How many systems have to connect.
One clean sync between two tools is a small job. Ten systems, each with its own quirks, is a bigger one. The number of integrations is the single biggest lever on price.
// what automation costs
What automation costs, and why we won't put a number on this page.
Every business runs a different stack, so a published rate card would be a figure that's wrong for you before you finished reading it. Here's what actually drives the cost, the honest ways we bill, and how to get a real number for your systems: one you approve before any work starts.
fixed quotes · client-approved · no open-ended billing
// what moves the number
What drives the cost up or down.
How messy the data is.
Clean, consistent records are quick to work with. Data full of duplicates, blanks, and one-off exceptions takes longer to tame, and that time shows up in the quote.
How many approval steps there are.
A straight-through process is cheaper to automate than one with review gates, sign-offs, and exceptions at every turn. The more judgment the work carries, the more careful the build.
What compliance requires.
Regulated data, audit trails, and residency rules add real work, worth every hour, but work all the same. If HIPAA, PCI, or KYC/AML apply, we build for them from the start.
How much is still unknown.
When the scope is crisp, we quote a fixed number. When it's still being discovered, we scope it first, so the number rests on facts instead of guesses.
What you already own.
Clean systems, an API that exists, documentation that's current: these pull the cost down. Undocumented tools nobody can log into pull it up.
// how we bill
Three honest ways we bill, all approved before work starts.
No open-ended contracts and no surprise invoices. Which one fits depends on how well-defined the work is. You approve the number, and any change to it, before we begin.
- 01
Fixed Quote
DEFINED SCOPEWhen the work is clear enough to scope, we quote one fixed price and lock it before we start. You know the whole number going in, and a change to the plan is quoted on its own, never quietly folded into a bigger bill.
This is how most builds run: a QuickBooks sync, an invoice pipeline, an internal tool with a known shape.
WHAT YOU WALK AWAY WITH- One price, agreed before any work begins
- Changes quoted separately, never absorbed into a surprise invoice
- 02
Capped Hourly
SCOPE STILL BEING DISCOVEREDWhen the work is genuinely exploratory, a discovery phase, a system nobody has mapped, a format we haven't modeled, a fixed quote would just be padding for the unknown. So we work hourly against a cap you set and can watch, then convert to a fixed quote the moment the ground is known.
This is a normal, deliberate mode for early-stage scope, not a fallback. The cap is yours, and we don't cross it without your say-so.
WHAT YOU WALK AWAY WITH- A cap you set, that we never cross without your approval
- A fixed quote as soon as the scope is clear enough to give one
- 03
Retainer
ONGOING SUPPORTOnce something is live, support and small changes run on a monthly retainer sized to your operation. It buys a known amount of engineering time and a person who already knows your systems, without a full-time hire.
It's a fixed monthly scope you can change or cancel, and you keep everything either way.
WHAT YOU WALK AWAY WITH- A predictable monthly scope, not open-ended billing
- The engineer who built it on hand, and full ownership if you stop
// before you sign anything
Red flags when you're comparing vendors.
- Open-ended contracts.
If nobody will name a cap or a fixed scope, the meter runs as long as they like. Every engagement should have a number you approved and a point past which nothing gets billed without your say-so.
- Guaranteed-return promises.
Nobody can honestly promise a specific return before they've seen your systems. A guaranteed payback, quoted sight unseen, is a sales tactic, not an engineering estimate. Real answers come after someone has actually looked.
- A quote before anyone looked.
A firm price handed over before a single system was examined is a guess in a suit. It moves the moment reality shows up. A number worth trusting comes after someone has seen what they're quoting.
- No ownership, or a lock-in.
If you won't hold the code, the credentials, and the documentation at the end, you don't have a solution, you have a subscription to their goodwill. Everything we build lands in your accounts, in your name.
// questions
Straight answers on price.
Why aren't there any prices on your site?
Because a number on a page would be wrong for most of the people reading it. The same request, say an invoice pipeline, comes out differently depending on how many systems it touches and how clean the data is. A rate card would either scare off a simple job or under-promise on a hard one. We'd rather look at your actual setup and quote a real number you can hold us to.
What happens if the project goes over?
On a fixed quote, it doesn't, that's the point of fixing it. The price is locked before we start, and if the plan changes, we quote the change separately for you to approve. On capped hourly work, the cap is the ceiling, and we don't cross it without your say-so. There's no version of this where a surprise invoice shows up.
Is the Automation Roadmap fee credited if we build with you?
The Roadmap is a fixed-fee engagement that stands on its own: you walk away with a scoped, priced plan you own, whether or not we build it. How it's credited toward a build depends on the scope, and we'll be clear about that on the call before you commit to anything. You're never paying twice for the same work.
Can we start small?
Yes, and we'd encourage it. The best first project is one clear, high-volume task, proven and paid for on its own before you commit to anything bigger. Ship one thing that works, see the hours it returns, then decide what's next. There's no platform you have to buy into up front.
What does the free call cost?
Nothing, and that's the point. It's thirty minutes over Google Meet with the engineer who'd actually scope the work, no sales rep and nothing to prepare. You'll leave with an honest read on what's worth automating, even if that read is that you don't need us right now.
// get your number
Get a real number for your systems.
Thirty minutes over Google Meet, no prep. Tell us what you're trying to automate and we'll give you an honest read on the scope. If it's a fit, the fixed-fee Automation Roadmap turns that into a scoped, priced plan you own.
Based in the South Bay of Los AngelesOn-site across LA & Orange CountyRemote clients welcome
SCHEDULE DIRECTLY
Chris Hayes
Founder & Principal Engineer
Book straight onto Chris's calendar. No sales rep and nothing to prepare: you talk with the engineer who would actually scope the work.
ON THE CALL
- Where your team's hours actually go.
- What's worth automating, and what isn't.
- A concrete next step, or an honest no.
OR SEND A NOTE