We charge $3K to $5K for an audit before building anything.
Sometimes we'll bake it into the project or start just with the audit.
Here's everything we put in the delivery doc:
(Make sure to bookmark this one)
Section 1. Executive summary. One page. Their situation in 3 sentences using their own language. What I'm proposing in 3 sentences. The expected outcome in 3 sentences. Investment range. That's it. If the exec summary is weak, nobody reads the rest.
Section 2. Current state. Visual process maps for every major workflow they run. Each map shows the actual steps, who owns each one, where the handoffs break, where data gets re-entered, where things sit waiting. Most companies have never seen their own operations drawn out. The moment they do, they get it.
Section 3. Cost of inaction. This is the section that sells the build. Dollar amount they're losing per month. Hours per week being burned on manual work. Opportunity cost. Risk they're carrying. All using their numbers from the discovery call, not mine.
Section 4. Proposed solution. Architecture diagram showing what connects to what. Before and after process maps side by side. Specific tools, not vague tech talk. Data flow. Security considerations. The thinking, not just the build.
Section 5. Implementation roadmap. Phases with clear deliverables. Week 1 to week 4. Week 5 to week 8. Week 9 to week 12. Plus the line that closes deals: "you'll see daily demo items in our shared Slack." Most agencies say "we'll deliver in 3 weeks." Showing daily progress is a different sales pitch entirely.
Section 6. Quantified ROI. Hours saved per month. Dollars saved per month. Capacity unlocked. Payback period in months. Under-promise. If you project $20K a month and they see $8K, you lose trust. If you project $8K and they see $12K, they become a case study.
NOTE: Section 7 & 8 below are included IF we start with the audit only.
Section 7. Investment. Total cost. Breakdown by phase. Payment terms. What's included. What's not. Scope boundaries. Retainer pricing if applicable.
Section 8. Next steps. What happens after they sign. Kickoff timeline. Signing link.
The build becomes inevitable once they've read the doc.
Skip this and wonder why you're losing deals to people charging 3x more.