Knowledge Center

welcome to the awssome knowledge base welcome to your central hub for navigating everything related to your aws marketplace journey with awssome! this knowledge base is designed to guide you through each key step from creating your first product listing to managing private offers, registering deals, working with resellers, and tracking financials whether you’re just getting started or looking to optimize your listings and co sell motion, you’ll find the resources you need right here here’s what you’ll find inside how to create your first product listing how to register a deal and track its progress step by step guides for private offers and resale authorizations information about orders and finance how to identify target customers , find partners , and submit deal registrations we’re here to help you succeed on aws marketplace, and this space will continue to grow based on your needs and feedback if something’s unclear or missing, feel free to reach out, your feedback helps us improve! create your first product listing what is a product listing on aws marketplace? a saas product listing on aws marketplace is your digital storefront that allows aws customers to discover, evaluate, and subscribe to your cloud based software, fully integrated with aws billing and deployment processes your saas listing includes • product overview a clear explanation of your software’s value, use cases, and technical benefits • pricing options usage based, contract based, or hybrid pricing models that integrate directly with aws billing • access instructions how users can sign up, provision, and access the saas app after subscribing • support & contact info documentation links, support email, or a help center url • legal terms custom or standard aws eula, privacy policy, and optional terms of service • free trials & private offers optional ways to boost adoption and support enterprise sales cycles benefits for sellers • streamlined billing & invoicing through aws • access to aws’s enterprise buyer network • aws credits and promotional incentives • ability to offer private pricing deals to select customers benefits for buyers • easy procurement via their aws account • consolidated billing • confidence in vendor compliance and support product details when filling out product details for aws marketplace • product title unique and descriptive • short description ≤ 250 characters—your value proposition in a sentence • long description use bullet points to explain use cases, benefits, and technical specs • highlights (3–5 bullets) what makes your product stand out? • logo & screenshots minimum resolution required; must meet aws branding standards • support url/email mandatory to show buyers how to reach you • pricing information pricing is mandatory and must follow one of the supported saas pricing models 	• saas subscriptions (contract based) e g €99/month or €1,000/year 	• saas metered billing (usage based) e g per user, per api call, per gb 	• saas contract + usage (hybrid) base subscription + variable usage fees pricing dimensions for saas listings on aws marketplace when publishing a saas product on aws marketplace, selecting the right pricing model is essential for attracting the right customers, supporting your business model, and ensuring seamless integration with aws billing what is a pricing dimension? a pricing dimension defines how customers are billed for your saas product it represents the unit of measurement for pricing, such as number of users, data consumed, or a product tier each pricing dimension includes 	• a name (e g , starter plan, api calls, extra users) 	• a description (e g , “up to 10 users” or “per api call”) 	• a unit price (e g , €99/month or €0 10 per call) 	• a billing frequency (monthly or yearly for contracts, as used for metered usage) pricing dimensions apply to saas subscriptions, saas metered billing, and saas contracts with usage saas pricing models on aws marketplace 1️⃣ saas subscriptions (contract based pricing) how it works customers pay a fixed amount on a recurring basis (monthly or annually) based on a selected pricing dimension use case tiered pricing based on user limits example tiered plans with one pricing dimension 2️⃣ saas metered billing (usage based pricing) how it works customers are billed based on consumption you define usage dimensions (e g , api calls, number of users), and aws meters usage automatically examples 	• api calls – €0 10 per 1,000 calls 	• active users – €5 per user per month 	• storage gb – €0 20 per gb per day note you can define multiple usage based pricing dimensions in this model 3️⃣ saas contracts with usage (hybrid model) how it works customers pay a fixed recurring subscription plus variable usage fees this model supports multiple pricing dimensions one or more contract based and one or more usage based example multiple pricing dimensions (hybrid) this gives you flexibility to offer predictable pricing with scalable usage components legal terms for aws marketplace listings required legal documents 	• end user license agreement (eula) specifies how customers can use your product aws provides a default eula, or you can upload a custom one 	• privacy policy especially important for saas listings handling user data must comply with applicable data protection laws 	• terms of service (optional but recommended) include additional terms such as sla commitments, support levels, refund policies, or usage limits register a deal registering a deal in aws marketplace helps you track custom pricing agreements, streamline the sales process, and unlock aws sales support what is deal registration? deal registration is a process within aws marketplace that allows software sellers to formally log an opportunity they are working on with a customer it’s often used before sending a private offer why deal registration matters? 