Question 1

How does Rico billing work?

Accepted Answer

We craft together a global, custom subscription, at a fixed cost, billed annually, that bundles a number of projects. The more projects included in the subscription, the lower the price per project.

Question 2

Does the pricing depend on the number of staff members using Rico?

Accepted Answer

Not at all. Rico's pricing only depends on the volume of projects you work on for a given period. You can onboard as many users as you want.

Question 3

Are workflows limited to Resource Consent processing?

Accepted Answer

No, you can also do Council PIM workflows, building consents, planning checks and other RC-related workflows in Rico. We'll be happy to give you more details on any specific type of workflow you'd like to use Rico for.

Question 4

How does Rico billing work?

Accepted Answer

Rico is billed per project, and we offer subscriptions that bundle a number of projects to lower the price per project. Basically, the higher the subscription, the cheaper you pay per project (see pricing grid at the top of the page).

Question 5

Does the pricing depend on the number of staff members using it?

Accepted Answer

Not at all. Rico's pricing only depends on the volume of projects you work on for a given period. You can onboard as many users as you want.

Question 6

What happens if I don't use all the projects included in my subscription?

Accepted Answer

No worries, projects automatically carry over for the next 12 months.
For example, if your subscription includes 3 projects and you only use 2 in January, you'll have until next January to use your extra unused project.

Question 7

Can I change my subscription if it's not suited to my needs?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can change it anytime with a 1-month notice, just by letting us know.

Question 8

If I create a project by mistake, or end up not drafting the associated report, is it going to be billed?

Accepted Answer

Of course not, projects are billed only if they've actually been worked on, not if they've been created by mistake. 
In any case, this is reviewed at the end of every month by a real human, so if you created a project by mistake, or end up not working on it, just let us know and we'll make sure not to bill unused projects.

Question 9

Do I have to commit to a subscription from day one?

Accepted Answer

No, we have the Getting Started Package for that, a ~2-month cycle with no commitment after it.It includes:Full configuration setup, tailored to your workflow, styling and formatting preferencesOnboarding for all the members of your team1 month of unlimited projects to get used to the toolIf after that you'd like to continue with Rico, you just pick a subscription and go from there. Subscriptions can be changed anytime with a 1-month notice.If you don't, you're free to go, and can pay Rico from time to time per project if relevant, on an ad-hoc basis.The benefit of the subscriptions is to lower the price per project.

Question 10

Are Feasibility Studies, that are shorter reports, billed as regular projects?

Accepted Answer

No, we have a specific way of billing shorter projects like Feasibility Studies. A certain number are included for free in most existing subscriptions.

Question 11

What is Rico?

Accepted Answer

Rico is a web-based application used by planners to audit applications and draft decision reports.

Question 12

What impact does Rico have on your existing technology landscape?

Accepted Answer

Rico goes narrow and deep on the planning workflow and it can be implemented with little to no impact on existing systems.

Work systematised by Rico is that previously done manually and in MS Word, therefore Rico has minimal functional overlap with other systems.

Rico outputs all information to MS Word which is the format most customers previously store their reports in. This enables customers to continue using Word documents for their reports and store these files in existing storage locations / content management systems.

Overall, there are minimal changes to existing systems and processes which reduces the need for wider IT / Digital changes and creates a faster implementation process that focuses on getting planners up and running successfully with Rico.

Question 13

Does Rico integrate with Single Sign On (SSO)?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Rico supports SAML authentication and role based access control (RBAC) is available to allow permissions to be configured across your organisation. Set-up is straightforward and is typically completed with your IT / Digital team over email.

Question 14

What other integrations are available with Rico?

Accepted Answer

As standard, we set Rico up to pull information from your local planning instruments and GIS.

Local Planning Instruments
We load relevant rules and provisions from relevant plans into Rico. These can be in any format and are kept up to date with plan changes.

GIS
Rico integrates with GIS to retrieve geospatial information relating to planning applications. We typically look to meet with an appropriate person from the geospatial team to let them know what we’re doing and keep track of any future updates that may be made to your GIS.

Integrations are handled in different ways according to whether they are public or private facing:
Public-facing - we are able to retrieve the relevant layers and data points specified in the step above via public API.
Private (authentication required) - we are developing the capabilities to perform an authentication step when accessing private GIS systems to enable information to be retrieved from these into Rico.

Rico API
Further integration can be investigated upon request. We initially look to implement Rico without this in the first instance so we can get planners up and running and confirm they are happy using the tool before seeking further integrations.

We are in the process of documenting our API so that you can integrate Rico with your core systems. This will allow functionality to create projects and populate project fields in Rico. This functionality depends on unique requirements of each customer and further information is available on request.

Question 15

How does Rico manage information security?

Accepted Answer

Our Security and Privacy Policy are available on our website. Additionally, we have the following internal policies available upon request:
Security Incident Response Policy
IT Disaster Recovery Plan
Third-parties we partner with to provide our service

In addition to the above, Rico is working towards ISO 27001 certification. This is a large undertaking and considered the international gold standard for information security management. We anticipate gaining accreditation in late 2024 / early 2025 given the length of the process. We are able to provide progress reports on this upon request.

