How We Work

Our Process from
Discovery to Delivery and Beyond

PTKJ operates with complete transparency. From initial discovery calls through SOW execution, delivery, and ongoing management—here's exactly how we work with clients.

From First Call to Long-Term Partnership

01

Initial Discovery Call (1 Hour)

Schedule a free consultation to discuss your requirements, constraints, timeline, and success criteria. We listen to understand your specific technical and business challenges—no sales pitch, no pressure.

Timeline: Within 2 business days of contact

02

Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) Estimate

We provide a ROM estimate including high-level scope, estimated timeline, and pricing range. This gives you a clear picture of investment before committing to a detailed SOW process.

Timeline: Delivered within 48 hours of discovery call

03

Master Agreement (Optional but Recommended)

For ongoing relationships, we recommend executing a Master Services Agreement that covers standard legal terms, NDA, liability, intellectual property, and data handling. This accelerates future SOWs by eliminating repetitive legal reviews.

Timeline: 5-10 business days for legal review and execution

04

Detailed Statement of Work (SOW)

We draft a detailed SOW specifying deliverables, technical requirements, milestones, payment schedule, acceptance criteria, and timeline. You review, request changes, and sign once aligned.

Timeline: 3-5 business days from ROM approval to final SOW

05

Kickoff & First Payment (50% Upfront)

Upon SOW execution, we invoice 50% upfront to begin work. Kickoff call schedules sprints, defines communication cadence, and establishes access requirements (AWS accounts, VPN, repositories, etc.).

Timeline: Work begins within 2 business days of payment receipt

06

Development & Regular Updates

We work in agile sprints with weekly or bi-weekly demos and status updates. You have visibility into progress throughout the project via Slack, email, or video calls—whichever you prefer.

Timeline: 2-12 weeks depending on project scope

07

Delivery, Testing & Acceptance

We deliver to staging for your review and testing. Address any issues or change requests within scope. Once you sign off on acceptance criteria, we deploy to production.

Timeline: 1-2 weeks for acceptance testing and production deployment

08

Final Payment & Handoff (50% on Delivery)

We invoice the remaining 50% upon successful production deployment and acceptance. All deliverables, documentation, credentials, and infrastructure access are transferred.

Payment terms: Net 30 days from invoice date

09

Transition to Managed Services (75% of Projects)

Most projects transition to ongoing managed services. We continue to monitor, patch, update, optimize, and support your infrastructure and applications for the long term.

Billing: Monthly recurring for managed services

Transparent Pricing & Payment Terms

Fixed-Price Projects

Most projects are fixed-price based on clearly defined deliverables in the SOW. You know the total cost upfront with no surprise invoices.

  • 50% upfront upon SOW execution
  • 50% upon delivery and acceptance
  • Net 30 payment terms

Time & Materials (T&M)

For discovery phases or open-ended work where requirements evolve, we offer T&M engagements with clear hourly or daily rates.

  • Billed monthly in arrears
  • Detailed timesheets provided
  • Net 30 payment terms

Managed Services Retainers

Ongoing support, monitoring, and management billed as monthly recurring fees. Retainers include defined hours and service levels.

  • Monthly recurring billing
  • Billed in advance on 1st of month
  • Net 15 payment terms

Hardware as a Service

Bare metal deployments with PTKJ-owned hardware billed as monthly subscription including hardware, colocation, and management.

  • Monthly subscription model
  • Billed in advance on 1st of month
  • Minimum 12-month commitment

Streamline Future Projects with a Master Agreement

For clients planning multiple projects or ongoing relationships, we recommend executing a Master Services Agreement. This accelerates future work by pre-negotiating standard legal terms.

What's Included

Standard legal terms, confidentiality (NDA), intellectual property rights, liability limitations, data handling, security requirements, and dispute resolution.

Faster Project Starts

With an MSA in place, new SOWs require only scope and pricing review—no repetitive legal negotiations. Start new projects in days, not weeks.

Your Paper or Ours

PTKJ provides standard MSA templates, but we are comfortable working with your company's preferred agreement if you have legal requirements.

Security & Compliance

MSAs can include specific security requirements, compliance obligations (SOC 2, HIPAA, etc.), background checks, and insurance requirements.

Stay Informed Throughout the Project

Regular Status Updates

Weekly or bi-weekly status calls or written updates. We provide progress against milestones, blockers, upcoming work, and any decisions needed from you.

Sprint Demos

For software and infrastructure projects, we demonstrate work-in-progress in staging environments. You see what we're building throughout the process.

Direct Access to Engineers

Work directly with the technical team building your solution via Slack, email, or video calls. No account manager middlemen delaying communication.

Issue Escalation

If problems arise, we escalate immediately with proposed solutions. No hiding issues until they become crises.

Management After Delivery

75% of PTKJ projects transition to ongoing managed services. We continue to monitor, patch, optimize, and support your infrastructure and applications for years to come.

01

Infrastructure Monitoring

24/7 monitoring of servers, applications, databases, and network connectivity. Proactive alerting for issues before they impact users.

02

Security Patching

Regular OS and application patching to address security vulnerabilities. Critical patches applied within 48 hours of disclosure.

03

Performance Optimization

Ongoing tuning of infrastructure for cost and performance. Database query optimization, auto-scaling adjustments, and resource right-sizing.

04

Backup & Disaster Recovery

Automated backups, regular DR testing, and documented recovery procedures. Ensure business continuity in case of failures.

05

Feature Enhancements

As your business evolves, we add features, scale infrastructure, and adapt systems to new requirements. Seamless continuous improvement.

06

Compliance Maintenance

For SOC 2, ISO, PCI, or HIPAA environments, we maintain controls, generate reports, and support annual audit processes.

What We Need From You

For Discovery Call

  • High-level description of what you need built
  • Timeline expectations or business deadlines
  • Budget range (if available)
  • Key constraints (compliance, existing systems, etc.)

For ROM Estimate

  • More detailed requirements document (if available)
  • Architecture diagrams or current system overview
  • Compliance or regulatory requirements
  • Expected user load or scale requirements

For Project Kickoff

  • AWS/Azure/GCP account access (IAM roles)
  • VPN or network access to existing systems
  • Repository access (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket)
  • API credentials for third-party integrations

For Ongoing Success

  • Single point of contact for decisions
  • Regular availability for status updates
  • Timely feedback on demos and milestones
  • Open communication about changing requirements

Typical Project Sizes

Software Development

Minimum project size: $10,000
Typical range: $10,000 - $40,000

Cloud Infrastructure

Minimum project size: $10,000
Typical range: $15,000 - $55,000

Compliance Programs

Minimum project size: $15,000
Typical range: $20,000 - $30,000

Managed Services

Minimum monthly retainer: $2,500
Typical range: $2,500 - $7,500/month

Ready to Get Started?

Schedule a free discovery call to discuss your project and receive a ROM estimate within 48 hours.

Schedule Discovery Call

No obligation. No sales pressure. Just a conversation about what you need.