Flat fee. One time. Yours.
No subscription. No SOWs. No monthly retainers. No per-seat scaling. The cockpit is yours — like any piece of equipment your business buys.
Typical build: $3,500 to $8,500, one-time flat fee · sized at the kickoff call after we listen to your business.
The three typical builds.
Sized at the kickoff call based on your business, your data complexity, and your integration needs. The number is the number — no scope-creep invoices afterward.
- Custom-built cockpit (3–4 panels)
- Phone + desktop web app
- Your real accounts loaded
- 1 week of refinement after launch
- You own the code + data
- 25-mile market exclusivity
- Custom cockpit (5–7 panels)
- Phone + desktop + iOS / Android optional
- 1–2 third-party integrations (QuickBooks, Stripe, Twilio, etc.)
- Multi-role views (owner / admin / staff)
- 2 weeks of refinement after launch
- You own the code + data
- 25-mile market exclusivity
- Custom cockpit (7+ panels)
- Full multi-platform deployment
- 3+ third-party integrations
- Compliance posture (BAA for HIPAA, etc.)
- Multi-location data isolation
- 3 weeks of refinement after launch
- You own the code + data
- 25-mile market exclusivity
The tier names are guidance — your actual build gets sized at the kickoff call after we understand your business. Quotes outside this range happen occasionally for very large or very small scope; we tell you upfront if your number is going to be different.
What's included in every build.
And what's not.
No surprise invoices. If something isn't on the "included" list, it's either an add-on (priced below) or out of scope.
→ Included in the flat fee
- Discovery and kickoff call (no separate "consulting" charge)
- The cockpit built around your real workflow, your real accounts
- First working version live in 7–10 days
- 1–3 weeks of refinement after launch (tier dependent)
- You own the code, hosted in your own infrastructure
- Hand-off + training session for you and any staff
- 25-mile market exclusivity in your industry
- Documentation for anything custom
→ NOT included (priced separately or out of scope)
- Third-party API costs you incur directly (Stripe processing fees, Twilio SMS rates, Mapbox tiles, etc.)
- Domain registration / SSL / hosting (these pass through at actual cost)
- Hardware (printers, scanners, tablets — buy what you want)
- Branding / marketing site design beyond the cockpit itself
- A second cockpit for a different business or vertical (= a new project)
- Major new features after the refinement window (= add-ons, priced below)
- Ongoing maintenance, training, or hand-holding after refinement (no retainer model)
Market exclusivity.
Built in, not an upsell.
Operators rightly worry: if you build this for me, what stops you from selling the same cockpit to my direct competitor across town? Two answers.
First, the technical reality: every cockpit is custom-fit to your accounts, your workflow, your team structure, your branding. Even if a direct competitor hired us for the same vertical, what we'd build them would be different — built around their accounts, their workflow.
Second, the contractual answer: every build includes a market-exclusivity clause by default.
The exclusivity guarantee Included
For 24 months from launch, within 25 miles of your primary business address, we will not build a cockpit in your industry for another operator. Period. If a competitor inquires, we tell them the territory is taken and refer them to a different vertical or location.
After 24 months, exclusivity renews automatically unless you've stopped using the cockpit. National exclusivity is available on request for specific verticals; we'd rather talk about it than auto-publish a price.
Veteran operator program.
If you served in the United States military, or you run a veteran-owned business (51%+), the build fee is discounted 15%. Same scope, same delivery timeline, same exclusivity. No paperwork beyond a copy of your DD-214 or your SBA Veteran-Owned Small Business certificate at kickoff.
Veteran discount 15% off
The trades and service-business world we build for is full of veterans — that's not separate from our audience, that's the core of it. The discount is a flat 15% off the build fee on every tier. Applies to active duty, veterans (all branches), reservists, and 51%+ veteran-owned businesses. Honored on a handshake at kickoff — we don't want anyone uploading military records to a website form.
Stacking rule: stacks with installment payments. Doesn't stack with sliding-scale arrangements (no point — we'd just be reducing twice from the same baseline).
Hosting and ongoing costs.
Pass-through, not markup.
The cockpit runs on real cloud infrastructure (typically Supabase + Cloudflare or Deno Deploy in US regions). Those services bill at consumption — usually $30 to $60 per month for a typical operator-sized cockpit.
We pass that cost through at actual cost. You can either:
Add-ons, when you want them.
