Simpro Lightning: what it costs at renewal, and your options if you want to switch

Simpro Lightning is the AI upgrade Simpro Group launched on 13 May 2026 for Simpro, AroFlo and BigChange. It adds an AI engine called Cooper and a set of AI agents, and existing customers pay for it as an uplift on their contract: 15 percent during the launch window to 31 May 2026, and 25 percent after that, according to Simpro's own press release. A Simpro partner adds that once Lightning is switched on it cannot be turned off. If your renewal has arrived with that number on it, this guide covers what Lightning does, what it costs, what to ask before you sign, and how to move your data if you decide to go.

Simpro facts here come from Simpro Group's press releases of 13 May and 7 July 2026, its help guide, AroFlo's own pricing page, and the Lightning FAQ of Platinum Consultants, a Simpro partner, all checked on 28 October 2026. Where a fact comes from a partner or reviewer rather than Simpro, the sentence says so.

What Lightning is

Simpro calls Lightning an "AI-native operating platform". It rolled out on the same day as Simpro Lightning, AroFlo Lightning (Australia and New Zealand) and BigChange Lightning (UK and Europe).

At the centre is Cooper, which Simpro describes as one AI engine shared by all three products. You talk to it through JustAsk, which answers plain-language questions from your own business data. Four named agents shipped on day one:

In May, Simpro said new agents would arrive monthly, with more than 20 on its roadmap. Its July release, called RAIN, added features rather than new named agents: an AI scheduler, a sales pipeline and field inventory for Simpro, schedule re-optimisation and safety forms that read a site photo for AroFlo, and AI photo checks for BigChange. Simpro says RAIN came at no extra cost to Lightning customers and rolls out over several months. The next release, THUNDER, was due at Simprosium, its customer conference.

What it costs

Simpro does not publish prices. Its pricing page asks you to request a quote, so there is no list price to compare. What Simpro has published is how Lightning is charged to existing customers:

In plain numbers: if your current Simpro contract costs $10,000 a year, a 25 percent uplift makes it $12,500, and the cap then limits later rises to CPI plus 3 percent a year. The cap starts after the uplift, not instead of it. Your own figure depends on your users, modules and contract.

Two things the headline percentage does not show, both from Platinum Consultants' Lightning FAQ:

• Cooper is metered. The base plan includes 6 JustAsk credits a month, which the partner estimates at about 50 questions. Unused credits expire, and the data JustAsk answers from refreshes every 24 hours, with faster refresh on higher tiers.
• Your licence count is fixed for the term. You cannot reduce users below your contract baseline during the current term, even if Lightning lets a smaller team do the work.

On AroFlo? AroFlo is the exception on price: its pricing page lists $80 per user per month with a minimum of 3 users, so at least $240 a month, with the Lightning AI features listed as included (checked 28 October 2026). The rate falls on a sliding scale as you add users, and the lower rates are not published. Simpro's release words the Price Lock Guarantee for Simpro Lightning, so AroFlo and BigChange customers should ask for the same cap in writing.

Can you say no, and can you go back?

Nothing Simpro has published makes Lightning compulsory or retires the current product. Simpro describes it as a platform upgrade available to all its customers. According to Platinum Consultants, a business that does not take it keeps the existing AI that writes job-completion notes, while the features released since need Lightning.

Going back is the bigger question. The same partner states that Lightning "cannot be downgraded" once it has been enabled. Accepting it is a decision for the rest of your agreement, so make it with the contract in front of you, not in a sales call.

Questions to ask before you renew

Work through these with your renewal offer in front of you.