1\ gain aws sales support when a deal is registered, aws field reps can engage with you to help close the opportunity this is critical when selling to enterprise accounts 2 protect your deal registering a deal shows aws that you originated the opportunity, which helps prevent others from claiming credit or conflicting with your offer 3 enable co sell benefits registered deals can qualify for additional programs like aws co sell funding, joint marketing, or market development funds (mdf) 4 streamline private offers once registered, it’s easier to create and customize a private offer for that customer, including custom pricing and terms what is 'estimates aws monthly recurring revenue? it is a field you fill in when registering a deal or submitting a private offer in aws marketplace it represents how much money you expect the customer to spend each month on your saas product via aws marketplace 🔍 why does aws ask for this? because it helps aws understand 	• the potential value of the deal 	• how much the customer will contribute to aws’s billing volume 	• whether this is a strategic opportunity worth co selling or supporting 🧮 how do i estimate it? think about the pricing tier and usage level the customer is expected to choose examples even if the customer isn’t live yet, aws just wants a realistic ballpark figure, not a contractually binding number what is an aws buyer account id? the aws buyer account id is a 12 digit numeric id that uniquely identifies the aws account making a purchase or subscribing to your product on aws marketplace where to find it? the buyer (your customer) can find their aws account id by 	1\ logging into their aws management console 	2\ clicking their account name (top right corner) 	3\ selecting “my account” 	4\ the 12 digit account id will be listed under “account settings” example 1234 5678 9012 why do you need it? when you’re creating a private offer for a specific customer, aws needs the buyer account id to 	• ensure the offer is only visible to that customer 	• apply custom pricing and contract terms specifically to their account 	• prevent unauthorized access or use of the offer without the correct buyer account id, the private offer won’t be visible to the intended recipient private offer what is a private offer? a private offer on aws marketplace is a customized offer that a seller can send directly to a specific customer it includes custom pricing, terms, contract duration, and billing options that are not publicly visible key benefits 	• tailored pricing for strategic or enterprise clients 	• ability to modify usage terms and licensing 	• visible only to the specific buyer account id 	• integrates directly into aws billing use case example you’re negotiating with a customer who wants a discount for a multi year commitment — you create a private offer with reduced pricing for a 3 year term how is a private offer different from a public offer? private offers are best for enterprise customers, discounted deals, and custom billing structures private offer flexibility explained private offers provide a high degree of flexibility to match customer needs here’s what you can configure 📅 contract duration 	• choose any length up to 60 months (5 years) 	• common terms 12, 24, 36, or 60 months 	• ideal for long term commitments with discounts 📌 start date 	• set a specific start date for billing to begin (e g , next quarter, after onboarding, etc ) ⌛ expiry date 	• add an offer expiration date to create urgency or define limited time deals 📦 product & pricing dimensions 	you can choose from 	• saas subscriptions (contract based pricing) e g , €499/month 	• saas metered (usage based pricing) e g , €0 10 per api call 	• hybrid (contract + usage) e g , €1,000/month + €0 05 per user 📝 note you can mix contract and usage pricing, but only based on the pricing dimensions defined in your product listing legal terms in private offers when creating a private offer, aws requires you to attach the following legal documents • end user license agreement (eula) defines license rights, restrictions, and usage scope • terms of service (optional but recommended) outlines support terms, slas, liability, etc • privacy policy required if your product collects user data these can be 	• custom documents uploaded by you 	• or you can choose to use aws standard eula 💡 tip confirm the buyer has reviewed and accepted these terms before activating the offer when is the money being disbursed? aws disburses payment to you based on the billing schedule tied to the private offer 💵 contract based (saas subscriptions) 	• aws bills the customer upfront or monthly, depending on your configuration 	• you get disbursement within 30 days of each billed period 📊 usage based (metered) 	• aws bills the customer at the end of the month based on actual usage 	• you receive the disbursement 30–45 days later, depending on billing and processing times disbursements appear in your aws seller disbursement reports and in the awssome platform, and funds are sent to the bank account you configured in your tax and banking profile resale authorization what is a resale authorization? a resale authorization in aws marketplace is a formal approval that allows a registered aws consulting partner (reseller) to sell your product on your behalf when you issue a resale authorization 	• you allow a specific reseller to represent your saas listing 	• they can create private offers for end customers using your product 	• aws handles the billing, invoicing, and revenue routing automatically key info 	• you retain ownership of the product