Workshop pricing
Pilot first. Pay only when it runs.
For an independent trade operator — the manual pilot engagement is free. The recurring fee starts only when the workflow is automated, and it is sized to the hours reclaimed, never per-seat.
How the math works
The workshop fee is fixed; the retainer only starts after handover, and the number is scoped after the manual pass, not before. If the hours don’t justify a build, the engagement still ends with the dispatch hours returned in writing — and no retainer ever starts.
The free pilot, first
What the operator gets at zero cost, before a single line of code.
The manual pilot engagement is free. We sit with your team, run the workflow by hand alongside them, and tabulate the hours. The numbers come back in writing — and the decision about whether to automate is yours, with a signed day-four decision point.
Nothing is billed during the manual pass. The first invoice only arrives once the engagement crosses into the build.
- WEEK 1
A workshop at the shop. We interview the people who actually run the workflow — operators, the bookkeeper, whoever fires off the slow task. No software is picked.
- WEEKS 2–3
We do the workflow by hand, alongside your team, and tabulate the time saved in minutes. You see the raw minutes before we say a word about the build.
- WEEK 4
The decision point. The audit, in writing: what the build would do, what it would not do, the load that a retainer would carry. If the numbers don’t justify a build, the engagement ends and the handover pack is yours either way.
- AFTER THE AUDIT
The fixed engagement fee is invoiced only if you say yes to the build. Until that moment, the pilot is free — even the workshop, even the audit.
Two halves, one engagement
A fixed fee. Then a small retainer once it runs.
We split the cost into two halves so neither side is paying for a bet. The first half is for time you’ll get back before any code exists. The second half is for the automation, sized to what it actually carries — to the load, in working hours, not to a seat count on a SaaS dashboard.
Final numbers depend on the workflow. We scope after the workshop, not before.
First half
What’s included
- 10 operator interviews, week-one workshop and intake at the shop
- 2–3 weeks of manual delivery, audited in minutes alongside your team
- Tabulated time-saved figure by week three
- A documented week-four decision point — proceed, re-scope, or stop
- Handover pack: the manual playbook + tooling notes, signed off either way
First half or second — your sign-up is the same form.
Second half
What’s included
- Kicks in after handover, once the build is shipped and signed off
- Covers host + maintain for the deployed agent or Make/n8n flow
- Sized to the load — hours reclaimed, not per-seat
- Cancels whenever the load drops — billed by month, no annual lock-in
First half or second — your sign-up is the same form.
The first invoice
What your first invoice actually looks like.
Two line items on one invoice. No tier. No extra per-seat charge for a bookkeeper you hired in month six. The total grows only when the load grows — and cancels whenever the load drops.
EXAMPLE · FIRST INVOICE
Day 1
Workshop engagement fee
£2,500 fixed, paid at the workshop. Covers the manual pass, the audit, and the handover — none of it invoiced before this week.
£2,500
one-time
Month of handover
Workflow retainer (monthly)
£99 a month, scoped to the load — hours reclaimed, not seats. Cancels when the load drops; billed by month, no annual lock-in.
£99 / mo
post-handover
What this is not.
No seats. No tier. No extra per-seat charge for an extra bookkeeper, an extra estimator, or an extra hire on the office floor. The retainer is sized to the load you’re carrying, not to the people you’ve hired.
Bring us the workflow
Pilot first, automation second. Save my seat on the pilot.
The pilot is free, the workshop is free, and the audit is in writing. If the hours don’t justify a build, the engagement ends with the dispatch hours returned in writing and no retainer ever starts.