Standard Engagement

K Foundation + K Workflow Build = K — rationale + when to discount

Version 1 · June 29, 2026 pricingengagement

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# Standard Engagement: $22K + $25K

_Parent: Pricing & Engagement_

## The two-line structure

| Tier | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| **Foundation (one-time)** | **$22K** | Email, file storage, alerts, audit log. Yours permanently — never charged again on future workflows. |
| **Workflow Build** | **$25K** | Full build, testing, and handoff for one specific workflow. You sign off when it works — not before. |
| **Total** | **$47K** | First workflow live and running. |

## Year-1 return framing

> 30 hours/week × $75/hr loaded × 52 weeks = **$117,000 recovered per year**
>
> Build cost: $47K · Payback: **4.8 months** · Year 2 and every year after: $117K pure savings · **2.5× year-one return**

## Why $22K + $25K (not $47K bundled)

Splitting them out has three purposes:

1. **The Foundation is reusable.** Future workflows are $25K each, not $47K. We say this on the call so they understand the second workflow gets way cheaper.

2. **It anchors the engagement at $47K, not $25K.** Discounting the workflow is fine; discounting the Foundation is not.

3. **It's truthful about what we're building.** The Foundation is real infrastructure (email parsing, file storage, alerts, audit log) and gets used by every subsequent workflow.

## When to discount

Default: don't. Our pricing is already aggressive for the ROI.

Acceptable reasons to discount:
- Multi-workflow commitment up front ("3 workflows over 18 months" → discount workflow #2 and #3 to $20K each)
- Strong referral source ($2-3K off if introduced by a closed customer who's a fit for case study)

Unacceptable reasons:
- "We've never spent that much on software" — we're not software, we're labor recovery
- "Can you do it for $20K total?" — no. Walk.

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_Last updated: 2026-05-24_

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