03 · We build
Custom automations and internal apps, built for you and run for you.
For teams that need the work done, not taught. We scope it in a fixed-fee sprint, build it in weeks with your point person testing every release, then host and run it on a monthly agreement and report what it saves every month.
- We build
- you test it in real work
- Weeks
- from scoping to live
- Monthly
- hosting, changes, and the ledger
- You own it
- code, data, and accounts
01What gets built
The shapes that come up again and again.
Most of what an organization needs is one of these six, wired to the tools it already pays for.
Intake and routing
Forms, inboxes, and portals that classify what comes in and put it where the work happens.
Approval and review workflows
Invoices, requests, and documents that move themselves, with the audit trail leadership asks for.
Reporting pipelines
The weekly report that assembles itself from the systems you already have.
Client, participant, and partner portals
A place for the people you serve to register, pay, see status, and upload what you need.
Multi-tenant platforms
When what you built for yourself is worth offering to others: grants platforms, cohort platforms, county tools.
Integrations
The connection between two tools you already pay for that no one sells.
02How an engagement runs
A sprint, a build, a go-live, and then it runs.
You can stop after the sprint with the map and the baseline in hand. Most people do not.
Step 01: Scoping sprint
A fixed fee, two to four weeks. We map the process, baseline the hours, choose the first build, and write a statement of work with a number in it. You can stop here with the map in hand.
Step 02: Build
A weekly working session and working software every week. Your point person tests each release on real records, so what goes live has already been used.
Step 03: Go live and measure
Every run is logged against the baseline and valued at your staff rate. Revenue counts when it is collected. The first ledger arrives at the end of the first full month.
Step 04: Run
A monthly agreement covers hosting, monitoring, small changes, and the ledger. New builds get their own short scoping sprint. Two weeks’ notice ends it, and everything is handed over.
03 · The monthly agreement
What the monthly fee covers, what it does not, and how it ends.
Priced as a flat monthly fee, or as a share of revenue when we build something you sell. Either way the number is in the statement of work before work starts.
Ongoing advisory sits inside it: the fractional AI officer role, when you want a standing voice on vendors, policy, and what to automate next. What that looks like
Included
- Hosting and monitoring on infrastructure you can take with you
- Small changes and fixes as your process shifts
- The monthly ledger: baseline, runs, hours returned, dollars returned
- A quarterly review with whoever owns the number
- Advisory time for the next decision, including vendor and policy questions
Scoped separately
- A new build starts with its own short scoping sprint and a written scope
- Onsite days are quoted separately when they help
How it ends
- Month to month after the first build, two weeks’ notice
- You own the code, the data, and the accounts from day one
- A documented handover, and the ledger stays yours
04Recent work
Built and running.
Client names withheld; references on a call.
Managed Build
Grants platform for a nonprofit advisory firm
A multi-tenant, white-label platform: AI-matched funding, funder research with citations, go/no-go scoring, a pipeline, and a client portal. Live in production, hosted and run under a monthly agreement.
LiveManaged Build
Registration and learning platform for a leadership program
Replaces a WordPress and LearnDash stack. Registration records the actual fee per seat, so revenue can be verified against the platform instead of a spreadsheet. The first cohort runs on it this month.
Launching September 2026Nonprofit
Intake automation for a nonprofit
A web intake component wired to the 501 Labs impact ledger, so every hour it saves is counted on the public scoreboard.
Live
Building for a nonprofit? Start at 501 Labs, where the Lab takes on pro bono builds. When a nonprofit needs a paid build on a deadline, Civic Dialog does the work and the measured savings are reported to the 501 Labs scoreboard.
Common questions
How is this different from hiring a development shop?
Three ways. The work starts with a measured baseline and ends with a monthly ledger, so you know what it returned. It is month to month after the first build. And we will teach your people any part of it you want to own.
Where does it run?
In your existing tools when that is enough. When it needs its own home, on a hosted stack (Vercel, Neon Postgres, Clerk) under accounts you own, so you are never locked to us.
What about security and AI vendors?
AI providers are used under terms that prohibit training on your data. Access is least-privilege, credentials are yours, and the agreement includes a 72-hour breach notice. Constraints like NIST SP 800-171 are designed for, not around.
How much of our time does it take?
A point person for two to four hours a week during the build, mostly testing. After go-live, a short monthly review of the ledger.
Can we take it over later?
Yes. CoBuild exists for exactly that. Many clients start with Managed Build to get something live and then learn to run it themselves.
What if we are a nonprofit?
Start at 501 Labs. Its Blocks are free, and the Lab takes on pro bono builds. When a nonprofit needs a paid engagement on a timeline, Civic Dialog does the work and the measured savings are reported to the 501 Labs scoreboard.
Scope a build.
Bring the process. We will tell you what a scoping sprint would cover, what it costs, and what the first ledger would measure.
Prefer email? erik@civic-dialog.com