FAQ

General

Help! I’ve forgotten my password!
Go to Lost your password? and enter the email address your account was registered with (which is also your username) and your password will be emailed to that address.

My email address has changed; can I update this on my account?
Yes, log in with your existing email address and password and go to My account >>> Edit details where you can update all your personal details.

I no longer want to receive email alerts, can I switch off this function?
Yes, after logging in, go to My Account, where you can deactivate the alert function per publication. Should you wish to receive alerts again in future, you can just reactive the alerts here as well.

Will I still be able to log in with my existing username?
Yes, you will be able to carry on logging in with your username. You now just have the option of logging in with your email address too.

Publications

How do I know what publications are for sale?

Once you’ve logged in to the website, the prices of the different publications are clearly marked with BUY IT NOW and the price of the publication. GET IT NOW means the publication is free.

Some publications are marked CLIENTS ONLY, these documents are only available to subscribers of the BER’s Macro and Executive Service. For more information about these services and the different publications, see our product offering.

How do I know what I’m buying?

If you click on a publication, the abstract as well as brief description of the content will pop up before you can opt to buy the research. You can also check one of the older publications, as all the research is made freely available after 12 months.

I want to receive the BER’s publications on a regular basis, can I subscribe?

It is possible to subscribe to certain publications (including Snapshot and Trends) for six or twelve months at a discounted rate. In order to subscribe, follow the same process as a normal purchase and select SUBSCRIBE TO THIS DOCUMENT before clicking NEXT. You will have to pay for the full subscription upfront.

For other publications without a subscription option, after you’ve purchased a specific publication you’ll be alerted when a new edition of that publication becomes available. If you follow the link in this alert and log in to the website, you’ll be able to purchase the new edition with a just a few clicks. You will pay per publication.

Payment

How do I buy a publication from the BER’s website?

If you’re already registered on the website and have found the publication you want to buy, click on GET IT NOW and LOGIN to access your account. If you haven’t registered yet, the website will prompt you to do so now. Once you’re logged in, you’ll be able to purchase publications after clicking BUY IT NOW. The website will guide you through the payment process step-by-step. If you save your credit card details on the website, which is protected by Virtual card services, and you remain logged in to our website you’ll be able to purchase publications with just one click in future.

What forms of payment do you accept?

You can pay with EFT (secure instant deposit) or your credit card (we accept VISA and Mastercard). Please do note that most debit cards can also be used to complete online purchases.

Is it safe to store my credit card details on your site?

We take the security of your payment and personal information seriously. Payments are secured via Virtual card services and 3D Secure, which is implemented by South African banks and e-commerce merchants to protect the cardholder against unauthorised use of your card.

What is a one-click-purchase?

By safely storing your credit card details with our payment gateway, you’ll be able to streamline future purchases. After your credit card is authorised by using your one-time-pin, PIN or password via 3D secure during your first payment, you will not have to do this again during later purchases. You can always remove your credit card details at a later stage – see the next question.

How can I remove or add credit card details?

You can remove or edit card details during the payment process. If you want to remove a card without buying something, emulate a purchase, remove your card and then abandon the sale.

How do I receive the publication I purchased online?

The publication will immediately be available as a pdf file. You will have the option to view it, download it or email it directly to the email address linked to your account.

The publication will remain available at My Account >>> My Previous Purchases. Here, you can also download the invoice for each of the publications that you have previously purchased.

Do I get an invoice?

As soon as you’ve completed your purchase, the invoice will be sent to the email address linked to your account. For your convenience, the invoices of previously purchased publications will remain available at My Account >>> My Previous Purchases.

Do the prices include VAT?

Yes, the prices quoted on the website include VAT, based on the current South African rate.

Building Cost Index

The questions below deal with the Building Cost Index specifically. Please note that this is an additional service which is not included in the BER’s Macro or Executive client package. Click here for more information.

How do I subscribe to the BER Building Cost Information Service?

For new subscribers follow the prompts at https://www.ber.ac.za/BCIS/Subscribe

Existing subscribers can also use the link above. However, a link to renew will be sent to the registered email address when the previous subscription expires.

I see that members of the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors (ASAQS) can get a 20% discount off the price of an annual subscription to the BCI. How do I access that?

The discount can only be accessed if subscribing via the ASAQS member portal. The steps are:

• Log in on the ASAQS website.
• Then navigate via the main menu to Resources, then to Members Only CUG and then BER.
• Click on the BER tab. This will open up a page containing a link at the bottom which will take you to the renewal page on the BER website.

Please note that the discount will then reflect on your invoice and not on the website.

Why am I unable to subscribe online?

For existing subscribers, it’s likely that you still have an active subscription (your subscription details can be viewed under the “My accounts” >>> “My subscriptions” section on the web once you have logged on) or the enquirer is using Google Chrome.

How can I access the research once subscribed?

A link to download the report is sent with each release. Alternatively, the reports are available under the “My accounts” >>> “My documents” tabs. New subscribers will only get access to the next report that becomes available (renewing subscribers will receive no break in service as all the reports they previously had access to are already under the “My documents” tab). Older reports (more than 2 months) can be found in the “My Document Archives” section in “My documents”.

I receive the email link, but when I click on it a dated report appears

In such an instance it is likely that you no longer have a valid subscription. The email link will therefore take you to the last report of your previous subscription.

Your subscription status can be viewed under the “My accounts” >>> “My subscriptions” section on the web once you have logged on.

I’d like to receive the reports by email, how can I arrange that?

The report can be accessed in two ways:

• By clicking on the download link in the email notification sent as the report is released (this does not require a username or password).
• By logging into the BER website (this requires a username and password).

When does my subscription end?

This can be viewed under the “My accounts” >>> “My subscriptions” section on the web once you have logged on.

We subscribed to this service and have received our invoice. After subscribing through your website, we discovered that ASAQS offers a 20% discount off the annual price, if registration is done through the ASAQS website. We are now unable to get the discounted amount through ASAQS as we have already subscribed. Please would you consider giving us the 20% discount as ASAQS members?

Unfortunately, the discount can only be “activated” if the request for subscription comes via the ASAQS membership portal. In such an instance the subscriber will have to cancel the existing request (by email to the BER) and re-subscribe via the ASAQS membership portal.

Still struggling?

Please call us at +27 (0)21 808 9755, cbooysen@sun.ac.za or fill in the form at Contact us.