After the cockpit ships and the refinement window closes, most operators are good for months without touching it. When you want changes, here's the menu — flat-fee per item, no retainer required.
Compared to the alternatives.
Most operators arrive having priced custom software at $40k–$250k from an agency, or $200–$1,000+/month from a SaaS that doesn't quite fit. Here's the honest comparison.
| Aspect | Heisenbug | Typical SaaS subscription | Custom agency build |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build cost | $3,500–$8,500 one time | Usually $0 setup | $40k–$250k |
| Ongoing cost | $30–60/mo hosting only | $200–$1,000+/mo + per-seat fees | $5k–$20k/mo maintenance retainer typical |
| Custom-fit? | Yes, to your accounts | No — you bend to its shape | Yes, but slow + expensive |
| You own the code? | Yes | No — you rent access | Usually no (their IP) |
| Time to first working version | 7–10 days | Same day (off the shelf) | 3–6 months typical |
| Lock-in? | Zero — leave anytime, take the code | Annual contracts, data export limited | Vendor-managed infrastructure typical |
| Market exclusivity? | 25 miles, included | Sold to anyone | Rarely offered |
| 3-year total cost (typical) | ~$5,500 + $1,800 hosting = $7,300 | $18,000+ subscription | $80,000+ build + maintenance |
Numbers in the comparison are typical-case averages from publicly available SaaS pricing and agency quotes. Your situation might be different.
Pricing FAQ.
Is the $3,500–$8,500 monthly or one-time?
One-time. You pay once when the cockpit ships, and the cockpit is yours. There is no recurring "Heisenbug subscription" you pay forever. The only recurring cost is the actual cloud hosting (~$30–60/month), which you can pay your cloud provider directly if you prefer.
Why is the range so wide ($3,500 to $8,500)?
Operators come in different shapes. A solo HVAC contractor with one truck and one phone number needs less than a 12-location home health agency with state EVV compliance and three integrations. We size your build at the kickoff call after the discovery — by the time you get the number, you'll understand exactly why it lands where it does.
What does market exclusivity actually mean?
For 24 months from the day your cockpit goes live, within 25 miles of your primary business address, we will not build a cockpit in your industry for another operator. If a direct competitor reaches out, we tell them the territory is taken and either decline or steer them to a different vertical / city. You can extend the radius to 50 miles ($1,500 one time) or statewide ($4,000 one time). National exclusivity by request.
What if I want to keep evolving the cockpit after the first version?
Three options. (1) Take the code and run. You own it — bring in your own developer or do it yourself. (2) Pay for add-ons à la carte. Each new panel, integration, or feature gets a flat-fee quote upfront — see the add-on menu above. (3) Opt into the $200/month priority response retainer. 24-hour response on issues, ad-hoc work billed at flat fee. Most operators stay on option 1 or 2.
Can I pay in installments?
Yes. Typical structure is 40% at kickoff (after discovery, before we start coding), 40% at the first working version (day 7–10), 20% at the end of the refinement window. We can adjust the structure for cash-flow-sensitive operators — say so at the kickoff call.
What if I want a refund?
If the first working version doesn't fit your business at all — not "not perfect," but "not the shape of my workflow at all" — we refund the kickoff payment and the cockpit code stays with you. We've never had this happen because we discover hard before we build. But it's the honest answer to a fair question.
Do you do equity deals or revenue share instead of cash?
No. We're not investors and we're not a startup studio. The flat-fee model is simple by design — for both sides. Operators run on cash; we want cash; equity gets messy.
What about non-profits, government, or operators in severe cash-flow distress?
We've done sliding-scale work in specific cases (typically family connections or operators whose existing software is actively bankrupting them). Ask directly. The answer is usually yes, with a clear conversation about why and how much.
What does the kickoff call actually look like?
30 minutes on the phone or video. We ask three things: (1) walk us through how you actually run a day in your business, what the tabs and tools are; (2) what hurts the most that we should fix first; (3) what's your budget reality. We listen mostly. By the end of the call you either have a number and a delivery date, or you have an honest "we're not the right fit for this." No follow-up sales calls. No proposals you'll wait two weeks for.
Ready for a number?
The fastest way to know what your cockpit would cost is the 30-minute discovery call. We'll know enough by the end of it to give you a flat fee and a delivery date.
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