Before you buy help with AI, explain the decision to someone who was not on the sales call. A spouse, business partner, or CPA should be able to understand the cost, the work included, and how you will judge whether it helped.
That conversation should not depend on model names or a prediction about the future. It should start with the work your business needs to do better.
Say the cost and the scope together
Applied Margin has three primary ways to work together:
- AI Workflow Sprint — $1,500 fixed. One team of up to five people, a short leadership kickoff, two hands-on working sessions, two to three reusable workflows, written instructions, a prioritized opportunity map, and one follow-up session. Session lengths and scheduling are agreed before booking. Software, integrations, and subscriptions are separate. There is no automatic credit toward a later build.
- Implementation — from $3,500. The starting scope is one focused knowledge use case using agreed materials and users. Automation, integrations, and custom software beyond that scope are priced separately. The proposal defines the system, tests, training, and handoff.
- Ongoing Partnership — from $1,500 per month. The starting scope is two 45-minute working sessions each month and one lightweight skill or workflow improvement, with a three-month opening term. Larger implementation work and software or platform costs are separate.
Those are different purchases. The Sprint helps a team use AI on real work. Implementation delivers an agreed system. Ongoing Partnership supports continued improvement. You do not have to buy all three or move through them in order.
An optional $1,500 Margin Scan remains available for deeper discovery, including a 45–60 minute owner interview and seven-business-day analysis. Its existing credit and guarantee terms apply to the Scan, not the Sprint. A free introductory conversation helps establish fit; it is not a free audit.
Explain the work it improves
Name a recurring task: the first draft of a quote, an internal knowledge question, a weekly client update, or the review of a follow-up message. Then name the person who does it today and the part of the work they will still own.
AI can assist with drafts, retrieval, and repeatable steps. A person remains responsible for consequential decisions and for reviewing work that needs judgment. The purpose is a more capable team and a useful system, not a claim that a subscription replaces a job.
A credible business case also includes the cost of using the system: software, model usage, maintenance, review time, and the effort required to change how people work. Saving an hour is not the same as adding an hour of billable revenue.
Separate estimates from results
Hypothetical, not a client result or a promise: a recurring report takes 20 staff hours each month. At a loaded labor cost of $40 an hour, that represents $800 of staff capacity. If a tested workflow reduced the effort by 25%, it would release five hours, or $200 of capacity at that assumed rate. That does not prove a $1,500 monthly service pays for itself. Other benefits may matter, but they need their own evidence.
Use your actual volume and costs. Account for review and exceptions. Include all fees. If the case depends on an optimistic estimate or a task that rarely happens, choose a smaller first step or leave the task alone.
Ask your CPA how the agreed services and any software work should be treated in your accounts. The answer depends on the actual work and your circumstances, not the label on a website.
What done looks like
For the Sprint, done means the agreed sessions and follow-up are delivered and the team has its reusable workflows, instructions, and opportunity map. You keep those materials whether or not you buy implementation.
For Implementation, done is defined in writing before building: the agreed capability, representative test cases, human review and exception handling, operator training, and handoff. The starting price does not imply that every custom system fits the same scope.
For Ongoing Partnership, review the agreed lightweight improvement and what the team learned in the working sessions. Do not judge it by the number of meetings alone. A new application or integration requires its own scope; it is not silently included in the starting monthly fee.
A script for the kitchen table
The workflow or team problem is:
The engagement we are considering is:
Its service fee and opening term, if any, are:
Software and other separate costs are:
The included deliverables are:
The work that is outside scope is:
The person who will own the workflow is:
The starting point and success measure are:
The next decision we will make after this work is:
If you cannot fill in those lines, ask for clarity before committing. A useful proposal should make the decision easier to explain, not harder.
FAQ
Is an AI consultant worth it for a small business? Only when the work, cost, and expected benefit make sense for that business. Start with a defined engagement and use real evidence. There is no general ROI guarantee.
How do I explain the monthly fee to my CPA? Explain the scope: Ongoing Partnership starts at $1,500 per month for two 45-minute working sessions and one lightweight improvement each month, with a three-month opening term. Show separate software costs and any separately scoped implementation. Compare the full cost with realistic benefits.
Do we have to sign a monthly agreement to get started? No. The fixed-price Sprint and a scoped Implementation are separate options. A free introductory conversation can help identify the right starting point; optional paid discovery is available when the problem needs a deeper look.
Let’s talk about your business. Bring the operational question and the financial questions. We will agree the scope and price before work begins.