03Pricing
Rates, modes, & math
Q2 2026 · 2 of 5 engagement slots open · Next start: June 2026

One rate.
Three modes.

Everything we do is priced against a single baseline hourly rate. Some work is productized and fixed-price. Some is scoped and quoted up front. Some is bespoke and billed by the hour. You always see the math before you sign.

The numbers
Baseline rate
$300/ hour
Operator-led. No junior intake, no agency markup. The same rate whether you book one hour or one hundred.
Discovery
$500flat
60 to 90 minute scoping session. Non-refundable. Credits to the engagement if we move forward.
Retainer
$4,800/ month
20 hours monthly, locked rate, priority response, rolling-month commitment. Pause anytime.
·Modes
How we charge

Three modes for three kinds of work.

Not every engagement looks the same. Productized installs need fixed prices. Custom builds need T&M. Most projects sit in between. We pick the right billing structure for the work, not the other way around.

i.

Productized.

Fixed price, fixed scope, fixed timeline. The repeatable installs we do most often.

  • One number, one outcome
  • 1 to 2 week delivery window
  • 50% deposit, 50% on delivery
  • Change requests scoped separately
Best for · CRM, deal tracker, & community installs
ii.

Scoped project.

Quoted after the discovery call. Hours estimated, deliverables defined, milestones agreed.

  • Written SOW before anything starts
  • 50% deposit, 50% on delivery
  • Hours estimate locked at signing
  • Change requests quoted before action
Best for · most platform & agentic builds
iii.

Time & materials.

For ongoing or open-ended work. Hours tracked transparently, billed weekly.

  • $300/hr or retainer block
  • Weekly time report and invoice
  • No surprise charges
  • Pause or stop anytime
Best for · custom software, retainers
·Examples
Worked examples

What real engagements look like.

Rough bands at common price points. Every project gets quoted on its own merits, but these are the shapes most engagements take.

$5K

Productized install

One platform deployed cleanly. Your CRM, deal tracker, or community platform, fully configured and trained on your accounts.

Includes · 1-year support · Loom handoff · SOPs
Hours
~16
Timeline
1–2 wks
$12K

Brand voice + two skills

A Claude Project tuned to your voice with knowledge base, plus two custom Skills for repeatable internal work.

Includes · testing · iteration · handoff doc
Hours
~40
Timeline
3–4 wks
$24K

Full stack rollout

Multi-platform implementation. CRM migration, marketing tool setup, accountability layer, custom Zapier workflows, team training.

Includes · data hygiene · multi-team training · weekly progress
Hours
~80
Timeline
6–8 wks
$45K

Custom internal tool

A focused single-purpose app built from scratch. Dashboard or admin UI, database, auth, deployment.

Includes · architecture · documentation · production deploy
Hours
~150
Timeline
8–12 wks
$120K+

Full custom platform

CRM-class build with multi-tenant architecture, Claude-native features, MCP servers, production hardening. Reference build is our own CRM.

Includes · auth · RBAC · agentic features · production handoff
Hours
400+
Timeline
12–24 wks
·Billing
How billing works

The boring parts, handled.

Deposit before we start

50% on signed SOW, 50% on accepted delivery. Productized installs follow the same split.

T&M billed weekly

For retainers and custom software, you get a weekly time report and an invoice every Friday. No mystery hours.

Change requests quoted

If scope shifts, we send a written change order with hours and price before anything new gets built.

Wire, ACH, or card

Cards take a 3% processing fee. ACH and wire are clean. We do not chase invoices, so net-15 max.

No long contracts

Retainers are rolling-month. Pause or stop with two weeks notice. Project work ends when the deliverable is signed off.

Support is included

1 year of email and text support is built into every install at no additional cost.

·Risk reversal
If something goes wrong

What protects both of us.

Acceptance criteria in every SOW

Every deliverable is defined against written acceptance criteria. If we miss them and cannot fix it in a reasonable revision window, you receive a pro-rated refund.

Milestone payments on larger builds

For projects over $25K, we offer three or four milestone payments instead of 50/50 deposit. Each milestone has its own acceptance criteria and its own payment trigger.

Missed milestone, credited days

If we miss a defined milestone by more than 7 business days through our fault, we credit you against the next milestone. The number is defined in the SOW, typically 10% of that milestone.

Cancel during execution

You can cancel an active engagement at any time. You pay for work completed plus reasonable transition time. We hand over current state, deliverables, credentials, and documentation cleanly.

Operator continuity plan

Key person risk is real for a firm of one. Every engagement has written progress notes, code and docs in your systems (not ours), and explicit handoff packets at every milestone so you have what you need if something happens.

Public refund policy

Refund terms are written publicly, not hidden in the SOW fine print. Read the refund policy →

Start here

Five hundred dollars to clarity.

Free fit call first. If we both think there is a real project here, the next step is the paid scoping consultation. By the end you have a recommendation, a rough scope, and a clear next step.

Book the free fit call