Working together
How an engagement works
Most consultants charge by the hour regardless of outcome. We think that is the wrong incentive. We structure it instead: a price set from what the work is worth to you, part upfront and the rest on delivery, then a retainer only if you want one.
Upfront minimum
A fixed fee to start, scoped to the work. This covers discovery and the initial build. It signals seriousness on both sides: we are not taking on projects we cannot deliver, and you are not getting a free prototype that goes nowhere.
Delivery payment
The rest of the price, due when the system is live and you have signed it off. The number was set from what the work is worth to you and agreed before anything started; it does not move afterward, and it does not wait on a savings report.
What you do with the hours we free up is your call, and your upside.
Support retainer
Ongoing support, monitoring, and continuous improvement. As your business changes, the systems need to keep up. The retainer keeps us in the picture so things do not quietly drift back to the old way.
Requires a minimum engagement level to make sense for both sides.
Assessments start at $2,000 CAD; what they cost above that depends on how many teams and workflows are in scope. Build work is priced to the job, not by the hour, and the number is agreed before anything starts.
The process
What it looks like step by step
Start with the audit
Use our savings audit to map one workflow and put a real number on what it costs you. This is not a commitment. It is a way to have an honest first conversation grounded in your actual situation, not a sales pitch.
You can also just reach out directly if you already know what you want to tackle.
Run the savings audit →Or start with an assessment
The audit works when you can name one workflow. Plenty of businesses can't; they know they should be doing something with AI and have no idea where it would actually pay off. That is what an assessment is for. We spend time in your business, sit with the people doing the work rather than only the people who describe it, and come back with a ranked list: what is worth automating, what each one is worth per year, and what you should leave alone.
Fixed fee, and the findings are yours whether or not we build any of it.
Discovery conversation
Book a first conversation, or we can talk by email or phone, whatever works for you. We want to understand the problem, the people involved, what has already been tried, and what success actually looks like for your business. No deck, no demo, just a real conversation.
Scope and agree
Once we understand the work, we scope it together. We agree on the workflow, the baseline savings from the audit, and the engagement structure. Nothing starts until we are both comfortable with the plan.
Build
We do the work. Discovery, design, cleanup of the existing process, then the actual build. You are involved throughout, not handed a finished thing you do not understand. We test it, document it, and hand it over properly.
Deliver and enable
When the automation goes live and you have signed it off, the delivery payment falls due. It is the number we agreed before the work started, so there is nothing to recalculate and nothing to argue about. We also get your team set up and confident, with documentation and a runbook they can actually use.
Ongoing support
Things evolve. New questions come up, processes change, and systems need tweaking. We stay available on a support retainer so you are not on your own after handoff.
Some clients want more than upkeep; they want someone owning the technology decisions. That is a Fractional AI Lead engagement, and it is a different arrangement from a support retainer.
See the Fractional AI Lead role →Deliverables
What you walk away with
Beyond the automation itself:
- →Working systems your team can actually use and own
- →Documentation and runbooks written for the people doing the work, not for an IT department
- →A clear picture of where the time went and what changed
- →A partner who stays available as things evolve, not someone who disappears after handoff
Common questions
Before you get in touch
- What does it cost to work with Digital Blacksmiths?
- Assessments start at $2,000 CAD, and what they cost above that depends on how much there is to look at: how many teams and workflows are in scope. Build work is priced to the job rather than by the hour, and the number is agreed before anything starts, so there is nothing to recalculate at the end.
- What is an assessment, and do I have to build anything afterwards?
- An assessment is for businesses that know they should be doing something with AI but have no idea where it would actually pay off. We spend time in your business, sit with the people doing the work rather than only the people who describe it, and come back with a ranked list: what is worth automating, what each one is worth per year, and what you should leave alone. The findings are yours whether or not we build any of it.
- How do I get started?
- Two ways, and neither commits you to anything. You can use the free savings audit to map one workflow and put a real number on what it costs you, or you can book a first conversation and we will talk it through. If you already know what you want to tackle, just get in touch directly.
- What happens in a first conversation?
- We talk through the problem, who is involved, what you have already tried, and what a good outcome actually looks like for your business. No deck, no demo, and no obligation to do anything afterwards. It runs about half an hour.
- How quickly will you get back to me?
- Within one to two business days. If it looks like a fit, we will be in touch to talk through your priorities and how we might help. If it is not a fit, we will tell you that too, and not every task should go to AI.
- Do you only work with businesses in Saskatoon?
- Digital Blacksmiths is based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and works with businesses across Saskatchewan and the rest of Canada. Assessment work benefits from time on site, so local engagements are the most straightforward, but build and support work is done remotely as a matter of course.
Ready to talk?
Start with the audit if you want to put a number on it first, or just reach out and we will figure it out together.