The $250/Month That Keeps Your Business Technology Current

The Problem

• You invested in a custom tool (or even off-the-shelf software) and it worked great — for a while
• Now your business has changed and the tool hasn’t kept up
• You need a small feature added but getting a developer to make a “small change” means a new contract, new scope, new invoice — and weeks of waiting
• You’ve accumulated a list of “it would be nice if…” improvements that never happen because each one is too small to justify a project
• Meanwhile, the gap between what your tools do and what your business needs keeps growing

What It Costs You

Software that doesn’t evolve becomes a liability:

• Today’s great tool becomes tomorrow’s workaround — if it can’t change as your business changes, your team starts building manual processes around its limitations
• Small frictions compound — each “minor annoyance” in your tools costs minutes per day, hours per week, days per year
• The change order trap — when every improvement requires a new contract, improvements stop happening. The friction of the process kills the momentum.
• Competitive drift — your competitors who keep improving their tools pull ahead while yours stagnates

The Solution

Shancorps retainers give you dedicated improvement hours every month at half our standard rate.

No change orders. No new contracts. No invoicing friction. Just continuous improvement — a steady stream of enhancements, tweaks, and new features that keep your tools perfectly aligned with your business.

How it works:

• Starting at $250/month — your payment converts to dedicated hours at half our standard hourly rate
• Scale as needed — increase your retainer as your needs grow. No upper limit.
• Regular check-ins — weekly or biweekly meetings to review how things are working, discuss what to improve, and prioritize the next round of changes
• No friction — need a tweak? Mention it at the check-in. It’s done before the next one. No scope documents, no quotes, no waiting.

What’s included beyond the hours:

• Bug fixes and basic maintenance — always included, not counted against your hours
• Hosting management, security updates, and monitoring
• A partner who understands your business deeply because we built your tools and talk to you every week

The Math

Approach	What it costs	What you get
Ad-hoc development	$100-200/hour, minimum project fees, contract overhead	Sporadic improvements when the pain gets bad enough
SaaS subscription	$500-5,000/month, per-user fees	Features someone else decided you need. No customization.
Shancorps retainer	Starting at $250/month	Dedicated hours at half rate. Your priorities. Continuous improvement.

Example: A $500/month retainer at half our standard rate gives you meaningful development time every month. Over a year, that’s enough to add major features, optimize workflows, and keep your tools perfectly tuned — for $6,000/year total.

How Retainers Start

Retainers are available to any Shancorps client after an initial project.

1. We build your initial solution — $2,000-$10,000 depending on scope
2. 6 months of free support — Bug fixes, maintenance, basic support included at no cost
3. Retainer begins — When you’re ready for ongoing improvements, pick a monthly level starting at $250
4. Continuous partnership — Regular check-ins, steady improvements, a technology partner who knows your business inside and out

Proof

The most common feedback from retainer clients: “It’s like having a technology department without hiring a technology department.”

Changes that would take weeks through a traditional vendor happen in days. Ideas that would die on a “someday” list get built in the next sprint. And because we know your business deeply from ongoing involvement, we often suggest improvements you hadn’t thought of.