The guide

How an engagement works, start to finish.

What each tier includes, what the hours buy, how the phases and payment work, and the actual agreement you would sign. No mystery, no surprises. Read it all before we ever talk.

The house rules

Fixed prices, by deliverable. Itemized before you sign. You own everything.

Priced by deliverable, never by the hour

Every quote is a fixed price for a defined list of deliverables. The $200/hr rate is only how I size that estimate, and how any new work you add later is priced. If a deliverable takes me longer than estimated, you pay nothing extra: the number we signed is the number you pay.

Half of the phase up front, half at done

Larger tiers run as several phases, and each phase gets its own timeline and its own signed agreement: 50% of that phase to start, 50% when it is delivered and you have seen it working. You never front the whole project, and you can stop after any phase and keep everything built so far.

You own it outright

On final payment, the design, code, copy, and accounts are yours. No subscriptions owed to me, ever. My pre-existing tools and the UlricCMS engine stay mine and are licensed to you free, forever.

Changes are welcome, in writing

Two rounds of revisions are included in every deliverable. Work beyond the plan is quoted first at the same rate and never starts without your written OK. Anything broken in delivered work is fixed free, and that never counts as a revision.

The tiers, in detail

Where every hour goes.

The build tiers and the growth line, itemized. Each table below is the level of detail you get in a real agreement: the task, the kind of work, the hours, the cost.

On site · The Consult The Consult Two to five days in your business, then a month of refining it $8,000 to $20,000

I come to you. I spend two to five days with your team, find the hours your business loses every week, and build the tools that give them back: custom software written on site, the systems you already pay for wired together, and your people trained face to face on their own real work. Then I stay reachable for a month while real work hits it, tuning the rules and handling the cases nobody predicted. One fee, once. When it is done, you own everything and you are set.

The itemized list in the guide is the base of that range: the visit, the tools built, and the month after. How many days you need on site, and how much custom software you want built, is what moves it toward the top.

WorkTypeHoursCost
The Consult 2 to 5 days on site, then 30 days of refinement 40 $8,000
Walkthrough and time auditOn site with your people: what they actually do all week, timed, and which of it a machine should be doing Strategy 5 $1,000
Tool selection, honestlyWhat is worth paying for, what is free, and what you already own and are not using Strategy 3 $600
Custom tools, built for youThe scripts, dashboards, and small applications your work needs and nobody sells Code 18 $3,600
Systems wired togetherYour existing software talking to itself: no more copying between two screens Code 5 $1,000
Hands-on training with your teamFace to face, at their desks, on their real work, until they can run it without me Training 4 $800
Refinement after you are runningThirty days of tuning once real work hits it: the rules adjusted, the edge cases handled, the parts nobody predicted Code 5 $1,000
The Consult total (40-hour estimate × $200/hr · fixed price) 40 $8,000 to $20,000

Included in the The Consult:

  • Two to five days on site with you and your team, in person
  • A time audit: where the week actually goes and what can be automated
  • Custom tools and software built during the engagement, not promised for later
  • Your existing systems connected so nothing gets typed twice
  • Hands-on training on your real work, until your people can run it alone
  • Everything built is yours: the code, the accounts, the documentation
  • Thirty days of refinement after the visit, while your team puts it through real work
  • A one-time fee, not a retainer. There is nothing to cancel later.

Book a consult

On site · The Drop-In The Drop-In One day, for one person or a few $2,000 to $4,000

The Consult is priced for a team of about ten or more, because that is how many processes there are to untangle. If you are one person, or three, you do not need a week of me and I am not going to sell you one. A day gets the time audit, the worst job in your week automated properly, and you trained to run it. Same approach, same ownership, sized to what you actually have.

