What was said
What this says
Current to 11 Oct 26Tom Ashdown walked Hugh Fenton and Chris Jagger through a Starter proposal at £22,000 a year plus a £6,000 fixed implementation. Chris, the finance director, asked about payment flexibility and cancellation, then took the proposal away to read.
What happened: On 6 Jan 2026 Tom presented the Starter proposal to Hugh, Head of Data, and Chris, Finance Director. Scope was fifteen users, four connectors, pages, chat and search, with a four-week implementation.
Customer view: Chris led with cost, payment period and exit terms. He did not commit, saying he would read the proposal first.
Commercial: Tom offered quarterly billing subject to a check with the finance team, and said he would send an order form once both were happy. He was unsure of the mid-term exit terms and said he would check with his manager.
Watch: The cancellation question suggests a cautious finance buyer. The evidence does not show a decision on this call.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Who was there
BB-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Tom Ashdown to send the proposal document and then an order form to Chris Jagger.
- Tom Ashdown to confirm quarterly billing and mid-term exit terms with finance and his manager.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- Chris asked about cancelling mid-term and Tom had no firm answer on exit terms.
- Chris has not committed and wants to read the proposal before replying.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- Quarterly billing could remove a payment objection if the finance team agrees.
- Hugh's questions about support and technical effort show real interest in the Starter scope.
Transcript
- Tom Ashdown NoneChris, thanks for joining. Hugh's seen the demo, and I wanted to walk you both through the proposal now that I've put it together.
- Chris Jagger NoneSure. What are we looking at in terms of cost and timeline?
- Tom Ashdown NoneRight. So for Starter, which is what we'd recommend for you, that's twenty-two thousand a year for the subscription, plus six thousand for implementation. Total of twenty-eight thousand. The implementation runs four weeks, so you'd be live by mid-April, all four connectors.
- Hugh Fenton NoneWhen does the annual fee run from?
- Tom Ashdown NoneFrom go-live. So if you sign this week, go live mid-April, your first invoice would be for the implementation and the subscription from April onwards. Then it renews annually on the same date.
- Chris Jagger NoneOkay. And what's included in the twenty-two thousand?
- Tom Ashdown NoneStarter includes fifteen users, four connectors: so your tickets, invoices, calls and CRM. Pages, chat and search functionality. You get nightly data refreshes, and we do six-monthly check-ins to make sure you're getting value.
- Hugh Fenton NoneSix-monthly? What if we have issues before then?
- Tom Ashdown NoneYou've got a helpdesk, we respond within four business hours on Starter. And if you need something bespoke we can talk about Premium support later on, but it's included in the tier for standard issues.
- Chris Jagger NoneIs there flexibility on the subscription period? Do we have to pay annually?
- Tom Ashdown NoneStandard is annual in advance, but we can do quarterly if that works better for you, I'd just need to check with the finance team.
- Chris Jagger NoneLet me think about that. What about the implementation side, is the six thousand a fixed fee or does it depend on complexity?
- Tom Ashdown NoneFixed. The four weeks is a fixed engagement: we handle the connector setup, data mapping, testing. If you need extra days we'd talk about it, but assuming standard setup it's six thousand and four weeks.
- Hugh Fenton NoneAnd we don't need to do any of the technical work?
- Tom Ashdown NoneYou'd need to give us access to those systems, Snowflake, your ticketing system, the call recorder. But we build the connectors, test them, hand it over to you. Toby would probably want to be in on a couple of calls to learn how it works, but that's it.
- Chris Jagger NoneAlright. And what happens if we decide this isn't working out, can we cancel?
- Tom Ashdown NoneYou've got a one-year term from go-live. After that, month to month. If you wanted to leave mid-term, I'd have to check with my manager: normally there's some notice and cost, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Usually once people see the value they stick around.
- Hugh Fenton NoneFair enough. What do we need to do to move forward?
- Tom Ashdown NoneIf this all looks good to you both, I'll send over an order form. It's the formal agreement with all the terms. Once you've signed, we'll kick off the implementation. Sound alright?
- Chris Jagger NoneYeah, I think so. Let me have a quick read through what you've put together, and I'll come back to you if I've got questions.
- Tom Ashdown NonePerfect. I'll send the proposal document over tomorrow morning. Cheers, Chris.