What was said
What this says
Current to 11 Oct 26Tom Ashdown walked Darren Blakey and Finance Director Pauline Metcalfe through the Starter proposal at £24,525. Pauline tested renewal and exit terms and called the pricing reasonable. An order form was to follow.
What happened: Pauline joined for the first time and questioned the price, payment terms, support response and what happens beyond 15 users. Tom confirmed that £24,525 is a one-off covering implementation plus year one.
Customer view: Pauline said the pricing looked reasonable and Darren said it worked for them. She asked whether the contract auto-renews and whether there is an exit clause.
Commercial: Tom said renewal is a new order form sent 90 days out, with no automatic renewal and no penalty at the end of the term. Payment is invoiced on signature, 30 days.
Watch: Tom promised a quarterly check-in, while the brief lists six-monthly for Starter, so the order form should be checked against it. The call does not show whether the order form was signed.
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 one-page order form after the call.
- Pauline Metcalfe and Darren Blakey to review it and reply the following week.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- Pauline asked about exit at year one, so the first renewal is an explicit decision point.
- A quarterly check-in was promised on a Starter proposal, which may not match the standard tier.
- The call does not show whether the order form was signed.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- Tom told Pauline that users can be added 10 at a time, or the account can move to Growth.
- A clear value case in year one would support a straightforward renewal.
Transcript
- Tom Ashdown NoneMorning, everyone. Thanks for taking the call. I've got the proposal ready and I wanted to walk through it with you both, Darren, you've seen how the brain works, and Pauline, this is your first look, so I want to make sure it all makes sense.
- Pauline Metcalfe NoneGreat. Walk me through it. I want to understand what we're investing in and what the terms look like.
- Tom Ashdown NoneRight. So you're on the Starter tier. That gives you four connectors: we've scoped that to your CRM, your accounting system, delivery data and the spreadsheets you use. Up to 15 licensed users, which covers your ops team and anyone else who needs access.
- Tom Ashdown NoneThe deal is 24,525 all-in. That's the implementation: getting the connectors built and live, your data loaded, your team trained, and your first year's subscription. So you pay that upfront and you're live and running.
- Pauline Metcalfe NoneOK. And the 24,525, is that the annual cost or is that one-time?
- Tom Ashdown NoneGood question. The 24,525 is one-time for implementation plus year one of the subscription. So come next June, the subscription renews on an annual basis.
- Pauline Metcalfe NoneSo we're looking at 24,525 now and then an annual renewal each year after that. What's the payment terms?
- Tom Ashdown NoneInvoice on signature of the order form, 30 days. So we send the order, you sign it, we invoice that day, and you pay within the month. Same for renewals, we invoice at the start of the renewal period.
- Pauline Metcalfe NoneOK. And what's included in the subscription? What do we get for the annual fee?
- Tom Ashdown NoneSo you get the brain, the search and dashboard tools. You get your data refreshed every night, and we're committed to that. You get support, email or phone if something goes wrong. And we'll do a check-in every quarter to see how you're using it and what's working.
- Darren Blakey NoneWhat about if there's a problem, what's the response time?
- Tom Ashdown NoneStarter tier is 4 business hours for first response to any issue. So if something goes down, you'll hear from us within that time.
- Pauline Metcalfe NoneAnd if we go over 15 users, what happens?
- Tom Ashdown NoneYou can add users, 10 users at a time as an add-on. Some customers start Starter and then upgrade to Growth if they need more users and connectors. But for now, you're Starter.
- Pauline Metcalfe NoneAlright. Timeline, when would you go live?
- Tom Ashdown NoneOnce you sign the order form, we'd get started in the next week. Four weeks from kickoff and you're live. So you sign in early July, you could be using it by early August.
- Darren Blakey NoneThat works for us. Pauline, you OK with the pricing?
- Pauline Metcalfe NoneYeah, this looks reasonable. Let me just: the contract is annual and auto-renews, is that right? Or do we have to re-sign each time?
- Tom Ashdown NoneAnnual term, signed order form covers that. When it comes to renewal, we'll send over a new order form 90 days out and you'll sign again for the next 12 months. So there's no automatic renewal, you're in control.
- Pauline Metcalfe NoneGood. And is there an exit clause, what if we want to stop after year one?
- Tom Ashdown NoneAt renewal, you decide. If you don't want to continue, you just let us know and the contract ends. No penalty. The idea is you'll see the value and want to keep going, but you're never locked in beyond the term.
- Pauline Metcalfe NoneAlright. I think we're happy with this. Shall I expect a formal contract?
- Tom Ashdown NoneYeah, I'll send over the order form after this call. It's a one-pager covering the scope, the price, the timeline and the terms. You can review it, and once you're happy, you sign and send it back. Then we're officially off to the races.
- Darren Blakey NonePerfect. When do you need it back from us?
- Tom Ashdown NoneNo rush, just whenever you're ready. But the sooner the better if you want to hit early August for go-live. Leave that with you.
- Pauline Metcalfe NoneWill do. We'll review and get back to you next week.
- Tom Ashdown NoneCheers, both. Speak soon.