WorkTypeHoursCost
The Drop-In One day, then 2 weeks of refinement 10 $2,000
Walk the week with youA morning on what you actually do all day, timed, and which of it should not be yours Strategy 2 $400
Tool selection, honestlyWhat is worth paying for, what is free, and what you already pay for and are not using Strategy 1 $200
One or two automations, builtThe worst repeated job in your week, written and working before I leave Code 5 $1,000
Training and handoffHow to change it, how to read it, how to turn it off. Written down, in your words Training 1 $200
Refinement afterwardsTwo weeks of tuning once you have run real work through it Code 1 $200
The Drop-In total (10-hour estimate × $200/hr · fixed price) 10 $2,000 to $4,000

Included in the The Drop-In:

  • A day on site, or split across two remote sessions if you prefer
  • A time audit: the jobs eating your week, ranked, with hours attached
  • One or two automations built and working before the day ends
  • Honest advice on what to pay for and what to stop paying for
  • Two weeks of refinement afterwards, once real work has run through it
  • Everything built is yours: the code, the accounts, the notes
  • If a week would genuinely serve you better, I will say so instead

Book a drop-in

01 · The Blitz Blitz One to three pages, built properly $1,000

A small site built by hand on UlricCMS: one to three pages, your brand, and the basic SEO that gets you found. You bring the words and photos, and that is the whole trick. The page count is what keeps this a thousand dollars, not the standard of the work.

WorkTypeHoursCost
The Blitz 3 to 5 days 5 $1,000
Design and buildOne to three pages laid out and styled by hand: your colors, logo, and type Design 2.5 $500
Your content, placedYou supply the words and photos; I place, polish, and link them Code 1 $200
Basic SEO and launchMetadata, sitemap, search registration, go-live on your domain Code 1 $200
HandoffA walkthrough video and the keys: edit everything yourself, in place Training 0.5 $100
Blitz total (5-hour estimate × $200/hr · fixed price) 5 $1,000

Included in the Blitz:

  • One to three pages, designed and built by hand
  • Front-end CMS: the same engine as every tier, edit everything in place
  • You bring the content: the copy and photos are yours to supply
  • Basic SEO: metadata, sitemap, Google and Bing registration
  • Hosting and domain set up on accounts you own
  • One revision round, and 30 days of fixes included

Launch a Blitz

02 · The Sprint Sprint A simple site, done right $2,500

A fast, handsome site of up to five pages that you can edit yourself, right on the page. Built on the studio's own CMS, so there are no subscriptions, no plugins to babysit, and nothing rented.

WorkTypeHoursCost
The Sprint 2 to 3 weeks 12.5 $2,500
DesignBrand pass, layout, type and color, phone-first design for every page Design 4 $800
BuildPages coded on UlricCMS with front-end editing: click your own text and change it Code 5 $1,000
Content and searchCopy polish, metadata, structured data, sitemap: the SEO, AEO, and GEO launch kit Code 2.5 $500
Launch and trainingHosting, domain, go-live checks, and a walkthrough video you can rewatch Training 1 $200
Sprint total (12.5-hour estimate × $200/hr · fixed price) 12.5 $2,500

Included in the Sprint:

  • Up to five pages, designed and built by hand
  • Front-end CMS: edit any text or photo in place on your own site
  • Domain registration and first-year hosting, set up on accounts you own
  • Three months of maintenance included. The industry standard is a 30-day warranty; you get a full quarter.
  • SEO launch kit: metadata, structured data, sitemap, Google and Bing registration
  • AEO and GEO: your pages structured so ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's answer engines can quote you
  • Two rounds of revisions, and anything broken is always fixed free

Start a Sprint

03 · The Relay Relay A custom CMS, an SEO engine, and work that runs itself $5,000 to $10,000

Your own content system with logins and roles for your whole team, a programmatic SEO engine that generates the pages you would never hand-write, automations for the repetitive half of the week, and an assistant trained on your business. This is the tier where a website becomes a system. Where you land in the range depends on how much of that engine you take; the itemized list below is the full build. Three phases, each signed and billed on its own: you are never in deeper than the phase you are in.

