A four-phase shift, not a forever project.
Most engagements take 6–12 weeks end-to-end. You stay in control. We do the heavy lifting and leave you with documented systems your team owns.
Six rules we don't break.
Right-tool, not house-tool
The best solution for your team isn't the one we know best — it's the one that fits how you work. We have strong opinions and use them to ask sharper questions, not to push a stack.
You own everything
Code, data, credentials, documentation — yours from launch, in formats you can build on. We're shipping an asset your team owns, not a service you keep renting from us. Repo, database, keys, written runbook: all under your control from day one.
AI when it earns its keep
When AI fits the work, we build it in where it saves real time. When it doesn't, we leave it out. Not every problem is an AI problem, and we'd rather skip a tool than sell you one you don't need.
Working systems weekly
You see real working pieces every week — not a deck at the end of six months. If something isn't working, we find out fast and fix it.
Handoff is the deliverable
SOPs, recorded walkthroughs, and optional ongoing support. The system survives the engagement and your team can run it without us.
Partner-led
The person on the discovery call is the person building your system. No gatekeeping, no offshore subcontractor, no 'meet your account manager' theater.
The shape of an engagement.
Six to twelve weeks typically. Some engagements stretch (complex migrations, multi-system builds); we'll tell you up front if yours does.
Discovery call
Thirty minutes, no deck. We listen, ask hard questions, and tell you straight whether we're the right fit.
- Goal clarity
- Honest fit check
- Next-step proposal
Audit
We map the current state. Workflows, tools, people, data. Surface the redundancies and the silent costs.
- Stakeholder interviews
- Tool & data inventory
- Cost & time analysis
Design
We design the target system around how your team actually works. Reviewed and locked before any build starts.
- System architecture
- Data model
- Acceptance criteria
Build
We configure, build, and connect. Weekly demos so you see real working systems, not status updates.
- Weekly demos
- Iterative refinement
- Documentation as we go
Handoff
Training, SOPs, recorded walkthroughs. The system is yours; we made it work.
- Live team training
- SOPs & runbooks
- 30-day post-launch support
Not ready for a full build? Start with a Diagnostic.
A two-to-three-week engagement that audits your current operating layer, surfaces the highest-leverage fixes, and delivers a written recommendation your team can act on with or without us. No commitment to a build. A good fit for a board-restricted gift, a tech-modernization grant, or just buying clarity before you commit larger budget.
Discovery calls are no-charge. References from current engagements available on request — including a $16M nonprofit currently in active build. See a sample deliverable →
Faster path: The Box.
A productized, self-hosted operating system bundling CRM, lifecycle marketing, automations, forms, reporting, and role-based access. Pre-built, deployed to your infrastructure in two to four weeks, configured to your operating model. Yours from day one — no per-seat fees, no vendor lock-in, no rent that climbs every year.
Year-three savings vs. a $48K/year SaaS stack: roughly $120K. Arithmetic, not a sales pitch. See what's in the Box →
What an engagement looks like at each level.
Wholeshift engagements scale with scope, complexity, and the size of the team we're serving. Slide through the levels to see what each one typically includes. The investment is a fixed-fee quote scoped on the discovery call — we don't post specific prices because every engagement is built around your work, not a price tier.
Audit your operating layer. Get a written recommendation. No build commitment.
Most accessible entry point. We sit with your team, audit current state, surface the highest-leverage opportunities, and deliver a written recommendation you act on with us, with someone else, or in-house.
- Stakeholder interviews
- Tool + data audit
- Written recommendation report
- Walkthrough call (recording yours)
One core system, built and deployed. In weeks, not months.
A focused single-system engagement — CRM, marketing operations, automation, or web — built around how your team actually works. Most common entry for small businesses ready to replace a SaaS subscription with something they own.
- One core system (CRM, MarOps, automation, or web)
- 2–3 integrations into your existing stack
- Data migration from up to two sources
- Team training + SOPs
- 30-day post-launch support
Two or three services blended. The system most clients need.
Multi-component engagement where the work spans more than one of our service areas — typically CRM plus marketing operations, or a custom build plus automation, or a nonprofit donor model plus reporting plus integrations. Most-common shape of a real Wholeshift engagement.
- Two or three blended services
- 4–6 integrations
- Data migration from multiple sources
- Reporting + dashboards
- Team training + SOPs + recorded walkthroughs
- 30-day post-launch support
Multi-system rebuild. Full operating-layer transformation.
When the work is replacing the whole tooling sprawl with a coherent operating layer — multiple systems, complex data migrations, integrations across every channel, board-level reporting, and the runbooks that let your team own the result.
- Multi-system architecture
- 8+ integrations
- Complex data migration (often from 4+ sources)
- Custom workflows, approvals, RBAC
- Board / executive reporting
- Phased rollout with weekly demos
- 30-day post-launch support
Larger nonprofit or SMB scope. Multi-stakeholder rollout.
Larger organizations with complex constituent histories, multi-funder restricted reporting, multi-team workflows, or compliance scope that requires deliberate phasing. We currently have a $16M-budget nonprofit in active build at this level — references available on the discovery call.
- Custom data model design
- Multi-team stakeholder workshops
- Phased rollout, multiple go-live milestones
- Integration with existing enterprise systems
- Multi-source historical data migration
- Compliance documentation + RBAC audit
- Named specialist subcontractors as needed
- 60-day post-launch support
Investment is fixed-fee in every case. We quote on the discovery call and lock the number at engagement signing. Productized offerings (the Diagnostic and the Box) have starting prices you can see on those pages; bespoke builds are scoped to the work.
Three ways to keep working together — none of them hourly.
The handoff is a real handoff: code, data, credentials, runbook, all yours from launch. Most clients keep working with us anyway. Three fixed-fee retainer products to choose from, scoped on outcomes and capacity — never hours billed.
Operating Partnership
We host, monitor, and maintain the system you launched. Integration fixes, security updates, small monthly improvements, and a defined slice of feature work each month. One bill, one point of contact, the codebase still in your repo. Starts around $400 per month for small systems and scales with integration count and complexity. Quoted as part of the build engagement. Cancelable on 60 days notice.
Advisory Retainer
Your team runs the system; we stay in your corner. Monthly check-in call, async questions answered within one business day, quarterly strategy reviews, and a written quarterly health-check. Starts around $250 per month and scales with cadence and depth. A good fit when you have ops capacity in-house but want experienced eyes on the work.
Build Capacity Retainer
Ongoing significant build work — new integrations, new modules, system extensions, second-system projects. A defined monthly capacity expressed as outcomes per quarter, not hours billed. $1,500–$8,000 per month depending on capacity. A good fit for clients whose operations keep evolving and want a partner who already knows the codebase.
All three are fixed-fee. Scope and pricing locked at engagement signing. Cancelable on notice. Most clients start with an Operating Partnership for the first 6–12 months, then downshift to Advisory, ramp up to Build Capacity, or take everything fully in-house.
Ready to make the shift?
Discovery call. Thirty minutes. No deck.