How you can engage us, and on what terms
Every engagement is a statement of work from Industrial™, with named deliverables, acceptance criteria and a price fixed in writing before work starts. We are paid for deliverables and milestones, not for attendance. This page sets out the four forms and the terms that apply to all of them.
Contracting company: Luminacious Ltd, trading as Industrial™, registered in England and Wales, company number 10612406. Registered office: C/O Rus & Co, 1192 Stratford Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, B28 8AB. VAT number GB263968557.
A summary of how we contract. Each engagement is governed by its signed statement of work.
Why our prices are set the way they are
Our prices come from our delivery model. AI agents I have trained and direct do much of the drafting, research, coding and testing, under my review of every design decision and every deliverable; the judgement, the architecture and anything that touches your live systems stay with me or a trusted engineer named in the statement of work. Fewer engineering hours go into each deliverable, which is what lets us fix the price before work starts and get you to go-live sooner. It is priced for the outcome, not for the difficulty: how many hours it takes is our risk, not a line on your invoice. We do not claim the work costs less than another supplier, because we have not measured that. Where it can be compared with employing the capability yourself, the arithmetic is under form B below. More on the model: /how-we-work/.
The four forms
A Solution pack
- For
- A BA and sponsor who need a change understood, designed and agreed
- What is fixed
- Scope, deliverables, price, milestones, acceptance
- Pricing basis
- Fixed price set from the scope after a first conversation
- Price
- from £6,000
B Design-authority retainer
- For
- A change that needs one person to own the design and the decisions for its duration
- What is fixed
- Days a month, written-decision service level, minimum term and notice
- Pricing basis
- Monthly fee
- Price
- from £6,000 a month for 3–5 days; three-month minimum
C Delivery of the whole
- For
- One party responsible for designing and delivering the change end to end
- What is fixed
- Design, deliverables, milestones, acceptance, price
- Pricing basis
- Fixed price or priced milestones; third-party costs at cost
- Price
- Quoted after the solution pack
D Hosted service
- For
- A problem better solved by a service we run than by software handed over
- What is fixed
- Setup scope, subscription drivers, service levels
- Pricing basis
- Setup fee plus subscription
- Price
- Setup from £4,000; subscription from £800 a month
All prices exclude VAT.
A. Solution pack (fixed price, with milestones)
| Milestone | Deliverable | Accepted when |
|---|---|---|
| M1 Understand | DeliverableDiscovery notes; current-state flowcharts | Accepted whenYour BA confirms they describe today's system and process |
| M2 Design | DeliverableTarget-state flowcharts; wireframes; options with trade-offs and cost | Accepted whenDelivered in full against the statement of work |
| M3 Decide | DeliverableDecision note | Accepted whenSigned by your sponsor |
| M4 Plan | DeliverableDelivery plan and handover notes | Accepted whenAccepted by your sponsor, or delivery moves to form C |
- Pricing basis
- a fixed price set from the scope after a first conversation, covering my time, the agent-assisted work under my review, and any named specialist.
- Payment
- a share on signature and the rest on milestone acceptance, shares set in the statement of work.
- Boundary
- the conversation's free. The written design is the solution pack.
B. Design-authority retainer (for the duration of one change)
- Included
- a stated number of days a month; written decisions within a stated number of working days of a request; review of supplier designs and deliverables against the agreed architecture; attendance at your design board or equivalent, remotely unless the statement of work says otherwise.
- Not included
- building, which is priced separately (form A or C); unlimited availability; verbal-only decisions.
- Term
- for the life of the change, with a minimum term and notice period set in the statement of work.
- Boundary
- retainer days are for decisions and review. Building is a separate, priced piece of work.
How this compares with employing someone. The alternative most sponsors weigh is hiring an architect of this seniority. On published UK figures, that costs an employer between about £99,100 and £116,100 a year, or about £110,300 in the middle: a salary of £85,340 to £100,000 (IT Jobs Watch medians and 75th percentiles for solutions architect, lead architect and enterprise architect, https://www.itjobswatch.co.uk/jobs/uk/lead%20architect.do, accessed 2026-09-20), employer National Insurance at 15% on earnings above £5,000 (GOV.UK, https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027, accessed 2026-09-20), the statutory minimum employer pension contribution of £1,321, which is 3% of qualifying earnings between £6,240 and £50,270 and so barely moves with salary (The Pensions Regulator, https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employers/new-employers/im-an-employer-who-has-to-provide-a-pension/declare-your-compliance/ongoing-duties-for-employers/earnings-thresholds, accessed 2026-09-20), and the apprenticeship levy at 0.5% of salary for an employer already above the £3m pay-bill threshold (GOV.UK, https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pay-apprenticeship-levy, accessed 2026-09-20). Desk, equipment, recruitment fees, training and sickness are not in that figure, so it is a floor.
This retainer at £6,000 a month is £72,000 a year. It costs less than employing for a need of up to roughly 60 days a year, which is the band it is sold in. Above that it does not: if you need this level of seniority most weeks of the year, employing someone is cheaper on these numbers, and we will tell you so rather than sell you a retainer. Comparing a day rate with an employee's day cost is not a fair comparison in either direction, because an employee is paid for all 232 working days a year whether the work is there or not, so we do not make it.
C. Delivery of the whole, with subcontractors coordinated
- Fixed
- the design (from form A, or produced as the first milestone), the deliverables, the milestones and acceptance, and the price.
Two kinds of third party, kept distinct in the statement of work:
- Our subcontractors, engaged and paid by us, inside our price. I remain responsible for their work.
- Your own suppliers (for example your ERP vendor), contracted by you. I coordinate them against the plan and report on them; their obligations stay in their contracts with you.