WorkTypeHoursCost
Phase 1 · Foundations and audit Weeks 1 to 3 16 $3,200
Brand audit and vision formationWhere the business is going, what the brand says today, and how the system should serve both Strategy 4 $800
Deep SEO auditCrawl, index, schema, backlinks, and every listing that carries your name, written up with the fixes ranked Strategy 4 $800
DesignA full design system, then every page and screen, desktop and phone Design 8 $1,600
Phase 2 · The build Weeks 3 to 6 21 $4,200
Backend and CMSCustom content model, media library, inline editing, publishing workflow Code 10 $2,000
Roles and dashboardMultiuser logins with owner, admin, and editor permissions, so help never means handing over passwords Code 5 $1,000
Programmatic SEO engineLocation, service, or condition pages generated from your own data, each one templated, structured, and indexable Code 6 $1,200
Phase 3 · Intelligence and launch Weeks 6 to 9 13 $2,600
AutomationsThe repetitive half of the week wired up: forms, follow-ups, feeds, and the reports you keep rebuilding by hand Code 4 $800
Custom trained assistantAn assistant trained on your own content and data, with guardrails you approve Code 5 $1,000
Launch, analytics and hardeningGo-live checks, measurement that answers real questions, security pass Code 2 $400
Training and handoffPlain-English walkthroughs, short videos, written docs Training 2 $400
Relay total (50-hour estimate × $200/hr, across 3 phases · fixed price) 50 $5,000 to $10,000

How the Relay is paid, phase by phase:

PhaseTimelineDepositOn completionPhase total
Phase 1 · Foundations and audit Weeks 1 to 3 $1,600 $1,600 $3,200
Phase 2 · The build Weeks 3 to 6 $2,100 $2,100 $4,200
Phase 3 · Intelligence and launch Weeks 6 to 9 $1,300 $1,300 $2,600

Each phase is its own agreement with its own timeline. Signing starts Phase 1 with $1,600 down, nothing more. A later phase begins only when you sign its schedule, and you can stop after any phase and keep everything built.

Included in the Relay:

  • Everything in the Sprint
  • A custom CMS shaped to how your team actually works
  • Multiuser roles: owner, admin, and editor logins with real permissions
  • A programmatic SEO engine: location, service, or condition pages generated from your own data
  • Automations for the repetitive work: forms, follow-ups, feeds, and the reports you rebuild by hand
  • A deep SEO audit before the build, with its fixes scheduled into the work
  • A custom assistant trained on your business, with guardrails you approve
  • Three months of maintenance, then an optional care plan
  • You own all of it outright: code, design, content, accounts

Run the Relay

04 · The Marathon Marathon The whole operation, systemized from $20,000

Everything in the Relay, plus a CRM, integrations with the tools you already use, and databases built for thousands of users with admins and managers. I also work alongside your team so you learn where intelligent automation genuinely helps your business, and where it does not. Large projects, longer timelines, all the bells and whistles. The total is simply all phases added up: each phase is its own agreement with its own timeline, half up front for that phase only. You can stop after any phase and keep everything built.

WorkTypeHoursCost
Phase 1 · Discovery and brand Weeks 1 to 2 12 $2,400
Stakeholder interviews and the roadmapHow the business actually runs, what should change, and a phased plan with numbers on it Strategy 5 $1,000
Brand systemIdentity, collateral, and the story that carries them Design 7 $1,400
Phase 2 · Platform Weeks 2 to 5 30 $6,000
Design system and every screenDesktop and phone, every page and template Design 10 $2,000
CMS build and content modelCustom content types, media library, inline editing, publishing workflow, roles Code 20 $4,000
Phase 3 · CRM and integrations Weeks 5 to 7 20 $4,000
CRM buildLeads, contacts, follow-ups, and automations in one place you own Code 12 $2,400
API integrationsSynced with the tools you already pay for Code 8 $1,600
Phase 4 · Directory and user base Weeks 7 to 9 18 $3,600
Directory architectureBuilt for thousands of users: search, profiles, verification Code 12 $2,400
Admin and manager rolesReal permission levels so your team can run it without you Code 6 $1,200
Phase 5 · Marketing engine Weeks 9 to 10 10 $2,000
Automated sequences and campaignsMarketing that runs while you work Code 6 $1,200
SEO kit and analyticsStructured data, dashboards, and answers to real questions Code 4 $800
Phase 6 · Agentic layer and training Weeks 10 to 12 10 $2,000
Trained agents where they earn their keepCustom trained automation, with honest advice about where it will not help Code 6 $1,200
Team training and handoffYour people running the whole system, documented and confident Training 4 $800
Marathon from (100+-hour estimate × $200/hr, across 6 phases · fixed price) 100+ from $20,000

How the Marathon is paid, phase by phase:

