What Happens in the First Week After You Contact HSA

Every inquiry is read personally, not by an inbox filter. The first reply is honest about whether there's likely a real fit — HSA would rather say early that a business isn't a good match than take on an engagement that isn't going to help.

If it looks like a fit, the next step is scoping the Discovery Engagement to the size of the operation and confirming a fixed fee. 50% of that fee is paid upfront via bank transfer to confirm the engagement and cover travel — the same 50/50 structure applies to any development work that follows.

HSA travels to observe the actual operation — this isn't a remote questionnaire. What that observation is looking for is described in full in "Reading a System Before Building for It."

The findings are delivered as a specification, and the remaining 50% is due on delivery. From there, it's the client's decision whether to implement it internally or contract HSA to build it.