# Retainers — Squatch.CC

Monthly retainers. Fractional senior leadership.

Squatch.CC retainers are how we work with companies that need senior engineering and product judgment every month, without hiring a full-time CTO. Pick a tier. Pay the first month. Get a scoped engagement letter back in five business days.

## Tiers

| Tier     | Monthly | Hours / mo (approx.) | Overflow | Typical fit |
|----------|---------|----------------------|----------|-------------|
| Starter  | $4,000  | up to 16             | $250/hr  | Founders & small teams; senior sounding board + selective hands-on review |
| Standard | $8,000  | up to 32             | $250/hr  | Fractional CTO/CxO in the seat — owning calls, unblocking the team |
| Studio   | $16,000 | up to 64             | $300/hr  | Standard scope + principal-level hands-on engineering on a specific delivery |

Tier shape mirrors our sister studio at [eigenhitchens.com](https://eigenhitchens.com/services/) so cross-engagement clients see a single pricing model.

Need a different shape (multi-entity, 501(c)(3), HIPAA scope)? See [CxO sample scopes](/cxo/index.md#scopes) or email hello@squatch.cc.

## How it works

1. **Pay the first month.** Card / Apple Pay / Google Pay / ACH / Link, processed by Stripe. Deposit is fully refundable until Schedule A is signed.
2. **30-minute kickoff call** within 3 business days.
3. **Schedule A engagement letter** back to you in 5 business days. Scope, cadence, overflow rate, off-ramp.
4. **We start.** Recurring monthly invoice from month two. 30 days' notice to pause, downsize, or end.

## Payment / Stripe wiring

The checkout uses **Stripe Payment Element**, configured to accept cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Link, and ACH. Squatch.CC never sees raw card data.

This page ships in DEMO mode by default — see [`retainers/README.md`](https://github.com/squatch-c-c/squatch.cc/blob/main/retainers/README.md) in the repo for how the publishable key and Cloudflare Pages Function endpoint are wired before production payments turn on.

## Verified vs aspirational

- Tier prices, overflow rates, and the 5-day Schedule A turnaround are the current public commitments.
- Refund posture ("fully refundable until Schedule A is signed") is the policy as stated.
- The Stripe integration is real code with a clear demo-mode fallback; production activation requires server-side secret-key configuration and a passing op-check.