Systems Audit
Free initial assessment
Identify where work breaks, which tools are creating friction and whether custom software is financially justified.
01 · Compare
Ownership & Cost
You keep paying. They keep control.
Recurring software rent and a system built around your operation aren’t the same purchase. One compounds every year. The other is built once and belongs to you. That doesn’t make custom automatically cheaper, and ACS doesn’t rebuild every feature of an all-in-one platform — it builds the smaller set of workflows your operation actually runs on.
Keep what works. Remove what doesn’t. Build the system around your operation.
Rented · every year
Year 1 → Year 4
Cancels your workflowACS foundation
Built onceOwned
Same foundation · year 4
Belongs to your business- Your per-seat price climbs every time you add an employee.
- You pay for modules your team never opens.
- A third integration is now part of the monthly bill.
- Canceling one tool would erase part of how you operate.
02 · The Honest Math
Ownership & Cost
Rent compounds. A foundation doesn’t.
The monthly number looks small because it’s split across tools. Added together, most small contractors are already paying the cost of a custom system every year — and keeping none of it.
What you pay forRecurring rentACS foundation
Core system$150–$400 / moScoped into the initial build
Employee access (5 crew)$200–$500 / moACS does not add per-seat licensing
Selected modules$75–$250 / moOnly the workflows selected for the project
Integrations$50–$150 / moConnection work scoped into the build
Hosting & external servicesBundled into the subscriptionPaid separately and transparently
Future additionsNew tier or add-on feeQuoted only when the client chooses to expand
Annual total (approx.)$5,700–$15,600One-time build
Three-year total (approx.)$17,100–$46,800Same foundation
ACS does not add per-employee licensing. Hosting, platform usage, payment processing, messaging, accounting software and other third-party services remain separate and may change as usage grows.
Ranges are illustrative, drawn from common small-business stacks — not a quote, and savings are not guaranteed. Your actual numbers come out in the Systems Audit.
03 · How ACS Pricing Works
Ownership & Cost
Scoped around your operation. Not a package off a shelf.
Every engagement starts small and earns the next step. “Starting at” and “typically” mean what they say — final scope determines price, and the scope is written into the project agreement before any build begins.
System Blueprint
$1,500–$2,500
Detailed workflow mapping, module selection, migration requirements, integrations and implementation plan.
Blueprint cost may be credited toward the build when included in the final project agreement.
Focused Custom System
Starting at $12,500
For contractors replacing scattered tools or retaining only the most valuable functions of a larger platform.
Typical scope
- Three to five major workflows
- Customer and job records
- Scheduling or dispatch
- Estimates and approvals
- Technician workflow
- Customer portal or online booking
- Standard data migration
- Owner dashboard
- Standard roles and permissions
Typical scope — not a promise that every listed capability is included in every $12,500 engagement. Final scope is defined in the project agreement.
Advanced Operational System
Typically $20,000–$30,000
Appropriate for
- More departments or locations
- Advanced historical-data migration
- Accounting and communication integrations
- Advanced automations
- Custom reporting
- More complicated permissions
- Several employee and customer experiences
Complex System
Starting at $30,000+
Appropriate for
- Multiple locations
- Large or difficult data migrations
- Extensive integrations
- Complex operational rules
- Business-critical workflows
- Larger implementation and testing requirements
These figures are starting points and typical ranges, not fixed quotes. Final scope determines price.
04 · Ongoing Costs
Ownership & Cost
No mandatory retainer. No hidden operating costs either.
Owning the system means two different kinds of ongoing cost stay clearly separated: the operating expenses any software needs to run, and optional ACS support you can take or leave.
Required operating expenses
Paid directly by the client whenever practical.
- Hosting and platform usage
- Email and SMS usage
- Payment-processing fees
- Mapping or external APIs
- Accounting software
- Other third-party services selected by the client
ACS Care
Starting at $399 per month — optional
- Monitoring
- Backup and recovery oversight
- Security reviews
- Priority support
- Minor fixes
- Small ongoing improvements
- Platform and integration maintenance
Essential
$75 per month · month to month, cancel with 30 days' notice
The essentials for a healthy, dependable website.
- Platform, theme, and plugin updates, tested before they go live
- Regular off-site backups, so your website can be restored if needed
- 24/7 uptime monitoring to identify outages quickly
- Security scans and fast response to suspicious activity
Content edits: $75 per hour, always approved by you before work begins.
Recommended
Complete
$139 per month · month to month, cancel with 30 days' notice
Ongoing care plus hands-on help with small updates.
- Everything included in the Essential plan
- Up to 1 hour of small updates each month, including text, product, photo, and minor layout changes
- Priority email support with a response within 1 business day
- A short monthly report covering updates, protection, and checks performed
Additional work: $75 per hour beyond the included hour, always approved by you first.
Larger or more complex systems may require support plans ranging from $599 to $1,500 per month.
Clients are not required to maintain an ACS Care plan. Support outside a care plan can be provided at $175 per hour or through a separately approved project.
There is no mandatory ACS retainer — but third-party operating expenses like hosting and platform usage may still be required to keep the system running.
05 · Example Cost
Ownership & Cost
Example: focused system with optional ACS Care
Initial build$12,500
Optional ACS Care$399 per month
Year 1$17,288
Year 2$4,788
Year 3$4,788
Three-year total$26,864
Illustrative example only. Hosting, platform usage, third-party provider fees, data migration beyond the agreed scope and future feature additions are not included.
06 · What Ownership Means
Ownership & Cost
You’re not renting software. You’re renting access to your own operation.
Ownership isn’t a slogan. It’s the difference between a system that belongs to your business and one that can be taken away by a price change, an acquisition, or a terms update.
Your data
Customer, job, and financial records live in a system you control — not locked behind a subscription you can’t cancel.
Your workflow
The system matches how your operation actually moves, instead of forcing your team to work the way a platform assumes.
Your application foundation
Your application code, backend functions and business data can be exported and handed to another qualified developer. Managed hosting, authentication and database infrastructure may require migration to another provider.
Your timeline
No roadmap dictated by a vendor. You decide what gets built next, and when. We help when you want it.
Ownership does not mean operating technology has no ongoing cost. It means ACS does not hold the company’s workflow hostage behind an unnecessary per-seat license or mandatory support agreement.
Own the foundation. Control the cost.
07 · Fit & FAQ
Ownership & Cost
Straight answers before you book anything.
Is ACS an all-in-one software platform?
No. ACS builds the connected workflows your operation actually needs. The goal is not to recreate hundreds of features your team will never use.
Can ACS preserve what we like about our current software?
Yes. ACS can map the functions your team depends on, rebuild those workflows independently and migrate customer-owned data that can legally and practically be exported. ACS does not copy another company's proprietary software.
Will our monthly software costs become zero?
No. Hosting, platform usage and selected third-party services still have operating costs. The difference is that those expenses are visible, purposeful and not inflated by unnecessary per-seat licensing from ACS.
What determines the final build price?
The number and complexity of workflows, data migration, integrations, user roles, automation, reporting and testing requirements.
Find out what your operation actually needs.
We'll identify what should stay, what should disappear and what is worth rebuilding around your company.
Built from inside the operation—not from the sidelines.
Take the Free Systems AuditFree initial conversation. No obligation to build.
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