Short answer: it depends a lot on company size, deployment model (SaaS vs on‑prem), number of users/contracts, integrations, and required customization. Typical first‑year total costs range from a few thousand dollars for very small SaaS deployments to hundreds of thousands (or low‑millions) for large enterprise rollouts.

Breakdown of cost components and typical ranges

• Software license / subscription

  • Small business SaaS: $10–$5,000 per month (≈ $120–$60,000/year) or $1,000–$50,000/year depending on seats/features.
  • Mid‑market: $20,000–$150,000/year.
  • Enterprise: $100,000–$1,000,000+/year (often tiered by contract volume or enterprise seat).
  • Per‑user pricing (when used): commonly $15–$150/user/month depending on features.

• Implementation & professional services

  • Basic setup and configuration: $5,000–$25,000.
  • Complex implementations (workflows, heavy customization, multiple integrations): $50,000–$500,000+.
  • Typical rule: implementation is often 0.25×–2× the annual license price for complex projects.

• Integrations

  • Simple API/CRM/ERP connectors: $5,000–$25,000 each.
  • Deep ERP/CLM integrations or custom middleware: $25,000–$200,000+.

• Data migration

  • Small, mostly automated: $1,000–$10,000.
  • Manual extraction/cleanup and thousands of contracts: $20,000–$150,000+ (often charged per contract or per hour; e.g., $5–$50/contract depending on complexity).

• Customization & workflow development

  • Minor: $2,000–$15,000.
  • Significant custom development: $25,000–$200,000+.

• Training & change management

  • Basic user training: $1,000–$10,000.
  • Organization‑wide training and adoption program: $10,000–$100,000+.

• Support & maintenance / hosting

  • SaaS: typically included but premium SLAs cost extra; budget for 10%–20% of subscription/year for premium support.
  • On‑prem or private cloud: infrastructure + ops $20,000–$200,000+/year.

• Ongoing costs (annual)

  • Subscriptions, support, ongoing enhancements, user growth: commonly 15%–30% of first‑year total, sometimes more.

Implementation time estimates

• Simple SaaS setup: 2–6 weeks.
• Mid‑complexity (integrations, migrations): 2–4 months.
• Enterprise (multiple integrations, heavy customization): 6–12+ months.

Sample ballpark scenarios (first year)

• Small org (10 users, few integrations):
  • Subscription: $6,000
  • Implementation + migration + training: $5,000
  • First‑year total ≈ $11,000
• Mid‑market (100 users, CRM + ERP integration, 5,000 contracts):
  • Subscription: $40,000
  • Implementation & migration: $50,000
  • Integrations: $30,000
  • Training: $10,000
  • First‑year total ≈ $130,000
• Enterprise (global rollout, deep ERP integration, 50,000 contracts):
  • Subscription/license: $300,000
  • Implementation/custom dev: $400,000
  • Integrations: $150,000
  • Migration & change mgmt: $150,000
  • First‑year total ≈ $1,000,000

How to estimate your cost quickly (simple formula)

1. Estimate license/subscription = vendor quote (or $X/user/month × users).
2. Estimate implementation = 25%–200% of license depending on complexity.
3. Add integration + migration + training estimates based on number of systems and contracts.
4. Add contingency 10%–20%.

Calculating ROI / payback (example)

• If first‑year cost = $125,000 and annual recurring cost thereafter = $50,000.
• If the system reduces contract cycle times and increases captured revenue/savings by $60,000/year, simple payback = first‑year cost / annual benefit = $125,000 / $60,000 ≈ 2.1 years. Include risk reduction, penalty avoidance, and productivity gains in benefits.

Common hidden costs to watch for

• Per‑connector or API fees.
• Charges for extra environments (dev/test/prod).
• Extra fees for advanced analytics, CLM modules, or e‑signature bundles.
• Data cleanup required before migration.
• Higher‑than‑expected customization and change management effort.
• Cost of delayed rollout or phased deployments.

Practical tips to reduce cost and risk

• Start with a pilot for one business unit to limit scope and prove value.
• Choose SaaS for lower upfront infrastructure and ops costs unless you require on‑prem for compliance.
• Prioritize integrations that deliver immediate value; defer low‑value customizations.
• Negotiate multi‑year deals for lower per‑year fees; ask for included implementation hours.
• Ask vendors for reference implementations similar to your industry/size.
• Include a fixed‑price implementation SOW where possible to limit scope creep.

Important vendor questions to ask

• Pricing model (per user, per contract, per feature), and examples of total cost for org size like yours.
• What’s included in implementation vs paid professional services?
• Number and types of integrations included.
• Data migration approach and costs per contract or per hour.
• SLA, uptime, security certifications (SOC2, ISO27001), and compliance support.
• Upgrade/maintenance window impacts and roadmap.
• References and case studies for similar rollouts.

If you want, I can produce a tailored estimate: tell me number of users, annual contract volume, key systems to integrate (CRM/ERP/HR), and whether you prefer SaaS or on‑prem — I’ll produce a first‑year and 3‑year cost projection and suggested rollout plan.