Coming aboard
From “how much?” to your first deliverable, here's the whole onboarding (timelines included, nothing hidden). The short version: one email starts it, a written scope precedes any billing, and the first deliverable arrives within your first month.
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STEP 1 · HAIL US
Today
You request a quote
By email: the quote page pre-fills everything, or the five-question quiz points you at a starting plan. We reply within two business days with exact scope and pricing in CAD. No discovery-call gauntlet; a call happens only if you want one.
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STEP 2 · CHARTS ON THE TABLE
Within 2 business days
You get it in writing
The quote comes with a plain-language agreement: what's delivered each month, what it costs, how your data is handled and consented to, and how to cancel (30 days' notice, no penalty). Nothing is billed until you've agreed to a written scope.
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STEP 3 · RIGGING
Days 1–3
A short setup (about three days)
We set up your monthly channel: the email format your data arrives in (a pasted CSV or Drive link, memo column included), a subject-line convention so nothing gets lost, and (for SEO or website plans) an editor invite to your website platform, which you can revoke anytime. Websites plans add one content-gathering pass: your services, your story, your photos.
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STEP 4 · SHAKEDOWN CRUISE
First month
The first month runs honestly
Expect the first deliverable to come with more flagged questions than any month after: mystery transactions, voice checks, unverified details. That's by design: we ask rather than guess, and every answer you give becomes a standing rule. Month three needs a fraction of the back-and-forth month one does.
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STEP 5 · CRUISING RHYTHM
Ongoing
The monthly rhythm settles in
One email from you, finished work back within five business days, a person reviewing everything before it ships. Plans change at any month boundary (up, down, or out) and your data and website remain yours, always.
What we'll ask you for
The whole list, upfront. Expect under an hour of gathering:
Reporting plans (Harbor and up)
- Bank or software export as CSV (memo column included)
- A note on any e-transfer that lacks a description
- Last month's totals, if you have them (variance notes start sooner)
SEO plans (Compass and up)
- Your website address and this month's focus
- An editor/collaborator invite to your website platform, or tell us you'd rather paste changes yourself
- One or two links to writing that sounds like you
Website builds (Dinghy to Galleon)
- What you do, for whom, and in what area; rough notes are fine
- Logo and photos if you have them; honest placeholders if you don't
- Your domain name, or we'll help you register one
A founding-client honesty note
Vela is young, and early clients shape this process; if a step above feels clumsy for your business, we change the step, not you. What never changes: written scope before billing, a person reviewing every deliverable, and your right to leave with 30 days' notice and all your data.
Curious what happens after onboarding? The monthly loop is documented too, and the sample report shows what lands in your inbox at the end of it.