Fees · Engagement Economics

How we charge, and why it is structured this way.

We are buyer side only. We take no commission from Microsoft, no reseller margin, and no partner incentive of any kind. The only way we get paid is by you, for outcomes delivered against your contract. That single fact decides how every fee is structured: our incentive and yours point in the same direction. We earn nothing from products sold or renewed.

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The principle

One source of revenue.

A reseller earns more when you buy more. A Microsoft partner earns incentives tied to what Microsoft wants to sell. We earn from neither. Our entire revenue comes from the buyer, which means the only way we succeed is by improving your position against the contract. This is the foundation of independent advisory and the reason our fee models are built to keep that alignment visible.

Model one

Fixed fee

A defined scope at a defined price, agreed before the engagement begins. Used where the work is well bounded, such as a single renewal or a discrete assessment. You know the cost before we start, and it does not move with the size of the savings.

Model two

Performance based

A share of the verified savings against a documented baseline. Used on larger renewals and audit settlements where the upside is substantial and you would rather tie our fee to the result. The baseline is agreed up front so the savings are measured, not asserted.

Model three

Retainer

A standing fee for on call counsel across the lifecycle. Used by organizations that treat Microsoft as a continuous negotiation. Covered in full on the retainer engagement page.

How we choose

The model follows the engagement.

We do not push a single fee structure. The right model depends on the shape of the work, the size of the contract, and how you prefer to carry the cost. In a first conversation we will tell you which model fits and why, and we will be direct if an engagement is not worth the fee for your situation. A flagship EA renewal negotiation often suits a performance based or blended model; a focused assessment usually suits a fixed fee.

  • Scope clarity favors a fixed fee. When the deliverable is well defined, a fixed price is cleaner for everyone.
  • Large upside favors performance based fees, so you pay in proportion to what we recover.
  • Ongoing exposure favors a retainer, so counsel is in place before the next event lands.
  • Blended structures combine a base fee with a performance component where the engagement spans both.
The alignment
If we earned a margin on what you bought, you could never be sure whose interest the advice served. We removed that question by removing the margin. You are the only client we are paid to serve.
Microsoft Licensing Experts · Fees
What to expect

No fee before scope.

The first two analyst calls carry no charge and no obligation. We use them to understand the engagement, tell you what the leverage looks like, and propose a fee model. You see a defined scope and a defined cost before anything is committed.

01

Two calls

No charge, no pitch. We scope the work and tell you whether we are the right firm for it.

02

Written proposal

A defined scope, the fee model, and the cost, in writing, before you commit.

03

Agreed baseline

Where fees are performance based, the savings baseline is documented and agreed first.

04

Delivery

We run the engagement to the agreed scope. The fee does not drift mid engagement.

Initiate engagement

See the fee model that fits your engagement.

Two analyst calls at no charge. We scope the work, propose the right fee structure, and tell you honestly whether the engagement is worth it for your situation.

Who we work for.Buyer side only. No reseller relationship with Microsoft. No partnership of any kind. We earn nothing from products sold or renewed, only from outcomes delivered against the contract.