Working With S&D Consulting

Retainers are ongoing support, not unlimited access

Retainers provide structured, ongoing support within a defined scope and monthly capacity.

Your individual retainer agreement determines what is included. Work that falls outside that scope may be quoted separately as project work.

A retainer provides priority access to available capacity. It does not create unlimited hours, immediate turnaround, or an all-purpose bucket for unrelated projects.

If you're unsure whether something falls within your retainer, submit the request. I'll review it and let you know before additional charges are incurred.

Submitting a request starts the conversation

Submitting a request does not automatically mean the work has been accepted, scheduled, or classified as retainer work.

Each request is reviewed for:

• scope and complexity;
• whether it falls within an existing retainer;
• required materials and access;
• realistic production time;
• scheduling and existing commitments; and
• any additional project fees.

If separate project work is required, you'll receive a scope and estimate before work begins.

Projects are scoped before they are scheduled

Separate projects receive a written scope, estimate or quote, and proposed timeline.

Unless otherwise stated, project work requires a 50% deposit before production time is reserved or work begins.

If a project has a time-sensitive launch or delivery date, the proposal will identify the date by which approval, deposit, materials, and access must be received to preserve that schedule.

Scheduling reflects actual production capacity

Project dates are built around available production capacity and existing commitments.

Requested dates are considered whenever possible, but a requested deadline is not confirmed until S&D Consulting expressly accepts it.

Once a schedule is confirmed, I'll protect the production time I've committed to your project. In return, I ask clients to meet the approval, content, access, and feedback deadlines established for them.

That keeps projects moving without manufacturing emergencies on either side.

Client deadlines are part of the project timeline

Projects often depend on information or decisions only the client can provide.

That may include:

• final copy or content;
• images and other assets;
• account credentials or platform access;
• consolidated feedback;
• approvals;
• mailing lists or data;
• stakeholder decisions; and
• required payments.

If those items arrive late, production, launch, and delivery dates may move accordingly.

A deadline cannot remain fixed indefinitely while the inputs required to meet it move.

Scope changes are possible. They just need to be scoped.

Projects sometimes evolve once the work begins. That's normal.

If a requested change materially expands the original scope, I'll identify it before proceeding whenever reasonably possible. Additional work may require a revised estimate, additional deposit, or adjusted timeline.

Likewise, completion of one project does not automatically include every piece of implementation that might arise from its findings.

Rush work requires explicit agreement

Sometimes something genuinely needs to happen quickly.

Expedited work may be available depending on current capacity and may carry an expedited rate.

A short client deadline, approaching event, delayed internal decision, or urgent request does not automatically convert ordinary work into an accepted rush project.

If I can accommodate the accelerated schedule, I'll confirm that explicitly along with any applicable fees.

Project payments are Net 7

Unless a project agreement states otherwise:

Past-due balances may accrue interest in accordance with the Terms & Conditions.

New project work, priority scheduling, or other noncritical services may also be paused while an account remains past due.

Once an account is current, work is scheduled according to the availability that exists at that time.

Communication should make the work easier

Clear communication is part of good project infrastructure.

When a designated request form or workflow exists, please use it. It helps capture the information needed to assess, prioritize, scope, and complete the work without reconstructing a project from fragments scattered across email, text messages, meetings, and someone's surprisingly confident memory.

Informal conversations are welcome. Formal work still needs a clear home.

The basic working agreement

The goal isn't bureaucracy. It's predictability.

You should know what you're paying for, what I need from you, when your work is scheduled, and when you can reasonably expect it.

I should know what I'm responsible for, what has been approved, when client inputs will arrive, and when payment will be made.

That structure protects both sides—and leaves considerably more energy for the actual work.

Full Terms & Conditions

These Service Policies are a plain-language overview of S&D Consulting's general working practices. They do not replace or modify an applicable proposal, retainer agreement, project scope, or the S&D Consulting Terms & Conditions.

Where an engagement-specific agreement contains different terms, that written agreement controls for that engagement.