Pricing
What this actually costs.
Every system is built to order, so the honest answer is a range until the work is scoped. Here is where the ranges sit, what the monthly fee covers, and what moves the number. The scope and the figure come out of the first call, in writing, before anything gets built.
Simple automations
One repetitive job, removed.
Starting around
$300 - $600
one-time build
- A form that files itself where the work actually happens
- A handoff between two tools that stops needing a person
- A report that arrives on a schedule instead of being built
Most AE work
Custom business systems
The work AE does most of the time.
$750 to $1,500+
build, plus $199 - $399 a month managed
- Booking, quoting and follow-up that run without being remembered
- A CRM or operations tool built around how you actually work
- Documents and photos read once instead of retyped
Advanced operations software
The system a business genuinely runs on.
Starting around
$2,500+
build, with managed support scaled to the system
- Scheduling people, equipment and jobs across weeks
- Several roles, several integrations, real production rules
- A command center the owner opens instead of five tabs
A one-time buyout is available on any build if you would rather own it outright and run it yourself.
Managed plans
A system nobody maintains stops being worth it.
The monthly fee is not hosting. It is monitoring, fixes, and an agreed amount of ongoing change every month, so the system keeps matching the business instead of slowly falling behind it.
Essential
$149/month
Keep it running, fix it when it breaks.
- Monitoring
- Hosting and deployment management
- Bug fixes
- About one minor modification a month
- About $10 of API usage included
- Basic integrations
- New features quoted separately
Managed
Recommended$299/month
The usual plan. Room to keep changing the system as you use it.
- Monitoring
- Hosting and deployment management
- Bug fixes
- About two to three minor modifications a month
- About $25 of API usage included
- Multiple integrations
- Priority support
- Discounted additional features
Advanced
$499+/month
For a system the business genuinely runs on.
- Monitoring
- Hosting and deployment management
- Bug fixes
- Four or more minor modifications a month
- About $50 of API usage included
- Advanced integrations
- Priority support
- Some ongoing feature work included where it fits the plan
API allowances are an included budget, not unlimited usage. Third-party usage above the allowance is passed through at cost, and messaging, voice and high-volume integrations carry provider fees of their own.
What moves the number
The build fee follows what it has to do.
These are the capabilities that add to a build rather than come with it. The exact figure depends on the system, and it is agreed before work starts, never after.
- Messaging and communication
- $50 to $1,500 · Provider fees are billed separately.
- AI capabilities
- $250 to $1,000
- Data and integrations
- $75 to $1,000 · Provider fees are billed separately.
- Interfaces and accounts
- $50 to $1,000
- Delivery
- +25% to 40% · Applied to the build fee.
Before the numbers mean anything
Three things worth being clear about.
You own it
The code, the data and the accounts are in your business's name. There is no AE licence fee and no platform you have to stay subscribed to in order to keep using your own system.
Managed is optional, and it is not hosting
A managed plan covers monitoring, hosting and deployment, fixes, and a steady amount of ongoing change every month. You can also buy the build outright and run it yourself.
Usage is separate
Text messages, phone calls, AI usage and payment processing are billed by those providers. Each plan includes an allowance, and anything above it is passed through at cost.
Questions that come up
The ones asked on every first call.
Why is there a range instead of a price?
Because the same sentence can describe two very different builds. A quote comes out of the first call once the actual rules, the actual volume and the actual integrations are on the table, in writing, before anything gets built.
What does the monthly fee actually cover?
Monitoring, hosting and deployment management, bug fixes, an agreed amount of ongoing modification every month, integrations, and an allowance for third-party usage. It is the difference between a system that keeps working and one that quietly rots.
Do I have to take a monthly plan?
No. A build can be bought outright and handed over. Most people take a plan because a system that nobody maintains stops being worth what they paid for it, but it is a choice, not a requirement.
What is not included?
Third-party usage above the allowance, provider fees for messaging, voice and payments, and new features beyond the monthly modification allowance. Those get quoted separately rather than absorbed quietly.
Want the number for your version of this?
Describe the part of the week that costs you the most. You get a scope and a figure in writing, and no obligation attached to either.