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How a Benchford build works, step by step

Every step ends with something in writing: a scope, a price, a date, a checklist, a status note. Here is what you receive at each one.

Start a Blueprint
30 min Free scoping call
50 / 50 Payment split
30 days Launch refund window
12 months Defect warranty

The whole job on one line

From first call to a system that is looked after.

  1. 01

    Scoping call

    Thirty minutes, free, by phone or video.

  2. 02

    Blueprint

    Optional paid scoping, $500 or $1,500.

  3. 03

    Proposal

    Fixed price, what is in, and a ship date.

  4. 04

    Build

    In staging, with a written weekly status.

  5. 05

    Acceptance

    Run together. Second 50% due when it passes.

  6. 06

    Launch and care

    Rollback ready. Care from $149 a month.

Step by step

What you get at each step

What you receive, what we need from you, and how long it takes. Every document here is a sample with made-up data.

  1. Free scoping call

    You receive a straight answer on whether software is the fix or a $16 to $50 a month tool will do. Every price is on the pricing page before you call.

    • We need: what you use now, who touches it and what it costs you
    • How long: thirty minutes by phone or video
    Published prices
    Benchford price card: Focused build $4,950, Complete $9,850, Build + Extend $22,500, Blueprint $500 or $1,500, care $149, $299 or $499 a month

  2. Blueprint, if you want one

    You receive a written scope, an acceptance checklist, a fixed quote and a clickable prototype. You own them either way. The scope says what is built, what is not, and what each line costs.

    • We need: time with the people who use the system today
    • How long: the delivery date is in the Blueprint agreement
    Sample written scope page: six priced lines that add up to a build price of $9,850
    Sample

  3. Written proposal

    You receive a fixed price, what is and is not included, the acceptance checklist and a ship date, in your own client portal. We name no date before we have a scope.

    • We need: your signature and the first 50%
    • How long: the ship date is set in your contract after scoping
    Demo data

  4. Build in staging

    You receive a staging link you can click through as the work grows, and a written status every week: what shipped, what is next, which risks we see and what we need from you.

    • We need: answers and files by the dates in the schedule
    • How long: to the ship date in your contract
    Sample weekly status note listing what shipped, what is next, risks, what we need from you, and milestones to the ship date
    Sample

  5. Acceptance checklist

    The list we both sign before the build starts. A line reads like this: a customer books, and staff see it on the schedule within one minute. The launch passes it line by line, in the view your staff and customers use.

    • We need: you at the checklist run
    • The second 50% is due when the checklist passes
    Sample acceptance checklist with six checkable scenarios and the result expected for each
    Sample

  6. Launch and care

    You receive a launch with automatic rollback, a 12-month defect warranty and a handover runbook: how it runs, where the accounts are and how another developer could take over.

    • We need: your choice of care plan, or none
    • If an item cannot pass within 30 days of launch, the final 50% is refunded
    Sample handover runbook page covering account ownership, release and roll back, and restore from backup
    Sample
Published prices
Benchford price card: Focused build $4,950, Complete $9,850, Build + Extend $22,500, Blueprint $500 or $1,500, care $149, $299 or $499 a month
Sample written scope page: six priced lines that add up to a build price of $9,850
Sample
Demo data
Sample weekly status note listing what shipped, what is next, risks, what we need from you, and milestones to the ship date
Sample
Sample acceptance checklist with six checkable scenarios and the result expected for each
Sample
Sample handover runbook page covering account ownership, release and roll back, and restore from backup
Sample

Tools and AI

The disclosure that is also in your contract.

We use AI-assisted development tools to write and test code. An engineer reviews every change before it ships, and that engineer is the person you talk to.

We send outside AI services the minimum of your data a task needs. We send no protected health information unless the provider is covered by a business associate agreement. Your contract has a short Tools and AI section that says all of this in plain words.

These tools are part of why a build costs less and ships on a date we can write down. They are not what we sell. What we sell is software that works as written on your acceptance checklist, owned by you.

How long does a build take?

The ship date is set in your contract after scoping, based on the written scope. We do not quote a date before we have a scope, because a date without a scope is a guess. You get a written status every week, so you always see where the build stands against the date.

Do I have to buy a Blueprint?

No. A Blueprint is for projects that are not yet clear. If your scope is already clear, we can quote the build directly after the scoping call. If you do buy one, the fee is credited in full when you sign the build within 30 days of delivery.

What is on an acceptance checklist?

A list of things that must work, each written as who does what and what should happen. For a booking build, one line reads: a customer books an appointment, and it appears on the staff schedule within one minute. Another: a customer cancels from the confirmation email, and the slot reopens. We run every line with you, in the view your staff and customers will use.

How does payment work?

Half at signing and half when your acceptance checklist passes at launch. If a checklist item cannot pass within 30 days of launch, we refund the final 50 percent. A care plan, if you choose one, starts after launch and is a separate monthly line.

What if I want to change something mid-build?

Changes before sign-off are part of the proposal. Changes after sign-off are a written change order at $175 an hour, and you approve the estimate before work starts.

Who can see the work while it is built?

You can. You get a staging link to click through as the work grows, and a written status every week.

What happens after launch?

Launch runs with automatic rollback. Defects in what we built are fixed at no charge for 12 months. A care plan from $149 a month adds hosting, monitoring, backups and a monthly health report, and you can add tweak hours at higher tiers.

What if I want to leave after launch?

You own the code and the data, in accounts in your name, with a runbook. A care plan is month to month. Cancel in one step and export everything.

Do you use AI to write the code?

We use AI-assisted development tools, and an engineer reviews every change before it ships. Your contract says so in a short Tools and AI section.

Start with a conversation

A free scoping call, then a written proposal with a fixed price and a ship date.

Start a Blueprint Get a written quote