Everything You Need to Know Before We Start.
How engagements start, how we communicate, what contracts look like, and what happens after the build. No ambiguity — just a clear picture of what working with Cypher Core actually involves.
01. The Partner Call
Every engagement starts with a single 30-minute call — no pitch, no sales deck. Shah Rukh will ask about your agency, your typical client profile, the type of project you're bringing, and what success looks like. You'll leave the call knowing whether we're the right fit — and so will we.
- Who you'll speak withShah Rukh directly — not a sales rep or account manager
- What to bringA rough brief or description of the project — doesn't need to be formal
- NDASigned before the call if you're sharing sensitive client details
- How to bookCalendly link — EST and PST slots available
02. Scope & Fixed-Price Estimate
After the call, we review your brief in full and return a written scope document with a fixed price and timeline. This is the number you can pass directly to your client — no padding, no ambiguity. If the scope changes after sign-off, we discuss it openly before any additional work begins. No surprise invoices.
- What you receiveScope document, fixed price in USD, delivery timeline, and payment schedule
- Pricing structureFixed-price per project, or monthly retainer for ongoing work
- CurrencyAll invoices issued in USD
- Scope changesDiscussed and agreed in writing before any out-of-scope work begins
03. Contract & NDA
Before any work begins, we sign two documents: a project contract covering scope, timeline, payment, and IP ownership — and an NDA protecting your client's information and your agency's relationship with them. Both are standard, clean documents. No unusual clauses.
- NDA coverageClient IP, project details, your agency's relationship with the client — all protected
- IP ownershipAll code and deliverables are yours — full IP transfer on final payment
- White-label clauseWe never contact your client directly or represent ourselves to them
- SigningDocuSign — same day if needed
04. Build
Development runs in weekly sprints. You get a staging environment from day one so you can see progress in real time — no waiting until the end to discover something's off. Shah Rukh sends a written update every Friday covering what was completed, what's next, and any decisions that need your input. You are never left wondering where things stand.
- Progress updatesWritten summary every Friday — what's done, what's next, any blockers
- Staging accessLive staging environment from week one — review progress anytime
- RevisionsTwo rounds of revisions included within agreed scope
- CommunicationDedicated Slack channel — Shah Rukh responds within 4 business hours
05. Delivery & Handoff
When the build is complete and approved, we deliver a full handoff package — clean, documented code, deployment instructions, and a walkthrough call where we answer every question your team or your client's team has. Nothing is left unexplained. The final invoice is issued on handoff and IP transfers on payment.
- What's in the handoffFull codebase, technical documentation, deployment guide, credentials handover
- Walkthrough call60-minute handoff call with Shah Rukh — recorded on request
- Post-handoff support14 days of complimentary bug fixes for issues present at handoff
- Ongoing optionMove to monthly retainer for continued monitoring and development
How We Communicate
Communication is where international partnerships most often break down. Here's exactly how we handle it so there are no surprises.
Timezone
Available for calls and Slack during EST (9am–5pm) and PST (9am–5pm) business hours. Morning calls preferred for maximum overlap.
Response time
Slack messages answered within 4 business hours. Urgent issues flagged by you get a same-day response — always.
Weekly check-in
Optional 30-minute Zoom call every week during the build. Written update sent every Friday regardless of whether the call happens.
Primary channel
Dedicated Slack channel per project. Email for formal documents and contracts. Zoom for calls — recorded on request.
Point of contact
Shah Rukh is your direct contact for every project — not a rotating PM or account manager. One person, full accountability.
Language
All communication in English. Technical and non-technical — we adjust the detail level to match who we're talking to.
Tools we use
Invoicing & Payment
Currency
All invoices issued in USD. No currency conversion required on your end.
Payment schedule
50% upfront to begin, 50% on delivery. Retainers billed monthly in advance.
Payment methods
Wire transfer, ACH, Wise, or Payoneer. Invoice sent 5 business days before due date.
Invoice format
Clean, itemized invoices from Cypher Core LLC — ready to pass to your accounts team or client.
Common Questions from Agency Partners
Only if you decide to tell them. We work entirely under your brand — all deliverables, communications, and documentation carry your agency's name. We never approach your clients directly and our NDA prohibits us from disclosing the relationship.
If a delay is caused by something on our end, we absorb the extra time at no additional cost. If it's caused by scope changes or delayed feedback from your side, we'll flag it early and agree on a revised timeline in writing before continuing. No silent overruns.
Yes — and this is our preferred model. Agencies that bring us into a client relationship long-term get priority scheduling, discounted retainer rates, and a dedicated Slack workspace for the account. The longer the relationship, the better we understand your standards and your client's system.
We're a team of 5 with plans to expand. If a project grows in scope significantly, we'll discuss what's needed honestly — and if we need to bring in an additional engineer, we tell you before doing so and the cost is agreed in advance.
Yes — often our role is to handle the specialist work (API architecture, AI integration, performance engineering) that sits outside your internal team's core competency. We integrate cleanly with existing dev teams and hand off in a way that's easy for them to maintain.
We work best on projects starting at $5,000 USD. Below that threshold, the scoping and onboarding overhead makes it difficult to deliver the quality we hold ourselves to. For smaller ongoing tasks, a retainer is usually the better fit.
Ready to see if we're the right fit for your agency?
Book a free 30-min call with Shah Rukh. No pitch — just a conversation.
Book a Free Partner Call