A single automation
one painful task, handled
The quoting, the follow-ups, the data entry between your tools. Scoped from a conversation and fixed before we start.
Pricing
What it costs.
What it includes.
Websites have clear prices up front. AI automation and custom systems work differently: each one is scoped from a conversation, then priced to the hours it gives back.
All prices in AUD. Quotes hold for 30 days from issue.
AI automation & custom systems
Priced to the hours
it gives back.
Automation isn't a menu. Every build is scoped from a conversation and priced against the time and money it returns, not against an hourly rate. There are no prices here on purpose: yours depends on what's actually worth doing.
A full operational build
several, wired together
A set of automations built into how you actually work, end to end. Scoped to the project, with the payoff mapped up front.
A custom system
bespoke software
A private system built for exactly how one business runs. This is the serious end. Scoped individually, and most of it I can't show you, by design.
As a rough anchor: most first automations land in the low thousands, fixed before any work starts. A full operational build or a custom system runs higher and is quoted to the project. A short conversation turns that into a real number for your situation.
Two ways to keep going.
Once something's built you can leave it, or keep me on. No lock-in either way.
Care
from $200 / monthMonitoring, maintenance and small fixes that keep what's built running quietly in the background.
Build
from $1,500 / monthOngoing automation development as the business grows: a standing hand on the next thing worth automating.
Running costs (servers, model and API usage) are passed through at cost. No SaaS markups stacked on top.
Websites & builds
Prices on the page. No guesswork.
Websites and full builds have clear prices up front: a fixed price where the job's a defined thing, and an honest starting point where it scopes to what you need. Either way you know roughly where you stand before we talk. It's often the first thing a business needs, and the easiest way to start working together.
Single page
$899 one-off · no hosting fees
For Solo operators, single-service businesses, anyone whose website job is one well-made page.
One sharp page, custom-designed around the business. It lives on Cloudflare's edge, so there are no monthly hosting fees and nothing to subscribe to.
Includes
- · Bespoke single-page website, designed for the actual job
- · Mobile, accessibility, performance done properly
- · Hosted on Cloudflare Pages, with no monthly hosting fees
- · Domain configuration if you have one
- · Branded favicon and Open Graph image
- · Basic SEO metadata, structured data
Add-ons
- · Extra pages, scoped and quoted
- · Contact form (with anti-spam)
- · Newsletter sign-up integration
Future changes billed at the hourly rate, in 15-minute increments. No retainer required.
Custom Website + CMS
From $4,000 multi-page · headless WordPress
For Established small businesses that need a real website with content they'll want to update.
A custom-designed multi-page website on a headless WordPress setup: a fast custom front end, with the familiar WordPress dashboard for editing. Way faster than standard WordPress builds, with the same easy content control for your team.
Includes
- · Headless architecture: a custom front end on the WordPress backend
- · Custom design, multiple pages
- · Mobile, accessibility, performance done properly
- · Edit content in the familiar WordPress dashboard anytime
- · Configured and deployed onto your hosting (or one of the tiers below)
- · Domain configured, SSL set up at launch
- · Training so you can run it yourself
Add-ons
- · Migration from existing site
- · Email setup (Microsoft 365 or Workspace)
- · Booking system integration
- · Custom forms beyond standard contact
Build is one-off. Ongoing hosting and maintenance is billed monthly (see Hosting & maintenance below).
Online store
From $7,000 headless · WordPress + WooCommerce
For Small businesses selling products online and wanting full control of the store.
Everything in Custom Website + CMS, plus a fully-wired WooCommerce store: products, payments, inventory, the customer flow. It runs on the same headless architecture, so it's significantly faster than standard WooCommerce stores.
Includes
- · Everything in Custom Website + CMS
- · WooCommerce store on WordPress
- · Stripe checkout (or your processor of choice)
- · Product catalogue, categories, variants
- · Order notifications, customer accounts
- · Basic shipping rules and tax setup
- · Training on running the store
Add-ons
- · Custom shipping logic / multi-vendor setup
- · Subscriptions / recurring orders
- · Inventory sync with external systems
- · Custom checkout flows
Build is one-off. Hosting runs from $129/mo for small stores, or $250+/mo for a dedicated VPS as traffic grows (see below). Stripe and payment processor fees are charged by Stripe, not by me.
