While most Terms and Conditions (T&C) are presented in a way that make them nearly impossible to read (let alone understand), we believe in being as transparent as possible. Our T&C is written in plain English and can be found below.
How do you keep track of billable time?
Time is tracked in 30-minute increments. An engagement lasting 0 - 30 minutes will be billed at half an hour rate, while an engagement lasting 31 - 60 minutes will be billed at a full hour rate. 3 hours and 51 minutes will be billed at a full 4 hours. You get the idea.
Is there a minimum time requirement for engagements?
Yes and no. For remote engagements, there is no minimum time required. On-site engagements, however, requires a minimum of 2 hours. Because we don’t charge for travel time (and in some cases, that really adds up), we encourage our clients to use us while we are on-site. This helps us to help you. The only exception to this is when a same-purpose engagement is split between more than one day (in other words, work begins on one day but is completed another day due to hardware or software procurement).
What if I don’t show up for a scheduled appointment?
If an engagement is scheduled ahead of time and you fail to be available at the time of the appointment, we will automatically bill you for one hour of time. Not showing up for an appointment eats into our profitability. Low profitability means we go out of business and ultimately, how can we help you and others just like you succeed if we aren’t in business? The exception to this is if you cancel or postpone your appointment more than 24 hours before the scheduled appointment. In that case, there are no penalties, so please plan ahead. It helps everyone.
How competitive are your rates?
When you consider our technical competencies, industry experience and overall value proposition, you will find that we are very competitive on pricing (maybe even to a fault on our part). We pride ourselves on effective post-engagement follow-up to ensure that you are happy with the consulting and solutions implemented. Our #1 priority is found at the intersection of service quality and client satisfaction. We’re not happy until you’re happy.
Is there a rate difference for on-site vs. remote work?
While the hourly rates are the same for both on-site and remote engagements, there is no minimum time required for remote engagements. Many clients find remote engagements convenient because they typically result in a faster time-to-resolution (no travel time typically means that we can get started on your project or problem right away).
What are your payment terms?
We are a growing business and, as such, cash flow is critical. To be as agile as we need to be, we have established Net 15 as our standard payment term. While we currently don’t impose late fees or penalties for late payment, we hope that we don’t have to. Our average client prefers to pay in less than 10 days so that they can move on to the next thing. We appreciate that!
Do you charge for travel?
We are based out of Utah (specifically Utah County), but work with clients all over the United States, and we love that we can do that! Travel, however, does get expensive for us as a result. To help compensate for that, we do charge travel fees to some locations, based on destination. The schedule is as follows (click here for a map):
Utah & Salt Lake counties: no charge
Tooele, Davis, Morgan, Wasatch, Summit, Juab, Sanpete & Carbon counties: flat $200
All other Utah state counties: flat $400
Outside the state of Utah: cost varies (based on airfare, rental car, accommodations, etc)
If we travel outside the state of Utah to visit more than one client in the same area, travel costs will be divided equally between clients (this helps to keep your costs as low as possible).
Do I get discounts on hardware I purchase through you?
There are many reason our clients use our services, and discounts on hardware is part of the benefits package. We work hard to form relationships with lots of vendors and suppliers and we pass those discounts on to our clients. The discount amount varies on vendor, product, timing and lots of other factors.
Are there any gotchas when purchasing hardware through you?
It’s rare that we have clients who need to return hardware for one reason or another, but it does happen. In those circumstances, we do charge a 15% restocking fee. The majority of that goes to paying for the vendor’s own restocking fee, and anything left over goes towards the time we take to original purchase and then return the hardware.
When and how will you send my invoice?
Monthly retainers and managed services are billed each month on the first day of the month. All other invoicing is processed every Monday for the previous week. If we complete work for you on a Tuesday, for example, you will receive an invoice for that completed work the following Monday. All invoicing is sent via email.
How can I pay my invoice?
We want to make payment for you as easy as possible, so we accept all major forms of credit card payments as well as checks. If hardware is purchased though Allgaier Consulting and it exceeds $1,000, the online credit card payment option will be automatically disabled. As you probably know, we are charged a percentage for accepting credit card payments, and because we usually don’t upcharge on hardware, that percentage would cause us to take a loss on that transaction. If this causes you heart-burn, please contact us so that we can accommodate.
What if I still want to pay with a credit card, is that possible?
Absolutely! Almost anything is possible with technology. If your invoice includes more than $1,000 of hardware/software costs, and you want to pay with a credit card, simple reply to your invoice and let us know. We will add a 4% processing fee (to cover our credit card processing fee) and enable the ability to use a credit card for payment. Simple as that!
How do I tell others about you?
We have found that word-of-mouth is extremely effective for us. As such, it is the only form of marketing that we engage in (outside of our social reach)! We appreciate any and all referrals you send our way, and rest assured, those referrals are in great hands. There are several ways that you can have your friends and business associates contact us:
Twitter: @kevinallgaier
Instagram: @kevinallgaier
Web: www.allgaierconsulting.com
Email: info@allgaierconsulting.com
If you have any questions that were not answered here, please feel free to email info@allgaierconsulting.com.
Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you soon!