QUESTIONS, ANSWERED

The stuff people ask before they sign up. If something is missing, email hello@accolade.live.

Pricing & plans

How much does Accolade cost?
Free for 1 event with 6 core modules. Professional £495/month for 21 modules. Enterprise £1,750/month for 38 modules with white-label and a custom subdomain. Agency £3,500/month for 39 modules and 4 events a year. Pay annually for 20% off. See full breakdown on the pricing page.
What does "1 event" actually mean?
One event ceremony per 12-month rolling window. Nominations, judging, and the awards night all count as one event. Submitting a second round of categories under a different name to dodge the limit is covered by our Acceptable Use Policy. If you genuinely run multiple events, you need Agency.
Can I trial a paid plan?
The Free plan is the trial. It uses the same codebase, same database, same security as paid plans. If you outgrow it, upgrade in one click.
Is there a setup fee?
No. The price you see is what you pay.
Do you offer discounts for charities or nonprofits?
Yes, 30% off any paid plan with proof of charity registration. Email hello@accolade.live with your registration number.
Can I add more seats or extra events later?
Yes. Pro adds £50 per extra seat. Enterprise and Agency have unlimited seats. Agency can add a 5th event for £500/month each.

Security & data

How is my data isolated from other customers?
Every record carries an org_id and every database query filters on it server-side. Tenants cannot see each other's data even with a crafted URL. No shared state, no cross-tenant joins. Code path is enforced by a tenant middleware that runs before every request.
Where is my data hosted?
UK and EU only. Database on Aiven MySQL in Frankfurt. Application on Render in London. SSL end-to-end. Daily encrypted backups retained 30 days. No data leaves the EU.
Are you GDPR compliant?
Yes. We're a data processor for your nominees, judges, and guests. A signed Data Processing Agreement is available on Enterprise and Agency. See our GDPR page for full details.
What happens to my data if I cancel?
We keep it for 30 days in case you change your mind, then permanently delete. Full export (CSV + JSON) is available before cancellation and for 30 days after.
Do you use my data to train AI models?
No. Your event data, nominees, judges, sponsors, and guests are never used to train any model. AI features (Claude, OpenAI) run with zero-retention agreements.
Has Accolade ever had a security incident?
No reportable incidents to date. All incidents (security or operational) are posted to status.accolade.live within 1 hour of detection.

Switching from another platform

Can I switch from AwardForce?
Yes. Export your nominees, categories, and judges as CSV from AwardForce and we import them in your onboarding session. Most migrations take under 2 hours. See Accolade vs AwardForce.
Can I switch from OpenWater?
Yes. Same process. See Accolade vs OpenWater for a feature-by-feature comparison.
Can I switch from Zerista or Cvent?
Yes. Both export to CSV. See the Zerista comparison. For Cvent migrations, email hello@accolade.live and we'll scope it.
Can I run a parallel pilot before fully switching?
Yes. Run one event on Accolade alongside your existing tool. Free plan lets you trial the workflow before committing.
How long does onboarding take?
Free: self-serve, 15 minutes. Professional: 30-min onboarding call. Enterprise: half-day setup session. Agency: bespoke onboarding tailored to your client portfolio.

Support & SLA

What's your support response time?
First-reply target: Free best effort, Professional 1 business day, Enterprise 4 business hours, Agency 1 business hour. Same person handles every reply on Enterprise and Agency, no ticket-juggling.
What happens if Accolade goes down on event day?
Agency customers get a founder direct line on registered event days. We monitor uptime continuously and post incidents to our status page. 99.9% uptime SLA on paid tiers.
Is there live chat?
Not today. Honest answer: we run email support and direct founder contact on event days. We're not going to pretend a chatbot is "always-on support" when it isn't.
Can I talk to a real person before signing up?
Yes. Book a 30-minute call with the founders at cal.com/accolade/enterprise-demo or email hello@accolade.live.

Features

What modules are included on each plan?
Free: Dashboard, Categories, Nominations, Judging, Winners, Settings (6). Professional adds 15 (Tables, Schedule, Tickets, Finance, Sponsors basic, etc). Enterprise adds 17 more (Sponsor CRM, Outreach, Run of Show, Speakers, Speeches, Press, Power List, Marketing, Photo/Video, Accessibility, Automation, API, etc). Agency adds multi-event console. See the comparison matrix.
Does Accolade have AI?
Yes. AI Setup Wizard (any plan with AI). Letter drafting, proposal generation, email drafting, seating optimisation, social post generation (Pro+). All powered by Claude with zero-retention.
Can I white-label Accolade with my own branding?
Logo upload on Professional. Full white-label with custom subdomain (yourname.accolade.live) on Enterprise. Agency adds client-facing read-only seats.
Do you have an API?
Yes, on Enterprise and Agency. REST API for events, nominations, judging, guests, sponsors. Webhook support for inbound integrations.
Can judges access Accolade without an account?
Yes. Judges get a magic-link email, no password. They see only the categories they're assigned to.

Legal & billing

How does annual billing work?
Pay 12 months upfront, get 20% off. Charged via Stripe. Renews automatically unless cancelled.
Can I cancel any time?
Yes. Monthly plans cancel at end of current billing period. Annual plans run to end of paid term (no refund) then expire. No cancellation fees.
What payment methods do you accept?
All major cards via Stripe. Invoicing available on Enterprise and Agency for £20k+ annual contracts.
Where can I read the Terms and Privacy Policy?
Will my price ever go up?
If you sign up at a founder rate, you're grandfathered in for as long as your subscription is continuous. New customers may pay more later, you won't.

STILL HAVE A QUESTION?

Email the founders directly. We reply same day.

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