Pricing & engagement
A number that follows the scope, not a rate card.
Two projects that sound identical can differ by months of integration and review work. So we price the work in front of us, in one of three ways, and put the assumptions in writing before anything starts.
How to buy
Three engagement models
Fixed scope, capped time, or monthly capacity. The model changes; the discipline around scope does not.
- Written scope
- No surprise invoices
- Global delivery
Engagement models
Three ways to buy the work
The right model depends on how much is known before we start. We will recommend one, explain why, and tell you when the other two would be a worse fit.
Fixed price, fixed scope
When the outcome is clear and the unknowns are small.
A defined deliverable, agreed in writing before any work starts, with a written list of what counts as a change and what it costs. The contingency is ours to manage, not yours to discover.
- A written deliverable and acceptance criteria
- A fixed price with the assumptions listed
- Change requests priced before work starts
Time and materials, with a cap
When the shape of the work is not yet known.
Exploratory work, migrations, debugging something that has never been documented. You get an estimate, a fortnightly view of what has been spent, and a hard stop before the cap rather than an invoice after it.
- A written estimate and a weekly burn summary
- A hard stop before the agreed cap
- A decision point if the scope needs to change
Monthly retainer
When the work is continuous rather than a project.
A fixed monthly fee against a defined capacity, used for paid media, monitoring, support or iterative development. Cancelled with notice, and the capacity is spelled out so a quiet month is not quietly absorbed.
- Defined monthly capacity
- A named owner and response window
- A notice period written into the agreement
What changes the price
Six things we price before the invoice
A quote is only useful if it names the assumptions behind it. These are the variables that move a project most.
If a supplier cannot explain which of these applies to your project, the number is not a quote yet. It is a placeholder.
Integrations and access
Every extra system, API, approval step or legacy export adds work. The number of integrations matters more than the number of screens.
Data quality and migration
Clean, structured data is faster to move. Duplicated records, missing fields and unclear ownership are cheaper to find in the first week than in the third month.
Compliance and review
Healthcare, financial and regulated workflows need audit trails, access control and human review. That is design work, not a checkbox at the end.
Content and design readiness
Copy, photography and brand decisions either exist or they become part of the project. We will say which it is before the quote, not after the build starts.
Timeline and sequencing
A compressed deadline can need parallel work or a smaller first release. We will tell you what is realistic rather than agreeing to a date that only works on paper.
Ongoing ownership
Hosting, monitoring, backups, upgrades and support are real costs. We either include them or hand over a written runbook, but we do not leave them implied.
The document
What a quote contains
No number without its assumptions, and no invoice after a cap you did not agree to. The written scope is the thing we both hold each other to.
- 01The outcome and the exclusions, in plain English
- 02The price, or the range, and what would change it
- 03Assumptions, dependencies and access we need
- 04Timeline, milestones and review points
- 05Who owns what on both sides
- 06Handover, support and the exit terms
How it works
From brief to written number
The first conversation is free and the process is deliberately short. We would rather spend the time on scope than on a sales sequence.
- 01
Send the brief
Tell us the outcome, the systems involved, any deadline, your budget range and any compliance requirements. A few paragraphs is enough to start.
- 02
Take the call
Thirty minutes with someone who would do the work. We map the process, challenge the assumptions and tell you what we would fix first.
- 03
Get the written scope
You receive the outcome, the exclusions, the price or range, the assumptions and the timeline. Argue with the number before anything is signed.
We reply within one business day. If the brief is not enough to quote, we will ask the missing questions rather than guess.
Questions
The pricing questions, answered
Including the ones that usually arrive before a first call.
Why is there no price list?
Because a price without scope is a guess. Two projects that sound identical can differ by months of integration, data cleanup or compliance review. A published number would either scare off the wrong people or anchor the conversation to a figure that was never real. We price the work in front of us and show the assumptions.
Is the first call really free?
Yes. Thirty minutes, no pitch deck and no retainer. We will ask how the work runs today, tell you what we would fix first, and say clearly if we are not the right team for it. If there is nothing useful to build, we would rather tell you that than sell a project.
Can you work to a fixed budget?
Yes, by adjusting scope. We would rather remove a feature or stage the work than pretend the same project costs less. If the budget cannot buy a useful first release, we will say so before you commit.
What do you need to send a quote?
A short description of the outcome you want, the systems involved, any hard deadline, your budget range and any compliance requirements. From that we can usually produce a written scope with a price or a range and the assumptions it depends on.
Do you publish starting prices?
No. If you need an indication before a call, send the brief and we will give you a range with its assumptions. That is more useful than a headline number that changes as soon as the integrations are known.
How does a monthly retainer work?
You pay a fixed monthly fee for a defined capacity. The agreement states the capacity, the response window, the notice period and what happens when the capacity is used. It is not an open-ended promise, and it is not a bank of hours that quietly expires.
Do you take very small one-off tasks?
Usually not. The setup and handover can cost more than the task itself. Where something is genuinely small, we often explain how to do it yourself rather than send a quote that would not be worth either side's time.
Next step
Send the brief. Get a written number.
Tell us the outcome, the systems and the constraints. If we can price it, you will get a scope with the assumptions listed. If we cannot, we will say that too.