Automation diagnostic
$2,000 one time
A written view of what to automate, what the work costs today, and what we would charge. Credited in full against your first month if we start building within 30 days.
Pricing
Know the price. Know what has to work.
A one-time diagnostic gives you a clear business case. A flat monthly fee keeps your automation running. We agree on the result and the price before we build.
Standard managed engagement
A typical first engagement runs $5,000 per month.
We look for repetitive tasks you're paying people $15,000 to $30,000 a month to do. Then we check how much automation could handle and whether our $5,000 monthly fee makes sense.
Smaller single-workflow engagement
From $2,000 per month
For a suitable solution we have already developed. Available where the fit and our capacity allow. Its monthly billing also starts when the agreed success test is met.
Larger engagements are scoped and priced in your proposal before we build.
Step 1
Know where automation is worth the investment.
We use your figures to compare today's work costs, the effort automation could remove, and the work your team would still handle.
You receive a written report with:
- The workflows we reviewed, ranked by opportunity.
- The current cost of that work using your estimates.
- The workflow we recommend starting with.
- What we would charge to build and manage it.
If the numbers do not support an engagement, the report says so. You keep the report whether or not we build.
The diagnostic is $2,000, one time. The $2,000 is credited in full against your first month if we start building within 30 days.
Step 2
The build has to pass the test before the monthly starts.
Before building, we agree on two things in writing:
- The success test. A measurable result, such as turnaround time, error rate, or acceptance of completed work, with a defined threshold and measurement window.
- The monthly price. Set in your proposal. It does not change during the build.
No implementation fee. You are not billed during the build or the proving period. Billing starts the day the workflow hits its number.
If the automation never meets the agreed test, you do not pay for that automation. The $2,000 diagnostic remains payable for the written report.
If the 30-day proving test is missed, we can offer one fix cycle of up to 30 additional days at our cost. You may decline. If the workflow never passes, it is removed and not billed. Required client access or approval delays can pause the proving period as set out in your proposal.
Step 3
A service that keeps your automation working.
Your standard managed engagement includes:
Use without per-run charges
No usage meters or separate AI consumption charges from SubAI. Your automation's agreed monthly fee covers its usage.
Monitoring and upkeep
We monitor the automation around the clock and check it against your connected systems for changes that could affect its operation. We handle maintenance and fixes.
Documented accuracy
Each automation includes a test suite, a written accuracy figure, known failure conditions, and clear rules for when a person needs to review the work.
A weekly report, or monthly if you prefer.
What completed successfully, the quality of the results, and what needs attention. Where an agreed baseline exists, we show estimated staff capacity released and its labor-cost equivalent. Other capabilities show useful activity and outcomes without a fabricated dollar figure.
Support
Questions, adjustments, and fixes are part of the service.
A place for every idea
Send us your ideas and requests. We keep a shared, prioritized list and review it with you monthly. There is no charge to add an idea.
Ongoing build and improvement capacity
Standard engagements include one active build and one active improvement at a time. We prioritize the roadmap with you and work within the agreed build capacity.
Smaller deployments use an existing solution and include its ongoing management. They do not include a custom build slot. Reporting is monthly, with weekly reporting available on request.
As your needs grow
Every addition starts with your approval.
Your monthly fee covers the agreed engagement. A new workflow or success measure can fit within it. If a request expands that scope or changes the monthly fee, we agree on that before the additional work begins.
We prioritize the roadmap with you and work within the agreed build capacity. Included additions receive appropriate checks and reportable measures without repeating a calculator exercise. Any priced expansion has its scope, fee, success criteria, and billing trigger agreed in advance.
What is never on your SubAI bill
- Hourly charges.
- Separate AI, token, or usage fees.
- Charges for ideas, questions, or backlog requests.
- A price increase you did not approve in advance.
- Payment for an automation that has not passed its agreed success test.
The diagnostic is a separate paid service. Your own software licenses and infrastructure accounts remain yours. Any separately scoped data infrastructure or industry-specific diligence is priced and agreed before work begins; those services have their own billing terms.
Questions before deciding
- Is the discovery call the $2,000 diagnostic?
- The discovery call is the presale conversation about your process and whether an engagement could make sense. The diagnostic is a separate paid step that produces the written report. You decide whether to proceed with it after the call.
- How do you decide whether the investment makes sense?
- For a standard engagement focused on repetitive manual work, we look for identified annual work costs of three to six times the annual fee. That gives us an opportunity to investigate. The diagnostic still has to establish what can be automated and whether the investment is worthwhile.
- Would hiring someone be cheaper?
- Sometimes, and a person brings judgment and coverage an automation does not. The comparison is rarely one for one: a new role absorbs the repetitive work along with everything else that person would do, and the repetitive work is the part we price against. Bring the role you were considering to the discovery call and we will be direct about which parts an automation could carry.
- Can we start smaller?
- Smaller single-workflow engagements start at $2,000 per month when an existing solution fits. Custom engagements start at $5,000 per month. We'll explain which approach, if either, makes sense for your business.
- Why pay monthly after the build?
- The automation needs to keep working as your processes and connected systems change. The service covers monitoring, upkeep, quality checks, support, and reporting. Included additions remain inside the existing fee.
- What if our work involves sensitive information?
- We establish the data access, handling, and review requirements before building. Industry-specific diligence, where needed, is a separate scope and price from the general $2,000 diagnostic.
Finding the right fit
The work should justify the investment.
SubAI is a fit when recurring work is holding your team back, the relevant systems are accessible, and we can agree on a measurable improvement worth pursuing.
These needs are outside the service:
A list of tools to buy
Our service is to build and manage the workflow. Tool recommendations alone are outside that scope.
A standalone website chatbot
A website chat widget by itself is outside our service.
An engagement the numbers do not support
If the diagnostic cannot identify enough value to justify the proposed engagement, the report says so.
A commitment to build every idea
We assess the business case and feasibility before recommending a build. Some ideas will not be worth pursuing.
Let's see what would make sense for your business.
Start with the work, the people handling it, and the result you want. We'll help you decide whether there is a worthwhile next step.