listing 	• you still receive the majority of the revenue 	• the reseller is considered the “seller of record” to the end customer 📌 important you must approve the reseller per product, it’s not a blanket approval across all listings how do disbursements work between the reseller and me? here’s how the money flows when a reseller sells your product through aws marketplace 1 customer buys from the reseller’s private offer aws bills the end customer under the reseller’s name 2\ aws pays the reseller the full transaction value is first disbursed to the reseller 3\ reseller pays you (the isv) based on your agreed revenue share (e g , 90/10 split), the reseller sends your portion, usually on a monthly basis 💡 note 	• aws does not directly pay you in this model 	• the disbursement timeline, reporting, and invoicing terms are managed via your reseller agreement what is a reseller agreement? a reseller agreement is a legal contract between you (the isv/product owner) and the aws reseller (usually a consulting partner) it outlines 	• 💰 revenue share split (e g , 90% to isv, 10% to reseller) 	• 📅 payment frequency (e g , monthly, net 30) 	• 📜 liability and support responsibilities 	• 📈 sales and reporting expectations while aws handles the technical infrastructure for resale, the commercial and legal relationship is entirely up to you and the reseller aws recommends having a signed reseller agreement before approving a resale authorization 📝 tip clearly define how and when the reseller will report sales and pay you legal terms for resale when selling through a reseller, you’ll still need to define legal terms for the end customer these are included in the private offer • end user license agreement (eula) still applies to the customer, even though the reseller delivers the offer • reseller terms (optional) you can also include terms that clarify the roles of reseller and isv (support, delivery, liability, etc ) 📌 remember 	• the end customer agrees to your eula 	• the reseller doesn’t modify your product—they facilitate the transaction 	• your legal terms should reflect that you’re the service provider, even if the reseller handles billing orders what are orders? an order in aws marketplace represents a customer’s subscription to your product — whether through a public listing or a private offer orders reflect 	• the contract or usage agreement between you and the buyer 	• the start and end date of the subscription 	• the entitlements and pricing dimensions selected at purchase 	• the current status (active, pending, cancelled, etc ) 📍 orders are created automatically when a customer clicks “subscribe” or accepts a private offer what are entitlements? entitlements define what the customer is allowed to access after subscribing to your saas product via aws marketplace they include 	• the specific pricing dimension selected (e g , pro plan, api tier 1) 	• start & end date of the subscription 	• the quantity or limits tied to that plan (e g , 20 users, 500gb storage) 	• billing terms (monthly/yearly, one time, etc ) you’ll typically retrieve entitlements via an aws entitlement service api (for saas contracts) or through a saas metering integration why they matter? your backend should validate customer access based on their entitlements, e g , enable “pro features” only if they subscribed to the pro plan what is the difference between a contract order and usage? contract based orders (saas subscriptions) what it is a customer pays a fixed recurring fee for access to your software over a defined term — monthly, annually, or multi year how it works 	• pricing is pre set (e g , €499/month or €4,999/year) 	• aws handles the billing and sends you the revenue (minus their fee) 	• the customer’s access is defined by an entitlement (e g , pro plan, up to 25 users) 	• no metering is required — they’re billed automatically when to use it best for predictable use cases like productivity tools, security software, or platforms with set license tiers benefits 	• simple billing 	• stable recurring revenue 	• works well for enterprise procurement usage based orders (saas metered billing) what it is a customer is billed based on actual consumption of your service — like api calls, data processed, or number of active users how it works • you define metering dimensions (e g , api calls, gb storage) 	• your system reports the customer’s usage to aws via the metering api 	• aws calculates the monthly charges based on reported usage 	• customers are billed at the end of the month when to use it ✅ ideal for services where usage can vary significantly — like dev tools, data platforms, analytics engines, etc benefits 	• scales with customer usage 	• lower barrier to entry (no upfront commitment) 	• aligns pricing with product value hybrid model saas contracts with usage what it is a combo of fixed and variable billing customers pay a baseline fee (contract) and are charged for additional usage example 	• €1,000/month includes up to 10,000 api calls 	• €0 01 for every call beyond that why use it? 	