What should I charge clients for setup versus monthly maintenance? Should the cost of OpenAI credits and any custom tools be included in my fees, or should the client bear those costs? Or should I only charge for consultation and maintenance?
Um, so here's the really interesting thing about what's happened over the last year or so when I started my agency: OpenAI and AI credits in general were super expensive—I was spending thousands of dollars every month on OpenAI credits for my writing business and several hundred bucks per month for things like enrichment and personalization of email first lines. Since then, costs have dropped precipitously. Where they were before versus where they are now, you can realistically run AI 24/7 on every corner of your business unless you're using the absolute best model, which is only a few percentage points better than the previous generation. You'd be spending about three bucks a month, so you can cover most of the OpenAI credits yourself. It's not like it used to be; now it's very easy and simple. If you do this, you typically avoid the rate‑limit issues I see a lot of people run into on lower‑tier accounts—OpenAI tier five is pretty trash, you might be limited to a few thousand tokens per minute, which causes problems. So OpenAI credits are a nuanced topic, but I would not charge new clients for OpenAI credits; I’d bundle all the AI fees into my pricing because I have partnerships with various providers. In your case, maybe you can’t say that yet, but if you get a partnership you could. Regarding custom tools—if it’s something like Make.com, I’d have the client pay for it, but the good news is that Make.com‑type tools usually cost under $50 or maybe under $100 a month, so it’s low enough that it doesn’t matter much. There are a couple ways to approach offers: you could swallow everything up and charge the client a slightly larger fee (the simplest, lowest‑friction approach), but that adds liability on your end and complicates handoffs—if you and the client split, how does the client get access to what you built? Do they get it or do you take it away? I prefer to have the client own most of their infrastructure, aside from the OpenAI API key, which is simple enough to walk them through in ten seconds if we ever do a handoff. That way I have zero liability, they have the accounts, and I just use their password to access them. It’s simple and easy for everybody.
Great profile pick. I see a make.com scenario watching type form there. How much would I charge for this? I think you're putting the cart before the horse. The reason is you're asking how much I charge without clearly delineating who you're building this for and what their needs are. Generally, the way I build things out, and the way I build scopes and pricing documents as a consultant, is to always start with client needs first and then work backwards. So my approach isn't 'what goes into this project?' but 'what are the client needs? How much money is the client currently spending on their crappy solution? What does it do to their project management, lead generation, team unity, and so on? What headcount are they managing as a result? What's their payroll? How big of an issue is this to solve today? What are the at least bird's-eye view financials of the company? If we don't solve this today, is this an existential risk for the business? I try to figure all this out because it helps inform what the client is willing to pay and what a reasonable price would be. This isn't always me trying to squeeze every last dollar out of them; often I charge them what would be a fair price given the return on investment. It also lets me ask whether this is even the right solution for them, or if they're kind of putting the cart before the horse. I don't know exactly how much I charge for this. The question I'd look to answer is what need or problem does this solve and how big a financial issue is that problem? If you're quoting $7,000, I'd make sure the system delivers at least $20,000 to $25,000 worth of value. Bigger projects like this typically have more issues during building and implementation. So instead of charging 30% of the value as I normally recommend, I might charge something like 20% or so.
My view on AI consulting is that there’s no real difference—it’s just consulting repackaged. Whenever you see terms like AI automation, AI consulting, AI growth systems, or AI operators, they’re all the same thing; people are just trying to sell a business model and differentiate themselves in a crowded space, which in content is called packaging. At its core, this is foundational marketing: nothing has really changed since the SMMA craze; we’re still selling marketing systems, just rebranded as AI automation. Most AI automation sellers are actually selling marketing systems—content repurposing, social media automation—so it’s just repackaging. Regarding cost per acquisition for an AI agency client, it depends entirely on your lead‑generation mechanism. If you run an inbound funnel with massive distribution, your CPA is essentially just your time on new inquiries—near zero. If you’re doing Upwork applications at $2 each and need about 33 applications to land a client, your CPA is $66. If you run a cold‑email campaign spending $450 per month and sending roughly 3,000 emails to land three clients, your CPA is about $150. However, CPA alone means nothing unless you also know the order value or lifetime value of the clients. For example, if Pete’s CPA is $64 and he sells a product for $1,000 on average, his CPA is 6.4% of revenue. If Samantha’s CPA is $150 and she sells for $10,000 on average, her CPA is only 1.5% of revenue. You also need to factor in referrals and other variables to judge which business is truly more successful. After that, I mention I’m running out of time because I have a podcast with Jack Roberts. We’ve become fast friends after initially being hesitant to collaborate due to a scarcity mindset. We now chat regularly, run a podcast together, and plan to play video games like Halo, Fortnite, or League of Legends while streaming, which I think will be fun and more engaging. I’m even considering buying a gaming computer just to stream with Jack weekly. Ultimately, I’m moving into Twitch streaming to play video games all day.
ai consultingcost per acquisitionltvlead generation
If you're building a system that generates $5,000 a month in value for a client, having them pay a small percentage fee is not a big deal; they care about the upside, not the tiny downside. As the service provider, you might worry about subscription costs, but the AI and automation field attracts technical people who overthink this. Get the client to pay for everything. On a kickoff call, walk them through exactly which platforms they need to sign up for. This builds perceived value because they see the technical setup and appreciate you handling it. You can also use your affiliate links—being a Make.com partner, for example—to earn 3–5% kickback or give clients discounts. If a client stays for a year, you earn recurring affiliate fees; e.g., 40% on a $100/month plan yields $40/month, or $480–$500 per year per client even if they stop working with you. This approach also minimizes your liability since you’re not making monthly payments on their behalf. It’s the best way to handle software costs. If you’d like a kickoff call SOP, I have a document that outlines how to run the call and get clients signed up on the platforms.
Retainers replace unpredictable hourly billing with a recurring, prepaid service model. For example, if you previously billed 20 hours at $50/hour ($1,000), a retainer might lock in those 20 hours at a discounted rate of $45/hour ($900) paid upfront. This gives you guaranteed income and lets you schedule work knowing exactly how many hours each client will need each month, eliminating the feast‑or‑famine swings of hourly work. The real power of a retainer lies in what you bundle with the core service. Instead of selling just the automation build, you add items that make the offer a no‑brainer for the client: a regular strategy call (e.g., a 45‑minute weekly meeting); unlimited maintenance: you fix any API glitches, server outages, or platform issues at no extra charge; an availability guarantee, such as promising to respond on Slack within 15 minutes between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. Monday‑through‑Friday; emergency Q&A or training sessions where the client can ask “How do I update this?” and get immediate help; and access to any resources or tools you’ve built for them. These extras increase the client’s perceived value and satisfaction, improve retention, and generate referrals, while they don’t scale linearly with your time — so you can serve more clients without a proportional increase in workload. From a utilization standpoint, clients often use fewer hours than they pay for (e.g., 18 of the 20 contracted hours). You still receive the full retainer payment, meaning your effective hourly rate remains at your baseline ($50/hour) while you enjoy predictable income. Over a six‑month period, a $1,000‑per‑month retainer yields $6,000 lifetime value; after subtracting acquisition costs (say $150 per client), your net profit jumps from $850 on a one‑time $1,000 deal to $5,850 — a margin increase from roughly 85 % to 97.5 %. Working with repeat clients also lets you understand their business deeper, deliver more nuanced solutions, and earn more referrals. Finally, because you’re building automation systems, the value you deliver isn’t tied to your personal time: a system like my cold‑email setup that generated 23 leads last month continues to produce results even when I’m not actively working on it, adding another layer of leverage to the retainer model.