How much is too much for a document management deposit?

Just a quick scratch of the head and question to all you registered investment advisers out there.

Just a quick scratch of the head and question to all you registered investment advisers out there.
For those RIAs that have invested in a document management system in the last few years: How large a deposit did you have to put down prior to proceeding with installation?
This particular system is software that would be downloaded and would require significant setup, I believe on the part of the value added reseller (and/or consultant) that does the installation.
I am not going to rat out the particular provider/vendor at the moment but I was carbon copied on some correspondence from an adviser this morning back to the unnamed provider.
I have known this particular RIA for years we have shared plenty of back and forth prior to his making purchases of new technology.
This morning he was clearly irritated that the vendor required a $2500 non-refundable deposit prior to setup. He attempted to negotiate having the nonrefundable aspect waived but that appears to have been a no-go based on subsequent correspondence on the thread.
The overall cost of the installation is $9,000 and is replacing a far less capable product that he has made do with for many years.
His rationale is that he at least gets to test drive a luxury automobile either without a deposit or for comparatively little.
Why is he or other firms not afforded the same from software/technology vendor?
I have heard the same sentiment before when it comes to business software.
I know many consultants, several VARs and many advisers and other small business owners.
I do see both sides of the argument — errrr negotiation (?).
Advisers want a fair price in terms of a deposit amount, and want to be able to test drive the product for a bit with possibility of saying ‘no’ in the end and getting their money back if unsatisfied.
Consultants and VARs will say, “wait, we have to put a lot of work into setup and eat the cost, if for whatever reason, the adviser (or other type of customer) is unhappy.”
This can be all the more problematic when it comes to document management because the books and records necessities of advisers can vary a lot, especially depending on the type of business they are running and whether they are purely fee-only, fee-based, hybrid advisers or planners.
Reaching a middle ground is not so easy and evaluating what is overly expensive in terms of a deposit is difficult to ascertain without a lot of feedback.
So, RIAs what say you? What is a fair price in terms of a deposit? What is the happy medium?
What has been your experience when it comes to document management systems (whether software or software as a service/web-based, cloud-based etc.)? (Other software too if you feel like sharing).
And I’m perfectly happy to hear from other advisers as well, though I know that many broker-dealers often provide document management to the adviser).
Feel free to respond here or back channel via e-mail below.