There’s no proposal deck and no sales process. Here’s what actually happens, in order, from the first conversation to the ongoing relationship most clients end up in.
1. A discovery call
It starts with a call, not a form. You tell us what’s slow, manual, or held together with spreadsheets and goodwill. We ask enough questions to understand the actual system you’re running today — not just the feature you think you want.
There’s no cost and no commitment to this call. If we’re not a fit, we’ll say so.
2. A starting point from the Systems Catalogue
Most new builds don’t start from a blank page. Moonfive maintains a growing catalogue of systems we’ve already built for other businesses — a sales/CRM pipeline, a purchasing/purchase-order system, a helpdesk, and a property management system, all live today, with more shipping regularly — all built on the same underlying foundation. Before we design anything bespoke, we check whether one of these is a genuine head start for you.
This isn’t off-the-shelf software you buy and configure yourself. It’s the opposite of a one-off project quote: the catalogue exists so a build doesn’t start from zero, and so the discovery call can point at something concrete rather than a blank whiteboard. If nothing in the catalogue fits, we scope the build from scratch — the catalogue is a shortcut when it applies, not a constraint when it doesn’t.
3. The build
We build (and where useful, AI-assist) the software your business actually needs, on infrastructure Moonfive manages end to end: tested deploys, daily monitoring, and automated off-server backups from day one, not bolted on later.
4. Then we stay on it: the retainer
Most engagements don’t end when the first build ships — they move onto an ongoing retainer, priced from £1,500/month (plus a one-time £1,500 setup fee), with no lock-in and one month’s notice to end it. What differs by price is release cadence, not what’s included: every retainer client gets the same technical baseline —
- We monitor your site and systems every day, so problems get caught before they affect you
- Every update is tested before it goes live
- Automatic backups, stored safely away from the live site
- Your own portal to report issues or request new features, any time
A small number of engagements genuinely end at the build — a client wants the finished system and no ongoing relationship. That’s fine, and it’s the exception, not the plan we’re selling. The default, and the reason the retainer exists, is that software needs upkeep: new features, dependency and security updates, and someone who already knows the system when something breaks. The retainer is that relationship, not a support contract bolted on after the fact.
Why it works this way
Each step earns the next one. The discovery call earns trust before any code gets written. The catalogue means a real build can start from something proven instead of a blank page. The retainer exists because most software isn’t finished when it ships — it needs a team that keeps building on it. We don’t sell one-off projects and disappear; we sell an ongoing relationship, and the first three steps are how you get there.
If that sounds like what you need, book a call below.