Porch Labs

How we work

How working with us goes

The short version: we listen first, put the price and the responsibilities in writing before we start, show you the work as it takes shape, and make it straightforward to keep going with us or to take it elsewhere.

Painting: two rocking chairs turned toward each other on a lake porch, coffee and a notebook on the table between them.Painting: two rocking chairs turned toward each other on a lake porch, coffee and a notebook on the table between them.

The steps

  1. A conversation

    You tell us what’s going on, in your own words. We ask a lot of questions about how the work happens today, who does it, and what you’ve already tried. There’s no charge for this, and no obligation after it.

  2. A closer look, if it’s needed

    Some questions can be answered on the spot. Others need us to look at your bills, your accounts or how a job really flows through a day. If that takes real time, we’ll say so and tell you the price before we start.

  3. A written proposal

    What we’ll do and won’t do, what it costs, what continues to cost money afterward and who pays it, which accounts are yours, and what you’d take with you if you left. If something we recommend isn’t ours to sell, we’ll say that too.

  4. The work, in small pieces

    We build in steps you can see and try, usually starting with the part that saves the most time. You tell us what’s wrong while it’s still cheap to change.

  5. Care, or a clean handoff

    Once it’s working, you choose: we look after it on an ongoing basis, or we hand it over to you or someone you trust, with what they need to take it from there.

What it costs

We haven’t published a price list yet. We’d rather quote your actual situation than print a range that doesn’t fit it. What we can explain now is how the costs are shaped.

One-time work is building a website, setting up an automation, a look through your software bills or a custom tool. It has a price agreed in writing before we start, for a scope we’ve written down together.

Ongoing care covers hosting, updates, fixes, small changes and keeping your information accurate, as listed in the agreement. It’s a monthly fee to us, for a written list of what’s included.

Other companies’ costs are things like your domain name, email, booking or point-of-sale software, AI usage and payment fees. They’re usually billed by that company straight to your card. If one has to come through us, we’ll show it as its own line.

Why our work can cost less than you’d expect

We run as much of our own back office as we can on the same kind of tools we build for clients: reports, tracking, testing and paperwork. The less time those take, the less of what you pay goes to overhead. AI also lets us build and change software faster. We’d rather pass some of that on and keep working with you for years than charge what the market will bear.

That doesn’t mean everything is cheap. Some jobs are big. When they are, we’ll tell you, and we’ll tell you if a product you can buy would do the job for less.

Ongoing care

Websites and tools need looking after, the way a building does. Ongoing care is us doing that for a monthly fee, so you have someone who already knows your setup when something changes or breaks.

What we handle

  • Hosting, security updates and backups for what we built or set up.
  • Fixes when something we look after stops working.
  • Small changes, like new hours, menu updates and event dates, within what we agreed.
  • Keeping your listings and website saying the same thing.
  • A short note each month of what we did.

What you handle

  • Letting us know about changes in the business.
  • Approving anything that speaks for you before it’s published.
  • Keeping your own accounts paid and in good standing.
  • Deciding. We’ll recommend; you choose.

Bigger changes, like a new section of the site or a new feature, are quoted separately so the monthly fee stays predictable. Care is optional. If you’d rather look after things yourself, we’ll show you how.

If you leave

Businesses change, and so do the people they work with. If you decide to move on, it should be straightforward. Wherever a service allows it, your accounts are in your name from the start, and we hand over the code, a written guide and exports of your data.

What’s yours, what we hand over, and what keeps costing money

Questions

Do we need to sign a long contract?

We don’t want anyone staying because a contract makes them. The specifics, including notice periods, will be in the written agreement for your work, and you’ll see them before you sign.

Why don’t you list prices?

Two businesses that both “need a website” can need very different amounts of work. We’d rather give you an accurate number for your situation than a range that turns into a different number later. You’ll always have a written price before we start.

We’re seasonal. Does that matter?

Tell us when your busy and slow seasons are. It affects when to do the work (ideally before the rush) and what ongoing care needs to cover, and we’ll talk through how that fits your year.

Can we keep the tools we already use?

Usually, yes, and we’d often recommend it. Replacing something your staff already knows has a cost that rarely shows up on a quote.

Who will we actually talk to?

Justin or Lukas. There’s nobody else at Porch Labs.

Do you only work with businesses around Branson?

Branson and the surrounding Ozarks are home and where we’d most like to help, partly because we can sit down with you in person. We’re happy to talk with businesses elsewhere too.

More to read

Questions we didn’t answer?

Ask us. If the answer belongs on this page, we’ll add it.

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