// HOW WE SCOPE AND PRICE WORK

How We Scope And Price Work — Without A Menu

CLT Code doesn't publish prices because a menu implies every project of a given type costs the same, and that's rarely true. Every engagement is fixed on a short scoping call, against one of three engagement shapes, before a line of code gets written.

  • • There are three engagement shapes: one-time build, ongoing retainer, scoped on a call.
  • • A scoping call is 15–30 minutes and usually ends with a real number.
  • • Every proposal is written: scope, timeline, engagement shape, fixed number.
  • • Nothing changes mid-project without a re-quote first — never a surprise invoice.

What a discovery call covers

We ask what you're trying to fix, what platform and tools you're already on, who touches the workflow day to day, and what “done” looks like to you. Fifteen to thirty minutes, no slide deck, no account manager relaying questions to someone else. You talk directly to the person who'd build it.

Three engagement shapes

Everything we build falls into one of three shapes. Which one you need usually becomes obvious in the first five minutes of a call.

One-Time Build

Fixed scope, delivered once, no contract. An audit, a landing page, a Shopify catalog cleanup, a chatbot install. You know exactly what you're getting and when it ships.

Digital Audit · Shopify Store Setup · Logo + Brand Kit · Agentic Commerce Audit

Ongoing Retainer

A recurring monthly block of hours across dev, design, and marketing, for sites and systems that need continuous upkeep. Four tiers, each with a fixed monthly hour count.

Essentials · Growth · Enterprise · Flagship

Scoped on a Call

Custom engineering — automation, SaaS-replacement apps, booking systems. The floor and the final number both come from a real conversation about your workflow, before we write a line.

AI Automation Build · Custom App Build · Booking / Ordering System

What determines effort

Two projects that sound identical in a sentence can differ by weeks once we see the actual systems involved. Four things move the number most:

How many systems it has to talk to

A build that only touches your website is a different job than one wired into your CRM, your inventory system, and your accounting software.

How much existing data needs cleanup

A clean Shopify catalog is a faster job than one with a decade of inconsistent titles, missing tags, and duplicate SKUs.

How tight the timeline is

A launch-in-two-weeks build gets prioritized differently than one with a flexible runway.

Whether it needs ongoing care after launch

A one-time build ends at handoff. A retainer or a monitored system carries responsibility past launch day.

What you get in a proposal

  • →A written scope — exactly what's included, and just as important, what isn't
  • →A timeline with real milestones, not just a delivery date
  • →The engagement shape: one-time build, ongoing retainer, or scoped custom work
  • →A fixed number, agreed before anything starts

// If the scope grows mid-project, we re-quote before doing the new work. No surprise invoices, ever.

Typical timelines

Typical timelines by engagement shape
Engagement shapeTypical timeline
One-time build1–4 weeks, scope-dependent
Scoped custom engineering2–8 weeks
Ongoing retainer2–10 week initial build, then continuous

// FAQ

Common Questions

A published menu implies every project of a given type costs the same, and that's rarely true — a custom app for a five-person shop and a fifty-person operation share a category but not a scope. A real number gets fixed on a short call instead of posting a floor that's wrong for most visitors.
The call covers what you're trying to fix, what platform and tools you're already on, who touches the workflow, and what "done" looks like to you. It runs fifteen to thirty minutes with no slide deck, and you leave with a clear sense of scope and usually a number.
One-time build is fixed scope delivered once with no contract — audits, landing pages, catalog cleanups. Ongoing retainer is a recurring monthly block of hours across dev, design, and marketing. Scoped on a call is custom engineering — automation, SaaS-replacement apps, booking systems — where the floor and final number both come from a real conversation about your workflow.
Four things mainly: how many systems it has to talk to, how much existing data needs cleanup before anything new gets built, how tight the timeline is, and whether the work needs ongoing care after launch. Two projects that sound similar in a sentence can differ by weeks once the actual systems are visible.
A written scope of exactly what's included and what isn't, a timeline with real milestones, the engagement shape, and a fixed number agreed before anything starts. If scope changes mid-project, the work gets re-quoted before it starts — never a surprise invoice.
One-time builds usually run 1-4 weeks depending on scope. Custom engineering — automation, apps, booking systems — runs 2-8 weeks. Ongoing retainers start with an initial build of 2-10 weeks depending on tier, then continue monthly. Every service page lists its own typical timeline.

Ready to get a real number?

Book a call, and you'll leave with a scope and a fixed number — not a follow-up email.

BOOK A CALLEMAIL US