PhaseTimelineDepositOn completionPhase total
Phase 1 · Discovery and brand Weeks 1 to 2 $1,200 $1,200 $2,400
Phase 2 · Platform Weeks 2 to 5 $3,000 $3,000 $6,000
Phase 3 · CRM and integrations Weeks 5 to 7 $2,000 $2,000 $4,000
Phase 4 · Directory and user base Weeks 7 to 9 $1,800 $1,800 $3,600
Phase 5 · Marketing engine Weeks 9 to 10 $1,000 $1,000 $2,000
Phase 6 · Agentic layer and training Weeks 10 to 12 $1,000 $1,000 $2,000

Each phase is its own agreement with its own timeline. Signing starts Phase 1 with $1,200 down, nothing more. A later phase begins only when you sign its schedule, and you can stop after any phase and keep everything built.

Included in the Marathon:

  • Everything in the Relay
  • CRM: leads, contacts, follow-ups, and automations in one place you own
  • API integrations with the tools you already use
  • Large user databases or directory creation: thousands of users, admins, and managers
  • Full brand system: identity, collateral, and the story that carries them
  • Automated marketing: sequences and campaigns that run while you work
  • Agentic integration, plus honest guidance on where automation helps and where it does not
  • Six months of maintenance, priority response, and special attention throughout

Plan a Marathon

G1 · The Time Trial Time Trial Find out exactly where you stand. $500

A deep audit of your existing site and everything around it: the source code, the schema markup, every directory listing and old address still floating around, your Business Profile, your competitors, and whether AI assistants can actually find and quote you. You get a written plan on a private page, every fix prioritized with hours attached, and a call to walk through it. If you continue into the growth phases, the $500 comes off that bill.

WorkTypeHoursCost
The audit about one week 2.5 $500
Site and schema readPlatform, markup, technical debt, page quality Code 1 $200
Listings and citation sweepEvery directory, old addresses, duplicate identities Strategy 0.5 $100
Search, map and AI visibility checkWhere you show up, where you do not, and why Strategy 0.5 $100
The written planPrioritized fixes with hours, on a private page, walked through on a call Strategy 0.5 $100
Time Trial total (2.5-hour estimate × $200/hr · fixed price) 2.5 $500

Included in the Time Trial:

  • Source code, schema and technical read
  • Every listing and citation checked
  • Search, map and AI visibility check
  • Competitor snapshot
  • Prioritized fix list with hours attached
  • Private report page and a 30-minute call

Book the audit

G2 · Starting Blocks Starting Blocks The repairs and the launch, done right. $2,000

The hands-on work the audit calls for, in flat $2,000 phases you approve one at a time. A repair phase cleans up your identity: stale listings fixed, schema rebuilt and validated, broken metadata and crawler blocks repaired. A launch phase puts you on the map: Google Business Profile built and verified, a review engine wired into your booking flow, location pages that earn their rankings. Regulated industries get their certification filings (LegitScript and friends) handled here too.

WorkTypeHoursCost
Repair weeks 1 to 2 5 $1,000
Citation and identity cleanupOld listings fixed, duplicates merged, one identity everywhere Strategy 1.5 $300
Schema rebuildOne clean entity, owner markup, FAQ markup, validated Code 1.5 $300
Site repairsBroken metadata, crawler blocks, llms.txt Code 1 $200
Certification prepLegitScript and industry filings when they apply Strategy 1 $200
Launch 2 to 4 weeks, timed to your opening 5 $1,000
Business Profile build and verificationCategories, photos, signage prep, video verification rehearsed Strategy 1.5 $300
Review enginePost-visit email and text with direct review links Code 1 $200
Location pagesWritten like real pages, not doorway spam Code 1.5 $300
Measurement baselineSearch Console, profile insights, call tracking Code 1 $200
Starting Blocks total (10-hour estimate × $200/hr, across 2 phases · fixed price) 10 $2,000

How the Starting Blocks is paid, phase by phase:

PhaseTimelineDepositOn completionPhase total
Repair weeks 1 to 2 $500 $500 $1,000
Launch 2 to 4 weeks, timed to your opening $500 $500 $1,000

Each phase is its own agreement with its own timeline. Signing starts Phase 1 with $500 down, nothing more. A later phase begins only when you sign its schedule, and you can stop after any phase and keep everything built.

