Working with us
This page covers how we actually work — the commercial arrangements, the day-to-day rhythm, the people involved, and what to expect from first conversation through to handover.
The shape of a typical engagement
Fixed-scope
Defined deliverable, fixed price, clear deadline.
- Scope and price agreed before work starts
- Best for: contained projects with clear outputs
Time & materials
Scope evolves; billed on actual time at agreed day rates.
- Flexibility as requirements develop
- Best for: complex builds, R&D
Advisory
A defined question in. A structured answer out.
- Short, fixed-scope — typically 1–3 weeks
- Best for: reviews, due diligence, decisions
How an engagement starts
No pitch, no deck. We talk about what you need and tell you honestly if we think we can help.
We turn the conversation into a written scope — deliverables, timeline, cost, and what we need from you to start.
A short document. You should be able to read it in ten minutes and understand exactly what you are buying.
Introductions, access, shared understanding of what good looks like. Then we start.
Commercial and pricing
Fixed-fee project
Price agreed upfront. You know the number before work starts.
Time & materials
Billed on actual time at day rates agreed in the proposal.
Advisory day rate
For short engagements billed as discrete days of work.
Typically in scope
- +Code, tests and documentation
- +Architecture decisions written up
- +Deployment to production
- +Handover session
Typically not in scope
- −Ongoing support after handover
- −Third-party licence costs
- −Design work (unless separately agreed)
The working rhythm
What a normal week looks like once an engagement is running.
A short written summary every Friday: what happened, what's next, anything we need from you. No mandatory calls.
Working software over slide decks. You see the thing regularly — not a big reveal at the end.
Technical decisions are documented and shared. If we disagree with your instinct, we say so — with reasons, in writing.
We provide our own hardware, licences, and development environment — nothing to set up or provision on your side. For collaboration we follow your lead: Slack, Linear, GitHub, or whatever you use.
When we bring others in
Some projects need a specialist we don't cover — a mobile engineer, a UX designer, a security expert. We have a small network of people we've worked with and trust. We manage them, we're responsible for their work, and your point of contact stays us.
What we need from you
A named decision-maker
One person who can say yes without committee sign-off. Projects slow down when every decision needs three rounds of approval.
Timely responses
We flag blockers the day they appear. Forty-eight hours to respond is fine; ten business days is not.
Access to the right people
Access to existing code, infrastructure and the people who built things. We cannot assess something we cannot see.
Honest feedback
Tell us when something isn't right. We would rather know early.
Clear ownership
Someone on your side who owns the project outcome, not just the budget sign-off.
If things change
We treat scope changes as normal. New information changes the picture; we adjust the plan rather than pretend it didn't happen. Changes are documented and priced transparently.
When they happen, we tell you the same day — what it is, how significant, and what the options are. We don't bury problems in a Friday update.
If we're not the right fit, we'd rather say so early. No engagement is obligated to continue past a natural checkpoint if either side has doubts.
Confidentiality and IP
Who owns the work
You do. All code, documentation and deliverables are yours on handover. No licence fees, no ongoing dependencies on us.
Data and access
We handle client data with care and only request access to what we need. Credentials are stored in a password manager and revoked at close.
NDAs
We sign NDAs as standard. If you have your own form we'll review it; if you need us to send one first, we have one.
How it ends
Every engagement ends with a handover, not a handwave. You get everything you need to own what we built.