Service Guide & Ways of Working
This guide sets out what you get from us, how to ask for it, how fast we move, and what we need from you in return. It is a reference document — there is nothing to fill in or send back. Where this guide and your signed agreement differ, the signed agreement governs.
Section 1 — What Each Service Tier Includes
- A named account contact and a monthly written summary of work completed
- Requests handled in the order received, within standard turnaround times
- One round of revisions on each deliverable
- Everything in Essentials, plus a standing weekly status call
- Priority queueing and a shorter turnaround on urgent requests
- Two rounds of revisions, and a quarterly planning session
- Everything in Managed, plus a dedicated team and a named senior sponsor
- Same-day acknowledgement on every request, including out-of-hours critical issues
- Unlimited reasonable revisions within agreed scope, and an annual strategy review
- Work outside the scope described in your agreement — this is quoted separately before it starts
- Third-party costs such as licences, subscriptions, media spend or travel, unless we have agreed to carry them
- Rework caused by a change of direction after sign-off — we will always tell you before billing it
- Legal, tax or regulatory advice; we will tell you when you need a specialist
Section 2 — How to Raise a Request
- Send every request to your account inbox rather than to an individual — that way it is picked up even when someone is away.
- Tell us what you need, why it matters and when you need it by. A date attached to a reason is far more useful than "urgent".
- Attach anything we will need up front — files, access, examples, the previous version.
- We acknowledge the request, confirm the priority, and give you a delivery date. If we disagree with your priority we will say so and explain why.
- One request per message. Bundled requests are the single most common cause of something being missed.
Section 3 — Response & Turnaround Times
Targets below are measured in working hours and days, Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.
| | | |
|---|
| Something is down or a hard external deadline is at risk today | | |
| Blocking your team, but there is a workaround for now | | |
| Planned work with an agreed delivery date | | 5 working days, or the agreed date |
| Nice to have, no fixed deadline | | Scheduled into the next planning cycle |
Section 4 — Reporting Rhythm
- Weekly status note — sent every Friday: what shipped, what is in flight, what is blocked and who we need it from.
- Weekly status call — for Managed and Partner clients, 30 minutes at a standing slot. If there is nothing to discuss, we cancel it rather than fill it.
- Monthly report — delivered within five working days of month end: work completed, hours or budget consumed against plan, results against the measures we agreed, and next month’s priorities.
- Quarterly review — a longer session covering direction, what is working, what is not, and any change to scope or budget.
Section 5 — Revisions & Approvals
- Each deliverable carries the number of revision rounds set by your tier. A round means one consolidated set of comments, not a stream of individual notes.
- Please gather feedback from everyone on your side before sending it. Contradictory comments from different reviewers cost a full round.
- We ask for feedback within five working days. After that the delivery date moves by the same number of days.
- Approval must come in writing from a named approver listed in your account record. A verbal "looks good" is not sign-off.
- Changes requested after sign-off are new work. We quote them before starting.
Section 6 — Escalation Ladder
If something is not going well, escalating early is welcome — it is never treated as a complaint about the person you have been working with.
- Account contact — your first call for anything day to day. Responds within one working day.
- Account lead — for missed dates, quality concerns or anything unresolved after two working days. Responds within one working day and gives you a written plan.
- Service director — for repeated failures, disputed invoices or a breakdown in the working relationship. Responds within two working days.
- Managing partner — final internal step, for matters that may end the engagement. A written response follows within five working days.
Section 7 — Billing & Payment
- Retainers are invoiced on the first working day of the month they cover. Project fees follow the milestone schedule in your agreement.
- Standard payment terms are 30 days from invoice date unless your agreement says otherwise.
- Every invoice carries a line-item breakdown and, where you require one, your purchase order number.
- Pre-approved expenses are billed at cost with receipts attached. Nothing is charged that you have not agreed in advance.
- Query an invoice within ten working days and we will hold it while we sort it out. Undisputed amounts remain payable in the meantime.
- We will always warn you before pausing work for non-payment, and never in the middle of a critical deadline.
Section 8 — Rescheduling & Cancellation
- Meetings — please give 24 hours’ notice to move a scheduled session. We extend you the same courtesy.
- Booked delivery windows — 5 working days’ notice to postpone without charge. Inside that window we may bill time already committed.
- Retainers — 30 days’ written notice to pause or reduce; the current month is billed in full.
- Ending the engagement — either side may end it with the notice period in your agreement. Work completed up to that point is invoiced pro-rata.
- On exit we hand back your materials, transfer anything you own, and remove our access within 10 working days.
Section 9 — Confidentiality & Data Handling
- Everything you share with us is treated as confidential, during the engagement and after it ends.
- Access is limited to the people on your account who need it, and reviewed whenever the team changes.
- Files are held in access-controlled systems. We do not move client data onto personal devices or personal accounts.
- We will not name you as a client or show your work publicly without your written permission.
- Subcontractors, where used, are bound by the same confidentiality terms, and we tell you who they are.
- On request at the end of the engagement, we return or delete your data and confirm in writing when it is done.
Section 10 — What We Need From You
Almost every delay we see traces back to one of the five things below.
- A named approver who can actually sign things off, and a deputy for when they are away.
- Consolidated feedback within five working days of us asking for it.
- Access, credentials and source material at the start rather than halfway through.
- Early warning of anything that changes the picture — a new deadline, a budget cut, a reorganisation, a change of direction.
- Honesty when something is not right. We would rather hear it in week one than at the quarterly review.
This guide describes how we normally work and may be updated from time to time; the commercial terms that bind us are the ones in your signed agreement.