Included in the Starting Blocks:

  • Citation and identity cleanup
  • Schema rebuilt and validated
  • Business Profile built, verified and photographed
  • Review engine wired into your booking flow
  • Location pages that earn the map
  • Certification filings when your industry is regulated

Book a free call

G3 · The Tempo Tempo A steady pace that reports to a number. $400 to $1,200/mo

Monthly growth at three honest levels. $400 keeps the lights bright: Business Profile posts, review monitoring, and a plain-English scorecard. $800 adds a substantial piece of content each month, written in your voice and cut into social. $1,200 runs the full engine: two pieces, link building and local press, and staged ad management on Google and Meta. Ad budgets go to the platforms, never marked up. Month to month, cancel anytime, and you keep everything.

WorkTypeHoursCost
A month at full Tempo every month 6 $1,200
ContentTwo substantial pieces, structured so AI engines can quote them Code 2.5 $500
Social cuttingReels and posts from the month's content Design 1 $200
Links and PRDirectories, podcasts, local press Strategy 1 $200
Ads managementGoogle and Meta, staged and reported Strategy 1 $200
The scorecardNumbers, not vibes Strategy 0.5 $100
Tempo total (6-hour estimate × $200/hr · fixed price) 6 $400 to $1,200/mo

Included in the Tempo:

  • Monthly scorecard: rankings, calls, reviews, AI citations
  • Business Profile posts and review monitoring
  • Content in your voice, cut into social
  • Link building and local press
  • Staged ad management, Google and Meta
  • Month to month, cancel anytime

Book a free call

After launch

Maintenance, hosting, and staying findable.

Maintenance included, always

The industry standard is a 30-day warranty. Every Ulric project includes real ongoing maintenance: 30 days on the Blitz, three months on the Sprint and Relay, six on the Marathon. Updates, backups, monitoring, and a human who already knows your stack. After that, flat monthly care plans, cancel anytime with 30 days notice.

Hosting and domain, yours

Hosting, domains, and any usage fees stay on accounts you own, billed at cost. I recommend, you approve, you own. If we ever part ways, you lose nothing.

SEO, AEO, and GEO built in

Metadata, structured data, sitemaps, and search-engine registration ship with every tier. Your pages are structured so Google ranks them and answer engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity can quote them. Findability is part of the build, not an upsell.

The paperwork, in daylight

The sample agreement.

This is the actual shape of the agreement you would sign, filled in with a Relay-sized example. Read the terms before we ever talk. If anything feels off, tell me on the call: the goal is a document both sides actually understand.

Ulric × Your Business

Agreement № UL-2026-00 · Sample
Eugene, Oregon
Services agreement under the Relay tier

Services & Maintenance Agreement

One system, built right,
owned by you.

Between Your Business ("Client") and Eric Richers, Ulric, Eugene, Oregon ("Consultant").

01Scope and investment, phase by phase

All work is billed at $200/hour. Hours are itemized below and the rate never changes; only hours do, and only with written approval. The plan runs in phases, each with its own timeline. Every phase stands on its own: the Client may pause or stop after any completed phase and keep everything built to that point, owned outright. The build total is simply the phases added up; it is never due at once.

Work itemTypeHoursCost
Phase 1 · Foundations and audit Weeks 1 to 3 16 $3,200
Brand audit and vision formationWhere the business is going, what the brand says today, and how the system should serve both Strategy 4 $800
Deep SEO auditCrawl, index, schema, backlinks, and every listing that carries your name, written up with the fixes ranked Strategy 4 $800
DesignA full design system, then every page and screen, desktop and phone Design 8 $1,600
Phase 2 · The build Weeks 3 to 6 21 $4,200
Backend and CMSCustom content model, media library, inline editing, publishing workflow Code 10 $2,000
Roles and dashboardMultiuser logins with owner, admin, and editor permissions, so help never means handing over passwords Code 5 $1,000
Programmatic SEO engineLocation, service, or condition pages generated from your own data, each one templated, structured, and indexable Code 6 $1,200
Phase 3 · Intelligence and launch Weeks 6 to 9 13 $2,600
AutomationsThe repetitive half of the week wired up: forms, follow-ups, feeds, and the reports you keep rebuilding by hand Code 4 $800
Custom trained assistantAn assistant trained on your own content and data, with guardrails you approve Code 5 $1,000
Launch, analytics and hardeningGo-live checks, measurement that answers real questions, security pass Code 2 $400
Training and handoffPlain-English walkthroughs, short videos, written docs Training 2 $400
Build total (50-hour estimate × $200/hr, across 3 phases · fixed price) 50 $10,000

