you are paying for a person's time, not paying for software that was advertised as free.
That makes the economics visible to both sides. The merchant receives a genuine Free software starting point, and the agent is compensated for doing real onboarding work.
