Implementation
Service sheet 3/6 · Medium–High · 4–16 weeksBuild, configure and hand over a working system your staff run without the vendor.
- A working system in production: flows, prompts, models, screens and connections configured for your process.
- Acceptance tests you wrote (or approved) passing on your data.
- Handover: documentation, admin access, staff trained, a 30–90 day stabilisation period.
- Scope document with in/out lists and acceptance criteria
- The build itself (configured platform or custom code) in an environment you have admin rights to
- Test report on your sample data
- Runbook: how to change wording, add a product, pause a flow, restore from backup
- Handover session and recorded walkthrough
- A pilot proved the process and you have the numbers to justify it.
- An off-the-shelf tool cannot reach your data (stock, bookings, prices, fiscal invoices) without custom work.
- Volume is high enough that per-conversation SaaS pricing is now worse than owning the flow.
| Effort band | Medium–High · 4–16 weeks |
|---|---|
| Your side | Product owner 2–4 h/week; testers; system access; content and price lists |
| Ownership | You own accounts, numbers, keys, prompts, flows and data — in the contract |
| Pricing fit | Fixed scope per milestone; T&M only for agreed unknowns |
| Zimbabwe constraint | Official WhatsApp Business Platform, FDMS-compliant invoices, USD/ZiG terms stated |
- Admin logins, API keys or the WhatsApp number are registered to the vendor.
- No test environment; changes go straight to customers.
- "We use our proprietary platform" with no export path at exit.
- The quote has one line: "AI solution".
Fixed scope · Milestone · Time and materials for unknowns
See pricing models for how each behaves when volume changes.
Implementation is where most of the money goes, and where the vendor’s incentives and yours drift apart. The vendor is paid to finish; you need the thing to keep working after they leave. Everything on this sheet exists to close that gap.
Three ownership rules. Register the WhatsApp Business account, the phone number, the cloud accounts and the API keys in your company’s name with your own payment method — the vendor gets delegated access. Write into the contract that prompts, flows, code and documentation are yours. Get a test environment, even a cheap one; a flow edited live on a Saturday is how customers get quoted the wrong price.
Fixed scope, but honest. Fixed price works for the parts everyone understands (the FAQ flow, the CRM connection). It fails for the parts nobody does yet (how your tobacco floor’s lighting affects a camera, how your customers write Shona on WhatsApp). Put those in a small time-and-materials pocket with a cap, and spend the pilot (S-02) reducing them. A vendor who fixes the price of the unknowns is either padding it or planning to argue later.
Handover is the deliverable. Ask to see the runbook before you pay the final milestone. If your receptionist cannot pause the bot and change an opening-hours message from it, the implementation is not finished.