Hands down, the most common question I get is some variation of “free as in FREE?” I was going to add this question to the “frequently asked questions” page, but it’s asked SO often I’ve got to post it here.
Q: Free as in FREE? WHY are these calculators free? Why would you do that?
A: I’ve got a lot of reasons for making these calculators free.
First, I made the decision to not charge for calculations. While this might change in the future, I don’t think it will. The pay-only features don’t give you more calculators or more reliable calculations. Instead, you get a lot of ways to make your calculations even quicker, easier, and convenient by improving the search functions and creating reports.
Second, there are other websites and programs that offer some of the same calculators I do. Some of those are free. No one would use this site unless it offered the same or better service at the same or better price (free).
Third, while you don’t have to pay me anything, I think the pay-only features are useful enough that people will want them. The pay-only features ((Better searching for body part codes, occupational codes, work restrictions, and e-mails with multiple side-by-side ratings, and more.)) are all designed to save you a lot of time and frustration. Most California workers’ compensation professionals have extremely high case loads. Shaving a few minutes off every case would save considerably more time and money than this website’s paltry monthly subscription.
Fourth, as the saying goes, “do what you love and the money will follow.” Heaven help me, I really enjoy working on this site. Over the last year I’ve invested a lot of time in this project. ((Please please don’t ask me how much.)) Some people collect stamps, some people build things out of toothpicks. I design and program web based calculators for workers’ compensation professionals.