Engagement models
Four commercial structures. The right one depends on how well defined the work is today — not on which is most profitable for us.
Fixed scope
Best when the requirement is well understood and the boundary can be written down.
- A defined deliverable at a fixed price
- Staged payments tied to milestones
- Change requests priced individually
- Suits MVPs, integrations and site builds
Dedicated team
Best for continuous product development over months rather than weeks.
- Named engineers reserved for you
- Monthly rate per person
- You set the sprint priorities
- Suits funded products and internal platforms
Time & materials
Best when the requirement will genuinely evolve as you learn.
- Billed against logged hours
- Monthly cap you control
- Reprioritise between sprints
- Suits R&D and discovery-heavy work
Technical partnership
Best for companies without an in-house engineering function.
- Ongoing architecture and delivery ownership
- Monthly retainer
- Advisory on hiring and tooling
- Suits founders and operations-led businesses
Common terms
Terms that apply to all four
You own the output
Source code, designs, documentation and infrastructure accounts are yours as work is delivered. Nothing is withheld pending a final payment.
Estimates carry assumptions
Every estimate lists what it assumes. When an assumption turns out to be wrong, you hear it in that week's update, not in the invoice.
Exit without penalty
Retainers and dedicated team engagements can be ended with 30 days' notice. Handover documentation is delivered whether or not you continue.
FAQ
Commercial questions
Fixed scope looks cheapest and often is, when the requirement is genuinely well defined. When it is not, the change requests make it the most expensive option. We would rather steer you to time and materials and be right than quote a fixed price on a specification we know is incomplete.
Yes, and it is common. Projects often start fixed-scope for a first release and move to a dedicated team or retainer once the product is live and priorities shift week to week.
Fixed scope is billed against milestones. Dedicated team and retainers are billed monthly in advance. Time and materials is billed monthly in arrears against logged hours, with a cap you set. Full terms are in the engagement agreement before anything starts.
No formal minimum, but below roughly two weeks of work the discovery overhead makes an engagement poor value for you. For something smaller, we will usually tell you what to do rather than quote for it.
Tell us what you are trying to build.
Send the problem, the constraint or the half-formed idea. You will get a straight answer on whether we are the right team for it, and what it would take.