Business start-up or custom build
Quote scoped, not templated
For Brand-new operators with no IT yet, or established businesses with a project that doesn't fit a standard tier.
End-to-end setup for a new business: domain, branded email, website, online bookings, payments, the back-office systems. Or anything bespoke that doesn't fit the standard tiers. It's all done as one coherent project.
Includes
- · Domain registration
- · Branded email on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace
- · Website (single page or full build, your choice)
- · Online bookings, payments, integrations as needed
- · Bookkeeping / accounting integration
- · Whatever the project actually needs
Add-ons
- · Branding work (logos, palette, type system)
- · Brand photography coordination
- · Ongoing managed services after launch
Quoted to scope. The first conversation is free, with no obligation and no pressure.
Why headless
The speed difference,
actually measured.
Standard WordPress runs PHP and plugins on every page request. Headless serves pre-built HTML from a CDN: same content, dramatically less work. Numbers below are typical ranges from real-world audits.
Standard WordPress
Page builder + plugins · shared hosting
- Lighthouse mobile
- 35–65
- Largest Contentful Paint
- 3–5s
- Page weight
- 2–4 MB
- Time to interactive
- 4–8s
Headless WordPress
Custom front end · CDN-served
- Lighthouse mobile
- 95–100
- Largest Contentful Paint
- Under 1s
- Page weight
- 200–500 KB
- Time to interactive
- ~1s
This site is itself a headless build: 95+ Lighthouse mobile, a lean initial load, sub-second LCP. Run any URL through Google PageSpeed Insights to check.
Hosting & maintenance
Ongoing care.
Monthly, no lock-in.
Hosting is separate from the build price. Pick a tier, or bring your own host. Your call. All prices monthly, AUD.
Hosting
$59 / month
Premium Australian VPS hosting for the standard custom website. Set-and-forget, with SSL and backups handled.
- · Premium Australian VPS
- · SSL certificate, auto-renewed
- · Automated backups
- · Domain registration included
Hosting + maintenance
$129 / month
Everything in Hosting, plus ongoing maintenance: WordPress updates, security monitoring, and small fixes as they come up.
- · Everything in Hosting
- · WordPress core + plugin updates
- · Uptime + security monitoring
- · Small fixes and content tweaks included
For online stores: hosting starts at $129/mo for small stores. A dedicated VPS runs from $250+/mo as traffic and order volume grow, quoted when the time comes.
Pricing questions
The ones that come up most.
How much does AI automation cost?
AI automation is scoped from a conversation and priced to the hours it gives back, not an hourly rate. A single automation is a fixed price agreed before work starts; a full operational build or custom system is quoted to the project. The first conversation is free.
Why aren't automation prices listed?
Every project is scoped on its own, because no two businesses automate the same jobs. As a guide, most first automations land in the low thousands, and a short conversation gives you a real number for your situation.
Do you charge by the hour?
Clearly-scoped work is a fixed price, so you're not paying for slow days. Small open-ended jobs can be hourly, and ongoing work runs on a monthly retainer. Everything is quoted before it starts, so there are no surprises on the invoice.
What does the support retainer guarantee if something breaks?
JDCS monitors the important automations, so issues are often caught before you notice. Care, from $200/month, covers monitoring and fixes with urgent problems handled the same business day. Build, from $1,500/month, adds ongoing development as you grow. No lock-in either way.
How much does a website cost?
A single page is $899 one-off with no hosting fees. A custom multi-page website with a CMS starts at $4,000, and an online store from $7,000. Managed hosting, if you want it, is separate from $59/month.
Is there a lock-in contract?
No. Builds are one-off, and retainers run month to month with no lock-in. You can leave whenever you like, and you own what's been built.
Next step
Not sure which fits?
Send a message.
Tell me what you're trying to do. I'll come back with the shape that makes sense, and a fixed price for it.