Question 16

How is Rico configured, maintained and supported?

Accepted Answer

Rico is configured, maintained and supported directly with planning teams through a no code interface. This enables responsive changes and support from the Rico team and facilitates continuous improvement.

Question 17

How is Rico customer support delivered?

Accepted Answer

Beyond a technical understanding of Rico, our support desk is also knowledgeable in planning itself, enabling us to understand the context our customers are working within so we can better solve their problems.

This means Rico does not require internal support provided by IT / Digital teams.

Outside of general support requests, if there is an outage or issues that impact variables on our service level agreement, we will provide the required reports to IT / Digital teams so they can enforce compliance with this.

Question 18

How does Rico future proof local authorities?

Accepted Answer

We understand for many local authorities, Rico fits into a larger technology strategy. Typically we see the following priorities:
Ongoing support and keeping systems up to date: Rico is designed to be configured and maintained directly with the planners using it via a no code user interface. This is an innovative approach which greatly reduces feedback loop and speed to get updates made. Updates can be made in the matter of minutes right in front of planners, with various easier settings able to directly configured by planners. 
Continual innovation: We consider our product to be early in it's journey and are investing significantly in R&D to improve and expand our product. We have a technology roadmap for planned software developments requested by customers and keep a portion of our development resource free to respond to feature requests as they arise.  Investing in Rico you are signing up to a product that has proven results with a lot of runway to add additional efficiencies and support wider parts of the planning application workflow.
Work alongside and integrate existing systems: Rico has a unique position as a solution that replaces work typically done in word documents and on pen and paper. That means there's minimal overlap with existing systems creating the opportunity to add additional value through technology with minimal disruption to existing systems. Rico can integrate with existing core systems or function as a standalone, giving you the flexibility to add integrations as internal resources come available and run Rico amidst changes to other parts of your technology landscape.

Question 19

What are the benefits of a specialised planning solution?

Accepted Answer

Rico is focused narrow and deep on the planning workflow. This offers several key benefits when compared to software developed in-house or more broad technology solutions:

Industry-specific features and functionality: Vertical SaaS solutions are designed to meet the unique needs of a particular industry or niche. This means they often include industry-specific features and functionality and are able to deliver a greater amount of value than more generalised solutions.
Cost savings: Vertical SaaS solutions are often less expensive than developing custom software in-house to achieve similar results. They also typically offer subscription-based pricing models, which can make it easier for businesses to manage their software costs over time, vs. having to go all-in on an expensive in-house solution upfront.
Minimal configuration required by in-house IT / Digital teams: Vertical SaaS solutions typically cater to a specific use case, providing a better out of the box experience as the software is designed and pre-configured for your specific needs.

Rico

IT / Digital FAQs

Rico goes narrow and deep on the planning workflow and can be implemented with little to no impact on existing systems.

How does Rico billing work?

Does the pricing depend on the number of staff members using Rico?

Are workflows limited to Resource Consent processing?

How does Rico billing work?

Does the pricing depend on the number of staff members using it?

What happens if I don't use all the projects included in my subscription?

Can I change my subscription if it's not suited to my needs?

If I create a project by mistake, or end up not drafting the associated report, is it going to be billed?

Do I have to commit to a subscription from day one?

Are Feasibility Studies, that are shorter reports, billed as regular projects?

What is Rico?

What impact does Rico have on your existing technology landscape?

Does Rico integrate with Single Sign On (SSO)?

What other integrations are available with Rico?

How does Rico manage information security?

How is Rico configured, maintained and supported?

How is Rico customer support delivered?

How does Rico future proof local authorities?

What are the benefits of a specialised planning solution?

Get in touch today for a no-obligation conversation to see if Rico can improve your planning application process.

Rico

IT / Digital FAQs

Rico goes narrow and deep on the planning workflow and can be implemented with little to no impact on existing systems.

How does Rico billing work?

Does the pricing depend on the number of staff members using Rico?

Are workflows limited to Resource Consent processing?

How does Rico billing work?

Does the pricing depend on the number of staff members using it?

What happens if I don't use all the projects included in my subscription?

Can I change my subscription if it's not suited to my needs?

If I create a project by mistake, or end up not drafting the associated report, is it going to be billed?

Do I have to commit to a subscription from day one?

Are Feasibility Studies, that are shorter reports, billed as regular projects?

What is Rico?

What impact does Rico have on your existing technology landscape?

Does Rico integrate with Single Sign On (SSO)?

What other integrations are available with Rico?

How does Rico manage information security?

How is Rico configured, maintained and supported?

How is Rico customer support delivered?

How does Rico future proof local authorities?

What are the benefits of a specialised planning solution?

Get in touch today for a no-obligation conversation to see if Rico can improve your planning application process.​

Get in touch today for a no-obligation conversation to see if Rico can improve your planning application process.