Every fee is a band, fixed, and quoted first.

A band that cannot be quoted is a scope we have not understood yet, and we say so rather than meter it. The number on the letter is the number on the invoice, and every letter names the date the invoice stops.

4 engagement models · 6 published bands

Four ways to engage, and who each one is for.

Engagement modelM.01

The audit

Four weeks, fixed fee, one recommendation.

How every engagement starts, whichever service it lands in. Priced before it begins from a published band. Its first recommendation can be that you do not need us, in nineteen of sixty-four it was, and you own the output whether or not you engage us again.

Duration4 weeks

Fee£45–65k, fixed

TeamA partner and an analyst

Leaves you withThe opportunity ledger, a costed plan, the first business case

Best forA board that wants the diagnosis before committing to the cure.

Engagement modelM.02

Fixed-fee stage

Design or delivery, priced as a whole.

A stage of the method (design, delivery or handover) bought on its own at a fixed fee from the service’s published band, against the one outcome agreed in writing before it starts. The scope is the plan the audit produced; if the scope moves, the fee is renegotiated in writing, never metered.

Duration6–12 weeks per stage

FeeThe service band, fixed

TeamThe service team, senior, no subcontractors

Leaves you withThe stage’s named deliverable and its measure

Best forMost engagements. Predictable cost against an agreed number.

Engagement modelM.03

Outcome-linked

Part of the fee rides on the number.

Where the outcome is clean enough to bear it (a measurable figure, a stable baseline, a date) up to a third of the delivery fee can be linked to reaching it. We offer this rarely and decline it where the figure could be gamed, because a fee that rewards a number invites the number to be managed.

DurationDelivery stage, 12 weeks

FeeTwo-thirds fixed, up to a third on the outcome

TeamThe service team

Leaves you withThe same deliverable; a fee that moved with it

Best forA client who wants our incentive in writing, on a figure that cannot be gamed.

Engagement modelM.04

Retained, fading

Weekly, then monthly, then gone.

The handover and capability work runs on a monthly retainer that is designed to shrink: weekly presence in the first quarter, monthly by the third, and a last invoice on a date written into the letter. A retainer that does not end is a consultancy with a badge, and we do not sell one.

DurationUp to 12 months

Fee£8–14k monthly, declining

TeamA partner and a service lead

Leaves you withA team that runs it, and no Tessel people in it

Best forA firm that wants the system without the consultancy attached, on a date.

What each service costs, takes and is judged on.

The services compared by stage, duration, fee and measure
	Service	Stage	Duration	Fee	Measured on
P.01	Software & Engineering	01 Audit	6 weeks	£60–90k, fixed	8 engineering disciplines covered
P.02	Data & AI	03 Delivery	10 weeks	£110–160k, fixed	6 data and AI disciplines
P.03	Cybersecurity	03 Delivery	12 weeks	£160–240k, fixed	6 security disciplines
P.04	Enterprise Technology	03 Delivery	12 weeks to set up, 6–12 months to run	£120–180k, fixed, then monthly	8 enterprise platforms
P.05	Digital Product	02 Design	6 weeks	£70–95k, fixed	5 product disciplines
P.06	Technology Leadership	04 Handover	12 months, part-time	£8–14k monthly	7 leadership roles

Every engagement opens with the audit, 4 weeks, £45–65k, fixed, and the plan it produces prices the stage after it, so nothing in this table is bought blind.

What every fee includes, so the band is the whole number.

F.01

Quoted before we start

A band that cannot be quoted is a scope we have not understood yet, and we say so rather than meter it.

F.02

Expenses inside the band

Travel and accommodation are ours. The number on the letter is the number on the invoice.

F.03

No utilisation targets

Nobody at Tessel is measured on billed days, which is why nobody at Tessel invents a phase two.

F.04

No vendor margins

We resell nothing and take no referral fees. A build-or-buy call from us is evidence, not a commission.

F.05

Change in writing

If the scope moves, the fee is renegotiated on paper, never absorbed, never metered.

F.06

A date the invoice stops

Every letter names the last invoice. Retainers shrink by design.

Where every engagement starts.

Four weeks inside your operation: where the money, the hours and the risk actually go, measured against your own data, and a costed, sequenced plan the board can hold you to.