• you get predictable base revenue 	• customers pay more only when they grow real world example how to report on metering (saas usage based billing) if your saas product on aws marketplace uses usage based pricing, you’re responsible for tracking and reporting how much each customer uses your service this is done through the aws marketplace metering service what is metering? metering means tracking customer usage (e g , number of api calls, gb stored, active users) and sending that data to aws aws then uses this to bill the customer accurately based on their usage you must report usage every day for each customer that consumed your service when is metering required? metering is required if your listing uses 	• saas metered billing (usage based pricing only) 	• saas contracts with usage (hybrid pricing) if you’re only using contract based pricing (fixed subscriptions), you don’t need to report usage find a partner when you start a resale authorization in aws marketplace, you’ll see a list of available aws consulting partners (resellers) this list includes only those resellers who • are officially registered as consulting partners in the aws partner network (apn) • have completed marketplace onboarding and are authorized to resell third party software • have agreed to the resale authorization program terms what’s included in the list 	• reseller name 	• company email or contact 	• reseller’s apn partner id 	• region(s) supported 	• status (active/inactive) how to find the right reseller? ✅ 1 match their geography choose a reseller that operates in the same region as your end customer this ensures they can handle tax compliance, invoicing, and local sales nuances ✅ 2 look at their industry focus some resellers specialize in 	• healthcare 	• public sector / government 	• financial services 	• startup / scale up ecosystems check their aws partner profile to learn more ✅ 3 ask about co sell experience top resellers will have experience co selling 	• through aws marketplace private offers 	• with enterprise procurement teams 	• under custom terms & compliance requirements ✅ 4 reputation and communication a great reseller is 	• responsive and easy to work with 	• transparent about fees and timelines 	• willing to collaborate on support, documentation, and renewals how to reach out to the reseller? once you’ve identified a potential reseller, it’s time to reach out and explore a partnership what to include in your first email subject aws marketplace resale opportunity for \[your product name] hi \[reseller name], i’m \[your name] from \[company name], and we’re currently listing our \[saas/product] on aws marketplace i saw you are an active apn partner with resale capabilities, and i’d love to explore a potential resale collaboration we’re looking for a trusted partner to help deliver private offers to \[target industry/geography/customers] let me know if you’d be open to a quick chat to discuss potential fit and revenue share terms best, \[your name] \[role] – \[your company] \[email / linkedin / website] find a target customer finding the right customer is the first step toward launching a successful private offer or co sell motion on aws marketplace this process typically involves 	• identifying aws customers who would benefit from your solution 	• validating that they are able (and willing) to purchase through aws marketplace 	• initiating outreach with the right value proposition ✅ goal locate high fit customers that align with your product, pricing, and aws co sell strategy what is in this list? • company name 	• decision maker contact (name/email/title) 	• industry / segment (e g fintech, healthtech, government) 	• current cloud provider (ideally aws) 	• aws account id (needed for private offer) 	• deal stage (lead, qualified, negotiation) 	• expected monthly recurring revenue (mrr) 	• product/plan match (e g starter, pro, enterprise) this list is crucial to track your aws marketplace sales pipeline and determine which opportunities are eligible for co sell or private offers how to find a potential customer? if you’re working with aws marketplace and aws co sell programs, your goal is to identify customers who are both interested in your solution and already enrolled in co sell — making them eligible for private offers and aws supported deal acceleration ✅ 1 aws ace pipeline manager use ace (apn customer engagements) to 	• view current opportunities submitted by aws field teams 	• check which customers are already associated with your solution 	• filter by industry, region, or aws account manager involvement 💡 tip prioritize opportunities that are in “qualified,” “solution validation,” or “private offer preparation” stages ✅ 2 your own crm + ace alignment if you have your own sales pipeline 	• cross check each opportunity with ace to confirm co sell eligibility 	• sync new opportunities directly into ace to make them visible to aws field sellers 	• confirm that each opportunity includes 	• customer name & aws account id 	• expected close date & mrr 	• solution fit and pain point ✅ 3 leverage your aws partner development manager (pdm) your pdm can help you 	• prioritize high value co sell accounts 	• introduce you to aws account managers with shared customers 	• validate co sell readiness and recommend when to register a deal or send a private offer ✅ 4 focus on aws marketplace aligned use cases target customers with clear aws native environments examples 	• saas startups building on lambda → sell observability, monitoring, or dev tools 	• enterprises migrating to aws → sell cost optimization, security, or compliance tools 	• ai/ml companies → sell analytics, model training optimization, or data pipelines how to reach out to a customer? once you’ve identified a co sell enrolled aws customer, the next step is to initiate contact with a message that is relevant, value driven, and aligned with aws marketplace benefits your objective 	• confirm the customer is ready to evaluate or purchase your solution 	• position aws marketplace as the easiest procurement route 	• offer to create a private offer with customized pricing or contract terms collaborating with aws field sellers if the customer is already in the ace pipeline, also loop in 	• your aws partner manager 	• the customer’s aws account manager this can 	• speed up the deal 	• help align internal stakeholders 	• enable co funded opportunities (e g , pocs, migrations)