02Payment schedule

Each phase follows the same convention: 50% of that phase as a deposit before it starts, 50% when it is delivered and the Client has seen it working. A later phase begins only when its schedule is signed and its deposit received.

PhaseTimelineDepositOn completionPhase total
Phase 1 · Foundations and audit Weeks 1 to 3 $1,600 $1,600 $3,200
Phase 2 · The build Weeks 3 to 6 $2,100 $2,100 $4,200
Phase 3 · Intelligence and launch Weeks 6 to 9 $1,300 $1,300 $2,600
All phases $5,000 $5,000 $10,000

Due at signing

$1,600

Half of Phase 1 · Foundations and audit, nothing more. Work begins on receipt.

Every later phase

50 / 50

Starts only when the Client signs that phase's schedule. Half up front, half at that phase's sign-off.

Overdue balances pause work and accrue 1.5% per month after 14 days.

03Terms

  • Phases. Each phase runs under its own signed schedule with its own timeline and its own 50/50 payment. A later phase starts only when its schedule is signed and its deposit received. The Client may stop after any completed phase, keep everything built to that point, and owe nothing further beyond that phase's balance.
  • Fixed price, by deliverable. Each phase is a fixed price for the deliverables listed in its schedule, not an hourly bill. The hour estimates are how the Consultant sizes a fair price; if a deliverable takes longer than estimated, the price does not change and the Client owes nothing beyond the agreed phase price.
  • Timeline. Working estimates per phase, not promises to the calendar. Client review time and third-party access can shift dates; they never shift prices.
  • Revisions. Two rounds of revisions per deliverable are included. A round is one consolidated list of changes. Fixing anything broken in delivered work is always free and never counts as a revision.
  • Scope changes. New work the Client adds beyond the signed deliverables is welcome, quoted in writing at $200/hr, and never started without the Client's written OK. An overrun on already-listed deliverables is not new work and is never billed.
  • Ownership. On payment of each phase's balance, the Client owns that phase's deliverables outright: design files, code, copy, data, and accounts. The Consultant's pre-existing tools and the UlricCMS engine remain the Consultant's and are licensed to the Client perpetually, at no charge.
  • Maintenance. Ongoing maintenance follows launch at no charge: 30 days on the Blitz, three months on the Sprint and Relay, six months on the Marathon. Updates, backups, uptime monitoring, and fixes. Optional monthly care plans after; either party may end them with 30 days written notice.
  • Third-party costs. Hosting, domains, and usage fees stay on the Client's own accounts, at cost. Consultant recommends, Client approves, Client owns.
  • Client materials. The Client warrants they have rights to all content they provide (photos, logos, copy, data), and agrees to deliver materials and feedback within agreed windows; long silences re-queue the project.
  • Trained systems. Any assistant or automation ships with guardrails the Client approves: it identifies itself as automated, never trains public models on Client data, and hands sensitive moments to a human.
  • Confidentiality. The Consultant keeps the Client's business data and numbers confidential, during and after the engagement.
  • Cancellation. Either party may cancel in writing. The Client pays for deliverables completed to date; any unearned deposit is refunded, any earned balance is due, and the Client keeps all completed work.
  • Liability. The Consultant's total liability is capped at fees actually paid under this agreement.
  • Good faith. Any dispute gets a phone call before anything else. Oregon law governs.

04Signatures

Your Name

Your Business · Client

Eric Richers

Ulric · Consultant

Ulric · Eugene, Oregon · ulric.studio Sample agreement · numbers shown are the published Relay example

Get a real one with your name on it

Ready when you are

Start with the free call.

Fifteen minutes, no pitch deck, no obligation. You leave with an honest read on scope, tier, and cost, whether or not we work together.

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