We want to help as many budding entrepreneurs as possible. So we offer a variety of project funding structures to suit your needs and budgets:
Online consultation can be arranged through a variety of services. Initial 30-minute consultations can be had with one of our lead engineers for as low as $100. This tiny investment can help you understand the feasibility of your idea before spending tens of thousands of dollars in materials and design services.
- Fixed Price: Establish a fixed price upfront, 50% due at project start. The next 25% is due at the final design review. The remainder is due after the final deliverables are accepted. Projects with considerable upfront materials cost may require additional payment upfront.
- Time and Materials: Depending on complexity we will negotiate an hourly rate and contract ceiling prior to starting work. The project will be invoiced monthly based on work completed in the previous month. As a rule of thumb for your planning purposes, we charge $400/hour for engineering/design work. $250/hour for review only work. Historically our engineering/design efforts require the following levels of effort, on average: 40 to 80 hours of effort over 2 to 3 months. Good faith material cost estimates will be provided prior to start of work and client will be kept abreast of material costs as project is executed. Clients will be notified once costs reach 80% of estimate. Should materials cost exceed estimate (e.g. changes in market pricing) the client will be again informed prior to purchases that exceed estimate to give client opportunity to make an informed go/no-go decision. We will strive to minimize the occurrence of cost overruns but potential clients should know that overruns can occur in product development.
- Retainer: If you are looking to establish a long-term standing business relationship you can retain our services via a retainer fee that we charge monthly. The retainer fee is applied to any costs incurred during the month. Costs incurred that exceed retainer fees will be handled based on a pre-negotiated arrangement established prior to the first retainer payment. As an example, for our technical management coaching services we charge a $5,000 per month retainer. That gives our client 50 hours of nearly 24/7 access to professional engineering expertise. After the 50 hours, we charge only $75/hours for the next 50 hours of coaching. After that, we bill at only $50/hour for the remainder of the month.
- Technical Articles: We charge $2.55 (USD) per word for all technical writing undertakings.
Warranty – Due to the nature of the work that we perform, there is no warranty, express or implied. All work products are provided “AS IS”. Each hour that we work is billable regardless of the outcome of said work. While we will make recommendations on the level of effort required to implement a solution or fix an issue, it is up to you to let us know if there is a cap on the number of hours we spend on your efforts.
Primary NAICS Code:
541330 Engineering consulting services
Secondary NAICS Codes:
541420 Industrial design consulting services
541512 Computer systems integration design consulting services
541512 Computer software consulting services or consultants
541512 Computer hardware consulting services or consultants
541512 Systems integration design consulting services, computer
541613 New product development consulting services
711510 Independent technical writers
DUNS NO:
078609453