Becoming an SAP partner. This was by far the toughest thing I needed to do in the process of getting my software business under way. The overall process wasn’t too bad, but dishing out the cash was the tough part. Initially, I talked to the first round of people at SAP and started to learn the process. The first step you had to do fill out a rather long application and then to classify exactly what is that my software did. After a lot of reading, I determined that my project was an ABAP Add on. This is a fancy way of saying that my entire project was written in ABAP, and didn’t use any other 3rd party integration. Now, the number one requirement that I had to fulfill was to get an SAP developer’s license. With a developer’s license, that gives me the right to code my own software and legally sell it. What I discovered was that there were 2 ways of getting that license. I could buy (3) licenses outright. These were selling for roughly 3400 Euros each. The other way is to buy a certification package, which comes with one license. The price tag for this was around 15000 Euros. Next came the pros and cons. If I bought the certification it meant I’d get the fancy SAP marketing, I could say that SAP has certified my product, and I get (1) license. A great deal, but a lot of cash. However, if I went the cheaper route, I could start selling, and even give myself room for growth. I ultimately chose the certification package. This required lots of forms, paperwork, and of course a big check (that had to be in Euro’s) sent to Germany. Now, all the fun pieces. I’ll save those for another post.