Pricing & payback
How does Softblues pricing work?
We agree the scope and commercial terms before work starts. An initial conversation establishes the next step; paid discovery examines the work in detail where needed. Implementation and ongoing services are scoped separately. Quotes are in GBP, with assumptions and exclusions made explicit.
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- Member of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program
What are you paying for, and when?
Four stages, and four separate decisions. You commit to each one on its own terms rather than to a single package.
| Stage | What it covers | When you commit |
|---|---|---|
| Initial conversation | Your objective, current setup and a sensible next step | Before commissioning detailed work |
| Paid discovery or audit | The agreed investigation, findings and recommendations | After the investigation scope and fee are agreed |
| Rollout, PoC or implementation | The deliverables and acceptance criteria in the proposal | After reviewing the implementation proposal |
| Ongoing support | The maintenance, review and improvement responsibilities you choose | Under the agreed support arrangement |
Fixed-price work has a defined scope. Additional requirements are assessed and priced before being added. Engineering team engagements have their own agreed commercial model; they are not automatically a fixed-price build.
What affects the quote?
A prototype with a limited test set is a different commitment from a service that needs monitoring, support and a production release process.
The main drivers are the workflow’s complexity, the quality and accessibility of its information, the systems to integrate and the requirements for testing and operation.
To scope the next step, bring the objective, current process, systems involved, available examples and any deadline or budget constraint. Detailed specifications are paid discovery work.
Which costs should your budget include?
Four categories. The ones outside the implementation fee are the ones a budget usually misses.
| Cost category | What to account for |
|---|---|
| Discovery and implementation | Investigation, configuration, engineering, integrations and agreed evaluation |
| Data and people | Information preparation, staff training, review and exception handling |
| Platform and operation | Licences, model usage, hosting, storage and other required services |
| Ongoing work | Maintenance, monitoring and any agreed support or improvement work |
An optional Softblues support retainer is separate from the services needed to operate the system. Declining a retainer does not remove licence, hosting or usage charges. The proposal should identify included costs, third-party costs and applicable tax treatment.
How does the payback line work?
Payback is the point at which cumulative financial benefit covers cumulative cost under the stated assumptions. It may fall outside the period being modelled. Capacity released is recorded separately unless the business can explain how it becomes a financial benefit.
Worked example, not a client result or service price: assume a £20,000 implementation, no benefit in months one to six, £4,000 monthly financial benefit from month seven, and £700 monthly running cost from month four. On those assumptions, cumulative benefit first exceeds cost in month thirteen.
To see when it pays back for a firm like yours, use the AI ROI calculator.
| Point in the example | Cumulative benefit | Cumulative cost | Net position |
|---|---|---|---|
| End of month 6 | £0 | £22,100 | −£22,100 |
| End of month 12 | £24,000 | £26,300 | −£2,300 |
| End of month 13 | £28,000 | £27,000 | £1,000 |
The example is simplified and hypothetical. It is not a quote, a client result or a service price. A real assessment includes the relevant internal time, training, review and adoption assumptions, alongside the external spend.
Where should you start?
Four routes, depending on what you already know.
For platform rollout, explore AI adoption discovery. For a defined workflow, explore process discovery. For an existing AI-built application, explore the code audit. For a technical uncertainty, explore an AI proof of concept. If neither first step is obviously the right one yet, a generative AI consulting assessment decides which.
Related example: see how discovery shaped a proposed logistics workflow. This is discovery and proposal evidence, not a delivered financial return.
Pricing and payback: at a glance
- Stages
- An initial conversation, then paid discovery or an audit where needed, then rollout, PoC or implementation, then any ongoing support. Each is its own commitment.
- Initial conversation
- Your objective, current setup and a sensible next step. It comes before you commission detailed work and it produces no specification.
- Fixed price
- Defined discovery, audits and implementation scopes can be quoted at a fixed price. Ongoing support and an embedded engineering team have their own agreed terms.
- What shapes the quote
- The workflow's complexity, the quality and accessibility of its information, the systems to integrate, and the requirements for testing and operation.
- Ongoing costs
- Licences, model usage, hosting, storage and other required services are separate from a Softblues support retainer. Declining a retainer does not remove them.
- Payback
- The point at which cumulative financial benefit covers cumulative cost under stated assumptions. It may fall outside the period being modelled.
- Currency
- GBP. The proposal identifies included costs, third-party costs and applicable tax treatment.
Common questions about pricing
What does it cost?
We quote the agreed work after establishing its scope. The proposal identifies deliverables, assumptions and exclusions so you can assess the commitment. We do not use one price for every system or workflow.
Why do you charge for the first detailed step?
It produces investigation and recommendations you can use. A discovery call establishes context; detailed mapping, testing and specification are paid work.
Is all work fixed price?
Defined discovery, audits and implementation scopes can be quoted at a fixed price. Other arrangements, including ongoing support or an embedded engineering team, have their own agreed terms.
Is there an ongoing cost after launch?
Usually there are operating costs to account for, such as licences, model usage and hosting. A Softblues support retainer is a separate decision. The proposal distinguishes these categories.
What happens if the scope changes?
We assess the effect on deliverables, price and timing before agreeing the change. A fixed scope does not mean unlimited additional work.
What if a proof of concept does not support proceeding?
The findings can justify changing approach or stopping. Deliverables, acceptance criteria and any remedies are set in the contract. A successful investigation need not produce a recommendation to build.
Want a quote for the next step?
Tell us what needs to change and what you already know. We will discuss the information needed to scope and price the work.
Quotes are in GBP, against an agreed scope, with assumptions and exclusions stated in the proposal.