- Pricing basis
- fixed price or priced milestones. Third-party licences, hosting or hardware bought for you are shown separately at cost, agreed in writing in advance.
- Payment
- on milestone acceptance.
- Boundary
- if it isn't in the statement of work, it's a change request, and it's priced before it's built.
D. Hosted service (SaaS or subscription)
- Setup fee
- discovery, design, configuration, integration to your systems, data migration if any, testing and go-live.
- Subscription, driven by
- the number of users or sites; transaction or document volumes; the number of connected systems; data stored and retained; the support tier; dedicated or shared hosting.
- Minimum term, renewal and annual price review
- set in the statement of work.
- Boundary
- the subscription runs the service as specified. New features are a change request, priced before they are built.
Service level (every figure set in the statement of work):
| Element | What the statement of work states |
|---|---|
| Availability | What the statement of work statesA target percentage per calendar month, how it is measured, and planned maintenance with notice |
| Support hours | What the statement of work statesFor example UK working hours, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays |
| Response tiers | What the statement of work statesP1 service down · P2 major function impaired · P3 minor fault with workaround · P4 question or change request, each with a response time |
| Service credits | What the statement of work statesA percentage of the monthly fee for each band below the availability target, capped, claimed in writing |
| Exclusions | What the statement of work statesFaults in your own systems or third-party services outside our control; changes you make without notice; force majeure |
| Reporting | What the statement of work statesMonthly availability and incident report |
Terms that apply to every form
How we engage
- A statement of work for a defined outcome, with named deliverables and acceptance criteria.
- I decide how the work is done, where and when, using our own methods, templates, equipment and software. You decide the outcome you want, and accept or reject deliverables against the statement of work.
- Business risk sits with us. Fixed prices mean overruns inside the agreed scope are ours to absorb.
- We work for other clients during an engagement, within the confidentiality terms.
Payment
- All prices exclude VAT.
- Invoices are payable within the days set in the statement of work. If no date is agreed, UK law treats a commercial payment as late 30 days after the invoice is received or the service is provided, whichever is later (GOV.UK, https://www.gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery, accessed 2026-09-18). We reserve statutory interest and compensation on late commercial payments.
- Expenses at cost, agreed in writing in advance.
- Work pauses if an invoice is overdue by more than the period set in the statement of work, after written notice.
Change control
- Anything outside the statement of work is a change. Either side raises it in writing.
- We reply with the effect on price, dates and risk within the working days set in the statement of work.
- Nothing is built until the change is agreed in writing by your sponsor. Small changes are still written down; there is no "quick favour" route. Being small, we can turn a change note round quickly, without a committee.
Subcontracting
- We may bring in subcontractors for specific work. I remain responsible for the design and the whole.
- Anyone who will touch your systems or personal data is named in the statement of work, or agreed in writing, before they start.
- Subcontractors are bound by the same confidentiality and data terms as we are.
Use of AI agents in delivery
- AI agents I direct do drafting, research, coding and testing under my review.
- They never touch your live systems, never hold your credentials, and never make or sign off a design decision.
- Your material goes only to AI services under a data processing agreement that do not train on customer data by default.
Data
- Your data and working material are held on our systems on AWS in London. Where the statement of work says so, a service runs in a cloud account you own, on AWS or Azure. If you already have a tenancy you want used, we use it rather than opening a new account for you.
- A data processing agreement is signed with the statement of work whenever we process personal data. Sub-processors are listed in it, and we add or replace one only with your written authorisation, as UK GDPR Article 28(2) requires (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2016/679/article/28, accessed 2026-09-18).
- At the end: data exported to you on request, in a format named in the statement of work, then working material deleted or returned within 30 days. Records of the work (the statement of work, invoices, correspondence) are kept six years.
Intellectual property (one option per statement of work)
| Option | You own | We keep | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Bespoke deliverables (standard for forms A–C) | You ownEverything made specifically for you under the statement of work (designs, documents, bespoke code, configuration), on payment | We keepOur pre-existing tools, templates, libraries and methods, and general know-how | LicenceA perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use any of our pre-existing material built into your deliverables, for your own business |
| 2. Platform (standard for form D) | You ownYour data and the outputs produced from it; any bespoke configuration listed in the statement of work | We keepThe platform, its code and its improvements | LicenceA licence to use the service for the subscription term |
| 3. Platform with continuity cover | You ownAs option 2 | We keepAs option 2 | LicenceAs option 2, plus source-code escrow or an exit licence if we stop running the service, at a cost set in the statement of work |
Exit from a hosted service: data export as above, and transition help at a rate set in the statement of work.
Confidentiality
Both sides keep the other's confidential information confidential during the engagement and for the years set in the statement of work. We never name a client or describe its work publicly without its written agreement.
Warranty and liability
- Deliverables are corrected at our cost if they do not meet the acceptance criteria, when reported within the period set in the statement of work.
- Liability is capped in the statement of work, excluding what cannot be limited by law.
- Insurance: professional indemnity £2,000,000 and public and products liability £1,000,000, with Hiscox.
Termination
Either side may end a statement of work on the notice it sets. Completed milestones and work in progress to the date of notice are paid. Retainer and subscription terms follow their minimum term and notice.
Staying in touch
Every statement of work carries this line: "You agree that Luminacious Ltd, trading as Industrial™, and its associated company AI UVD Ltd may contact you about relevant new solutions; you can withdraw this at any time." A withdrawal is honoured the same day, by both companies, and recorded.
Every engagement is architected by me, and I'm the person you deal with.
We take on a small number of clients at a time.