Pricing models
This page is about the shape of the price — who carries which risk, and what happens when volume doubles. It is not about what automation will save you; for that, use the ROI calculator at businessai.co.zw.
| Code | Model | How it works | Fits | Risk it moves | Shapes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | Fixed scope | One price for a defined deliverable and acceptance test | Well-understood work: FAQ flow, a known connector, an audit | Vendor carries overrun; you carry scope changes — write scope tightly | Audit, pilot, implementation of known parts |
| M2 | Milestones | Fixed scope split into 3–5 payments tied to acceptance, not dates | Builds over 6 weeks; anything with integration | Keeps leverage with you; needs a real acceptance test per milestone | Implementation, integration |
| M3 | Time and materials (capped) | Day or hour rate with a cap and weekly reporting | Unknowns: legacy systems, new document layouts, language testing | You carry the risk; the cap and the weekly report are the controls | Integration of undocumented systems; the "unknown pocket" in a build |
| M4 | Subscription / per seat | Monthly fee per plan or user, often with usage caps | Off-the-shelf tools for micro and small firms | Cheap to start; caps bite at month-end; export path decides exit | Tool; some managed support |
| M5 | Per conversation / document / minute | Metered by use, often passing through Meta, model or telephony fees | Low, uneven volume; when you want cost to follow activity | Great at 300 a month, painful at 30,000; demand a cap and a notice period | Usage layer of any shape; support |
| M6 | Retainer (hybrid) | Flat monthly fee for monitoring and a change budget, plus capped usage | Systems facing customers or money after go-live | Predictable; needs a monthly report or it is a tax | Managed support |
USD, ZiG and the foreign bill
Zimbabwe trades in both ZiG and US dollars. Through 2026 the official rate has been broadly stable in the mid-20s to the dollar (about 25.4 on 13 September per the TechNews tracker) with a parallel-market premium that press reports put around 20% in August. Most of an AI service's usage layer — messaging, model calls, hosting — is billed abroad in USD. Three questions settle it:
- Which currency is the contract in, and at which rate if the other is used?
- Who holds the foreign accounts — you or the vendor — and how are they settled if forex is constrained?
- Is there a cap on pass-through, and a notice period when a third party changes its price?
A vendor that invoices you locally, in full, in one currency, with a capped pass-through is charging you for taking that friction — usually worth it.
What happens when it works
Success changes the price. A metered model (M5) that costs little at 300 conversations a month costs a great deal at 30,000 — precisely when the assistant is doing its job. A subscription (M4) hits its cap. A retainer (M6) stays flat until the change budget is exhausted. Ask every vendor for the price at 10× your current volume and write the answer into the contract.
One system, three contracts, twelve months
Assumptions stated · not a quoteA WhatsApp customer-service assistant for a 12-person retailer with one POS connection. Assumed: 2,000 conversations a month in months 1–6 rising to 6,000 in months 7–12; implementation labour US$1,500; one connector US$1,200; support need of about 2 hours a month. Only the listed platform prices on the providers page are sourced; everything else is an assumption to show the shape.
| Line | M2 milestones + M6 retainer | M4 subscription (tool) | M5 metered (vendor-hosted) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build and connector | 2,700 (3 milestones) | 0 (self-configured; no POS connector) | 0 ("free build") |
| Platform / licence | 30 × 12 = 360 | 50 × 12 = 600 (listed Premium plan) | included |
| Usage months 1–6 | ≈ 25 × 6 = 150 | within plan caps: 0 | assume 0.02 × 2,000 × 6 = 240 |
| Usage months 7–12 | ≈ 60 × 6 = 360 | over cap: upgrade or throttle | assume 0.02 × 6,000 × 6 = 720 |
| Support | 80 × 12 = 960 (with report) | included (email) | 150 × 12 = 1,800 |
| Year one (US$) | ≈ 4,530 | ≈ 600 + upgrade | ≈ 2,760 |
| Owns at month 12 | Accounts, flows, docs, connector — yours | An account and its export | Per contract; often nothing portable |
| Price at 10× volume | Usage rises; labour does not | Plan change or new tool | Usage line ×10 — ask before signing |
Read across, not down: the cheapest column is right for a firm without a POS to connect; the most expensive column is the only one that ends with an integrated system you own. Replace every number with your quotes and the picture will hold.