Pricing

Priced on the value it creates, not the hours it takes

The fee tracks the value the automation creates for you — and every number comes out of the free audit, agreed in writing before anything is built.

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How I price

The number isn't pulled from a rate card. It's built from what the problem is costing you — the ROI calculator gives you a rough version of that figure in a minute.

01

I quantify the problem first

In the free audit we work out what the manual version is costing you today — hours lost, errors, missed revenue, the hire you keep deferring — in your numbers, not mine.

02

The fee is a fraction of that value

Your price is a share of the first-year value the automation creates. Small enough that you see a clear multiple back — the target is 5–10× in year one — and never more than the value itself.

03

If it can't pay for itself, I tell you

When the audit shows the automation won't earn its cost back, you hear that straight, instead of getting sold a project that doesn't make sense.

What drives your number

These five things set the floor on what a build costs to deliver. The value it creates sets the ceiling. Your price sits between the two.

01

How many workflows or processes

Automating one clear process costs less than rebuilding how a whole department works. The scope of a build tracks the number of distinct workflows in it, not the hours.

02

How many systems need connecting

A workflow that touches your CRM and an inbox is simpler than one spanning a CRM, a database, a billing tool, and three SaaS APIs — each integration is design, auth, and error handling.

03

Data volume and how messy it is

Clean, structured data is quick to work with. Inconsistent records, PDFs with no fixed layout, and years of accumulated exceptions all take more work to handle reliably.

04

How autonomous the agents need to be

A workflow that drafts and waits for approval is faster to build and trust than one that takes actions end to end. More autonomy means more guardrails, testing, and monitoring.

05

Whether you want ongoing iteration

A one-off build is scoped and delivered. If you want continuous tuning, monitoring, and new workflows as they come up, that's a retainer rather than a project.

Every build proposal comes as three options

One price asks whether to work with me. Three ask how much of the outcome you want now.

Essential

Start here

The smallest complete outcome: one priority workflow, one team, core integrations, launch support, and a 30-day review.

Growth

Recommended

Multiple connected workflows, broader edge-case testing, team training, and a 60-day optimisation window.

Scale

Broadest scope

Multiple teams, governance and reporting, higher-volume testing, an executive result dashboard, and a phased roadmap.

These are three sizes of outcome, not three prices for the same thing — the middle one is where most builds land.

How you pay

Milestone payments, tied to things you can point at.

01

Deposit at signing

A deposit reserves your build slot and funds discovery. Work starts once it's in.

02

Payments at tested milestones

The rest is split across objective checkpoints roughly a month apart — the proof of concept passes, then production goes live — each one something you can test before it's invoiced.

03

No hourly meter

No timesheets to audit, no open-ended invoices. You always know what's due and what has to be true for it to be due.

Ways to work together

The three-option proposal above is how a single build is structured. This is which kind of engagement fits you in the first place.

Fixed-scope build

You know what you want automated

A defined outcome, a fixed price, and a clear timeline. We scope it precisely in the audit, I build and test it, and you get documentation and a handover. Best when the process is well understood and the goal is concrete.

Monthly retainer

Automation is an ongoing programme

Two different things under one label. Maintenance keeps the system you've built doing its agreed job — monitoring, and fixes when an API or model changes underneath it. A roadmap retainer is steady execution of a phased plan — new workflows built as you go, on top of keeping what's live healthy. Priced separately, because they're different scopes.

Advisory & audit

You have a team and want direction

Architecture review, tool and model selection, and a prioritised roadmap your people can execute. No build — just a clear view of what to do and in what order. Best when the capability is in-house but the plan isn't.

What every engagement includes

  • Direct access to me — no account managers, no handoffs to a delivery team
  • Full documentation and a proper handover, so nothing is a black box you can't maintain
  • Everything runs on your infrastructure and your accounts — no lock-in to me or a platform
  • A post-launch support window to fix anything that surfaces once the automation is running for real
  • Production API and tool costs run on your own accounts — you pay providers directly, there's no markup, and I estimate them during scoping
  • A baseline captured before launch, with the result measured at 30, 60, and 90 days against it
  • Payment tied to milestones you can test, not a monthly retainer you can't predict

Pricing FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Why don't you list fixed prices?
Because the right price depends on what the problem is costing you — which is different for every business, and something we work out together in the audit. You see the exact number, in writing, before anything is built. A figure on this page would be wrong for almost everyone who read it.
How do you decide the price?
In the audit we quantify the first-year value the automation would create, in your numbers. The fee is a fraction of that — enough that you get a clear multiple back — and it's capped by what the build costs to deliver properly. Your price sits in the band between those two.
How does payment work?
A deposit at signing reserves your slot and starts discovery. The rest is paid at objective milestones roughly a month apart — the proof of concept passing, production going live — and each milestone is something you can test before it's invoiced. No hourly billing, no open-ended invoices.
Do you charge hourly?
No. A build is a fixed fee for a defined outcome. A retainer is a set monthly fee for an agreed scope of work. There's no open-ended hourly meter and no surprise invoices.
What's the minimum engagement?
The smallest engagements are a single well-defined workflow or a one-off advisory session. If the audit shows automation won't pay for itself yet, I'll tell you that rather than sell you a project.
Do you do a smaller first project to start?
Often, yes. If the full scope is more than makes sense right now, we start with the highest-value piece, get it returning capacity, then move to the next together. The Essential option exists for exactly that.
What if the automation doesn't deliver the value you projected?
The value model is built with you and every assumption is labelled, so nothing inflated goes in. I capture a baseline before launch and review the real results at 30, 60, and 90 days against it. If something's underperforming, tuning it is part of the engagement, not a change order.
What ongoing costs should I expect?
API and tool costs — Claude, OpenAI, any SaaS the workflow uses — are billed to your own accounts, so you pay providers directly and see exact usage. These are usually modest and I estimate them during scoping. Beyond that, the only recurring cost is a retainer if you choose one.
Do I need to know exactly what to automate?
No. Plenty of clients come in knowing something is slow and expensive but not what the fix looks like. The audit exists to figure that out — I map your process, find where automation actually helps, and scope it from there.

Not sure what a build would cost?

The audit is free and ends with a fixed-scope proposal. No obligation to go ahead.

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