The first week after go-live
The first few days after deployment are the calibration period. The system is live and working. We carry out a structured check of every automated message, every booking flow, and every data sync to make sure it is performing as designed. If anything needs adjusting during this period, we fix it promptly.
Your experience during this period is simple: you carry on running your business as normal. The automation handles the tasks it was built for. You might notice your phone is quieter, your diary is fuller, or your invoicing takes half the time. That is the system doing its job.
Most of that 2 hours is the initial walkthrough on day one. After that, your involvement is close to zero unless you want to make changes.
What the ongoing partnership includes
Your monthly retainer is not just a maintenance fee. It covers everything the system needs to keep running and improving.
If something stops working, you tell us and we fix it. Whether it is a connection that has dropped, a tool that has updated, or a data flow that needs adjusting, your retainer covers the fix. Most issues are resolved within 48 hours. You never troubleshoot anything yourself. You send us a message, we sort it out.
The automation generates data as it runs: bookings made, follow-ups sent, invoices generated. That data is always available and forms the basis of your six-month review, where we go through everything together and identify what to optimise next. If you want a detailed report outside of the six-month review, that is available as a separate service.
Your retainer includes 2 hours of adjustments per month. Want to change the wording of a follow-up message? Add a new service to the booking system? Adjust the timing of your reminders? Tell us in plain English and we make the change. The included hours cover amendments, configuration changes, and fixes. Reporting and analysis are available as a separate service if needed.
Businesses change. You might take on a new team member, add a service, expand into a new area, or hit a busy season that needs different scheduling rules. We adapt the system to match, so it never falls out of step with how you actually operate.
At the six-month mark, we sit down together and review everything. What is working, what could be better, whether there are new automation opportunities we didn't see at the start. This review is built into every engagement, and it is where the system often takes its biggest step forward.
If you need more than the included 2 hours of adjustments in any month, additional work is charged at £75 per hour, always agreed in advance. Most clients use less than an hour. The included allowance is generous by design because we would rather you ask for changes than tolerate something that is not quite right.
What you never have to do
You never have to troubleshoot an error. You never have to figure out why something has stopped working or research whether a tool you use has changed its settings. When something needs fixing, you send us a message and we sort it out. That is the whole point of the ongoing partnership.
If something is working fine, the system runs silently in the background and you get on with the work that actually earns money.
This is the "calm" in Complexity, Clarity, Calm. The setup is done. The processes are clear. And now it just runs.
Build-and-leave vs ongoing partnership
| Build-and-leave | Ongoing partnership | |
|---|---|---|
| After deployment | Agency disappears | We are available to help from day one |
| When something breaks | You troubleshoot it yourself | You tell us, we fix it. Usually within 48 hours. |
| System updates | Your problem | Handled automatically as part of the retainer |
| Business changes | You outgrow the system | We adapt the system to match your growth |
| Six months later | System is outdated | Full review and optimisation built in |
What it costs
The ongoing retainer is the same monthly fee that starts when the system goes live. There is no separate maintenance charge. The retainer covers fixes and adjustments, seasonal adaptation, and the six-month review. It is all one fee.
Retainers typically sit between £175 and £450 per month depending on the complexity of the system. The fee is calculated as a share of the value the automation creates, so you always keep roughly two thirds of the benefit.
For a full breakdown of how the retainer works, see the cost and pricing guide. For the deployment timeline, see the setup guide.