1. Is Lightning in this quote by default? If it is, ask for the price without it, so you can see what the 25 percent buys.
2. Which of the agents would your team use? JobReady and JobScribe suit businesses with several technicians on dispatch. A one or two person outfit may not need a pre-job briefing from software.
3. What are you paying for that you don't use? Simpro is built for complex work: inventory, multi-company, project costing. If you mostly quote, schedule, invoice and get paid, list the modules you would miss and the ones you would not.
4. What does the order form say about term, notice and renewal? Simpro's public terms say agreements renew automatically unless ended under your order form, and the notice period and minimum term live in that form. Find the date you must give notice by.
5. Can you reduce users during the term? If your crew might shrink, the baseline licence count matters as much as the rate.
6. What does your accountant need? Independent reviews report that Simpro's sync to Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks runs one way, from Simpro to the accounts. Check what a replacement has to match.
7. What would it cost to move? Mostly your time: exporting data, setting up price lists, and showing the crew a new app.

For many larger businesses the answer will be to stay. Simpro is deep software, and a price cap is worth something. For a small team paying for depth it does not use, the renewal is the moment to compare, because after Lightning is on there is no step back down.

Your options

Stay and negotiate. Ask what your renewal looks like with only the modules and users you need, with and without Lightning. Whatever you agree, get it in writing before the term starts.

Move to AroFlo. AroFlo publishes its price, but it belongs to the same group, carries Lightning too, and its price rises are set by the same owner. It changes the product, not the company you deal with.

Switch to a lighter job management app. For small trade businesses the usual shortlist is ServiceM8, Tradify, Fergus and Chippie. They differ mostly in how they charge (per user, per job or per plan) and in how much setup they need. Our side-by-side comparison has dated prices for each, and there are individual pages for Chippie vs ServiceM8, Chippie vs Tradify, Chippie vs Fergus and Chippie vs AroFlo.

Use your own AI with simpler software. Much of what JustAsk does, answering "who owes me money" or "what's on tomorrow" from your own records, can also be done by an AI assistant you already pay for, on that assistant's plan rather than a credit allowance in your job software. Claude and ChatGPT connect to business software through MCP, the standard plug AI assistants use to reach other apps. See connecting AI to your job software.

Your data and Simpro's AI

Simpro Group's AI Pledge, which covers Simpro, AroFlo, BigChange and ClockShark, says customer data is used only for its intended purpose and will not be shared with third parties to train AI models without express permission. Simpro also says RAIN features stay connected to Cooper "so the AI keeps learning from real-world use". Which AI model runs Cooper, and where your data is processed, are not in anything Simpro has published. If either matters to your clients, ask before you accept the upgrade.

How to get your data out of Simpro

Export before you give notice. Independent reviews of Simpro's terms report a 30-day window after the agreement ends to back up your data, which is too short to discover a missing file. Simpro's help guide covers CSV exports for each kind of record:

1. Customers: go to Export, then Customers. Choose CSV, pick customers, leads or both, and include contact details.
2. Sites: export them separately so job addresses come with you.
3. Quotes: export open quotes so nothing in progress is lost.
4. Catalogue and suppliers: export these if you want your price list in the new app.
5. Invoices and payments: keep a full copy for your records. Your accounting software holds the synced invoices, and the ATO generally expects business records to be kept for five years, whichever app you use.

Job history rarely moves cleanly between apps, so save PDFs of the jobs you may need again. Open each file to check it is complete before you cancel anything.

On AroFlo? Exports and cancellation work differently. Our switching from AroFlo guide has the steps and the notice period.

Timeline

Simpro Group says it serves more than 24,000 businesses and 450,000 users across its four products.

Moving to Chippie

Chippie is quote, job and invoice software for small trade businesses, on iPhone, Android and in the browser. It is built by a Newcastle tradie family, and the people who use it every day run a tree-felling business on it.

Moving in is short:

1. Export your customers from Simpro as a CSV (above).
2. Send it through the switch page. We import it into your Chippie account for free, usually the same day, on any plan, including Free.
3. Add your common line items, then send your next quote from your phone.

Chippie's free plan covers one user and 20 jobs a month with no card. Paid plans include users rather than charging for every seat; pricing has the current figures.