How an engagement runs

Six steps for automation work. Four for custom software. You decide at the end of every one, including the option to stop.

AI automation

Step	Duration	Price	What you receive	What you decide
1 · Walkthrough	30 minutes	Not billed	A straight answer on whether this is worth doing at your shop.	Whether to assess
2 · Assessment	3 to 4 weeks	$2,499 fixed, credited against the first build	The Assessment Report, in writing: where the hours go, measured; the three automations worth building, ranked; the recommended first build with scope, timeline, acceptance criteria and a fixed price; a plain-language data-handling plan.	Which build, or stop
3 · Roadmap review	30 minutes	Included	A decision you can defend. The report is yours either way.	Pick a build, or stop
4 · Build	4 to 6 weeks	$5,000 to $12,000 fixed	A working version of the automation running on your own files by week two, then the acceptance test on your own past files.	Continue, pause or stop
5 · Acceptance and training	60 days of fixes	Included in the build price	The working automation, the training session, and 60 days of fixes.	Accept and invoice the balance
6 · Ongoing plan	Monthly	From $1,500 a month	Monitoring, fixes, priority response, steady improvement, and new automations scoped every quarter.	Keep us or run it yourself

Step	Duration	What you receive	What you decide
Scope	1 to 2 weeks	A defined scope and a fixed quote	Whether to build
Build	Fixed quote	Working demos throughout	Continue, pause or stop
Acceptance	On criteria you set	The working system	Accept
Run or hand over	Monthly or once	A monthly plan, or source, documentation and infrastructure	Keep us or run it yourself

The assessment agreement: two pages. What the assessment covers, what the report will contain, the date, the $2,499 price.
The services agreement: the terms we work under, once, for everything after that.
The build statement of work: scope, deliverables, timeline, fixed price, and the acceptance criteria the work has to meet.
The data-handling terms: your data stays in Canada or on a box in your own office. You own your data. Nothing trains anyone’s model.

Who	Time
Owner or principal	About 3 hours across the program. 1 hour of the engagement day.
Operations lead	About 6 hours across the program. 2 hours of the engagement day.
2 to 3 people who do the work	90 minutes each on the engagement day. Up to about 4.5 hours in total.
IT or vendor contact, if any	30 minutes on the engagement day.
One reviewer during a build	15 minutes a week, about 4 hours in total.

Yes. The report is yours to keep and nothing rolls over on its own.

Yes, in full, against the first build.

The person who builds the work is on every call. On your side it is the owner or principal, the operations lead, and the people who do the work.