How we work
A scoped repair, quoted in writing, delivered in weeks.
You bring a bottleneck. We diagnose it, quote the fix in writing, build it in weeks, and hand it back documented. Then you decide if there is a next one. That is the whole model.
The process
Four steps. The first one is free.
STEP 01
Discovery call
day 0 · 30 min · freeYou talk, we ask questions. Where does work pile up? What gets re-typed? Which report gets rebuilt by hand? By the end of the call we will have named the bottleneck worth fixing first, or told you honestly that you do not need us yet.
Come with nothing prepared. A vague sense that something is slower than it should be is plenty.
STEP 02
Scope, in writing
day 2 to 3Within three business days you get a one-page scope: what we will build, the hours it will take, the price at $150 per hour, and the delivery date. The number in the scope is the number on the invoice.
If the work changes mid-build, we stop and re-quote before continuing. Nothing is silently absorbed and nothing is silently billed.
STEP 03
Build
week 1 to 3We build inside your accounts, not ours, so everything remains yours throughout. You get short written check-ins you can read in under a minute: what shipped, what is next, hours used against the quote.
Every automation ships with error handling and a notification when something fails, so problems surface the day they happen.
STEP 04
Handoff, documented
you own it allA live walkthrough with your team, plain-English documentation of how everything works, and a 30-day window where small adjustments are on us. Your team runs the system without us from day one.
If you never call us again, the work keeps working. Most clients do call again, and that is the business model: each small fix earns the next.
The scope document
Every engagement starts with a page like this.
We quote the work itself. The one-pager states the fix, the hours, the price and the date, and it does not change unless you approve the change in writing.
- ✓ Hours estimated as a range, billed as actuals, capped at the top of the range
- ✓ What is explicitly out of scope, so there is no ambiguity later
- ✓ What you need to give us access to, listed up front
- ✓ The acceptance test: the sentence that has to be true for the work to be done
Scope of work
SOW-2026-014
- Fix
- Lead intake to CRM to invoice, automated end to end
- Hours
- 6 to 9, billed as actuals, capped at 9
- Price
- $900 to $1,350 at $150/hr
- Delivered by
- Friday, week 2
- Out of scope
- Website form redesign; historical data cleanup (quoted separately if wanted)
- Done means
- "A new lead from any channel reaches an owner inside 5 minutes, and a closed deal produces a QuickBooks invoice the same day."
Boundary work
Work we refer out.
Clear boundaries are part of a clear scope. Here is where we point you somewhere better.
Six-month roadmaps
We scope work to show value inside the first month, on purpose. Longer roadmaps call for a different kind of firm.
Paid ads management
We will build the tracking and the CRM behind your campaigns, but media buying deserves a specialist.
Full rebrands and PR
We fix how funders and buyers read your operation, not your visual identity. Brand studios do that better.
Standalone websites
We build sites only when they are part of a positioning or systems engagement, never as a one-off design job.
Grant writing as a service
We make you fundable: the numbers, the reporting, the positioning. The proposal stays in your voice, written by you.
Anything we cannot scope
If we cannot state the hours and the acceptance test, we will not take the money. We will say so on the call.
The small print, up front
Norms we keep on every engagement.
Access and security
We work in your accounts with named user access, never shared logins. Credentials live in a password manager, access is removed at handoff, and we will sign your NDA before the first call if you want.
Communication
Async by default: short written updates over meetings. One standing check-in per week if you want it, none if you do not. We respond within one business day, usually faster.
Hours and billing
Time is tracked to the task and you can see the ledger any time. Block hours are paid up front and never expire. Larger scopes split 50/50. International clients pay no GST/HST.
If something breaks
Anything we built that fails within 30 days of handoff is fixed free, no discussion. After that, most fixes are under an hour, and you will have the documentation to do many of them yourself.
Process questions
Asked on most first calls.
How fast can you start? +
Discovery calls book within the week. Most scopes go out within three business days of the call, and small fixes usually start the week after you approve the scope.
Who does the work? +
The two people on the call. We do not subcontract delivery or hand you to a junior team after the sale. That is a real constraint on how many clients we take, and we think it is the point.
Do you work with our existing IT or ops person? +
Happily. The best engagements pair us with the person who will own the system afterwards. We document for them, train them, and make ourselves unnecessary.
What do you need from us to start? +
About an hour of someone's time for discovery, then access to the relevant tools. The scope lists exactly what we need before we start, so there is no drip of requests mid-build.
What if we want ongoing help, not a one-off fix? +
Buy a block of hours: 10, 15 or 20 at the same $150 rate, paid up front, used whenever you need us. No monthly minimum, no lock-in, and unused hours never expire. Details on the pricing page.
The first step is a free, thirty-minute conversation.
Bring the bottleneck. Leave with it named, sized and priced, whether or not you hire us.