By Anthony Schorling

Introduction

Early last year, we unveiled our new "subscription-style" ongoing maintenance service. This service has allowed our clients to utilize the annual amount of hours included in their plan in a variety of ways, such as for one-on-one coaching, updating existing systems, or even embarking on an entirely new project.

Previously, we had three tiers of ongoing maintenance plans. Two of these plan tiers included 12 and 24 hours, respectively, while the third was only for monitoring Zapier accounts for errors. After some great feedback from our clients and testing over the first year, we've made some updates, including eliminating the monitoring tier altogether, and adding two new tiers that include 36 and 48 hours of service, respectively.

We found that the monitoring-only tier wasn't very useful for our clients, as if someone needed assistance in monitoring their Zapier, they also very likely needed the supplemental help to maintain it. Monitoring is included on all of our plan tiers as part of a weekly review, so our clients don't need to pay any extra to have us keep tabs on their errors. On the opposite side of the plan tiers, we decided to add two more higher-hour tiers, as we had an instance in which someone exceeded their service hours very quickly and needed more. Below, we'll take a closer look at those new tiers and what they include, outlining what the existing tiers offer, and help you decide which tier might be best for your situation.

Tier 1 - Monitoring + 12 Annual Hours of Service - $500/mo. ($6,000/yr.)

This tier remains the same as it was in 2023 and is a great option for small teams with an in-house tech support person who don't have pressing maintenance needs.

With monitoring and 12 hours of service, smaller teams typically choose to use this time for things like project updates, coaching calls, and mini-projects such as single forms or single zaps. While the 12 hours can also be used towards larger automation projects, they can take a good chunk of time out of the allotted hours that might need to be used for future maintenance needs throughout the year. So if you have a potential big project on the horizon, you may want to either sign up for a tier that includes more hours upfront, or pay for that big project as part of a separate engagement so you can better utilize your allotted hours.

If 12 hours of service are exceeded within the year, clients are given two options. They can either upgrade to a higher tier to add more annual hours to their monthly subscription, or they can pay for additional hours as needed at $250/hr. With a tier 1 subscription, clients receive a discount of $50/hr. for additional hours, compared to our standard $300 hourly rate.

Tier 2 - Monitoring + 24 Annual Hours of Service - $650/mo. ($7,800/yr.)

For an additional $100 per month, tier 2 clients will receive double the amount of hours that tier 1 clients get. This tier remains the same as it was in 2023.

Similar to tier 1, this tier is best suited for small teams of 1-5 members, but for those without in-house tech support - or just small teams in general with moderate maintenance needs.

Tier 2 is a very safe, balanced option for those who may have a larger project on their radar. For those without pressing maintenance needs, having 24 annual hours at their disposal will likely allow for at least one big automation project or multiple moderately-sized projects (depending on the exact size of each project, of course), in addition to typical one-off maintenance needs and meetings. 

In addition, tier 2 subscription-style maintenance clients receive the benefit of further-discounted additional hours, with an hourly rate of $217. Unless a large amount of work is requested throughout the year, most clients on tier 2 subscriptions will not need to take advantage of this offer, as 24 annual hours is typically enough for smaller teams, but the offer will remain valid as long as they're subscribed!

Tier 3 - Monitoring + 36 Annual Hours of Service - $750/mo. ($9,000/yr.)

Tier 3 is the first of two new tiers we've added to our subscription-style ongoing maintenance service.

In the final quarter of 2023, it became evident that we needed to account for the heavier maintenance needs of some of our clients. While the large majority of our clients would fall into the first two tiers of subscription-style ongoing maintenance, those with teams of 5+ members, more clientele, and more pressing needs for maintenance required more, as they were exceeding their annual hours in just a matter of months. Hence, the birth of tiers 3 and 4!

Tier 3 clients have a ton of wiggle room within their allotted 36 hours, to the point where using them for multiple large projects or even a scoping session (typically 4-6 hours of work on the Sphynx side) becomes entirely feasible. Whether you're looking to automate an entire process with a plethora of zaps, build out a tracking database in Google Sheets, put together a complex form, or something else, chances are that you'll have enough hours to cover those projects while also accounting for maintenance hours that you might need throughout the year if things error or break.

And yes, tier 3 clients also receive an even further-discounted rate for additional hours at just $188/hr.

Tier 4 - Monitoring + 48 Annual Hours of Service - $800/mo. ($9,600/yr.)

The second of two new maintenance tiers, tier 4 of our subscription-style ongoing maintenance service is best suited for larger firms with no in-house tech support and/or substantial maintenance needs throughout the year. While we don't have any clients at this tier yet, we realize that it's only a matter of time until someone needs to make the jump!

Having 48 hours of service at your disposal likely means that you're going to need Sphynx to make updates on a semi-weekly, or perhaps even weekly, basis. However, this tier could also be advantageous to those looking to work on several large projects each year, since the jump from tier 3 to tier 4 is only an extra $50 per month for an additional 12 annual hours of service.

It's difficult for us to imagine anyone needing more than 48 annual hours of service at this point, but in the event that occurs, tier 4 comes with our biggest discount on additional hours yet. Clients on this subscription plan will be able to purchase more time at a rate of $160/hr. - nearly a 50% discount compared to our standard $300 hourly rate!

Additional Information on our Subscription-Style Ongoing Maintenance Services

Tracking Sheet - Any time used by Sphynx to make updates, build projects, or hold meetings will be outlined on a tracking spreadsheet that is specific to the client. The client will be able to access this spreadsheet at any time to review what hours they have left, and what hours have been used for which requests up to that point. Plan upgrades and additional hours paid will also appear on this tracking sheet.

Meeting Time - Meeting time will be deducted from the annual allotted hours. This includes coaching calls, scoping sessions, and any other paid meetings we add to our event repertoire.

Plan Terms - Subscriptions run for one year from the date that the client signs their contract. The subscription will renew at the one year mark unless previously cancelled by either Sphynx or the client. Leftover hours do not carry over into the following year's subscription.

Plan Modification - Plans may be upgraded at any time. In order to downgrade, the client must give a 30-day notice, and must have not already exceeded the annual hours included in the proposed new plan. If those hours have been exceeded, the plan may not be downgraded until the end of the current plan's term.

Cancellation - Plans may be canceled by either party with 30-days notice.

If the plan is cancelled by the client, any unpaid hours up to the plan's allotted hours will be billed at the plan tier's prevailing hourly rate. Any excess unpaid hours will be charged at our standard rate of $300 per hour. Fees paid for unused hours are non-refundable.

If the plan is cancelled by Sphynx, any unpaid hours will be billed at the plan tier's prevailing hourly rate. Any fees paid for unused hours will be refunded.

Conclusion

With Sphynx's new updates to subscription-style ongoing maintenance, we've created plan tiers for firms of all sizes and needs for maintenance. Whether you're a solo advisor with a handful of clients, or a lead advisor on a team of several, there's value for you somewhere within our maintenance plans!

If you need further assistance in choosing a plan, be sure to email us at [email protected]! We'll help outline which plan would be best suited for you based on your unique situation.

Also, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter (on the right side of the page) to have these blog posts sent directly to your email inbox! We cover a wide variety of topics, stemming from Sphynx offerings like this, to app updates, to general DIY automation advice, and more. Happy automating!