¤ Working with ANSARA — engagement & fees
How we're engaged, and what a fee depends on.
No price list — the work is never identical twice. But the model is transparent: how an engagement begins, what we scope before we quote, and exactly which factors move a fee.
An engagement starts with a conversation, not a contract
Every engagement begins with a structured consultation — free, confidential, and useful whether or not you proceed. If you ask for one, we countersign an NDA before any specifics are exchanged. That call establishes what you actually need, which of our four practices it touches, and whether the honest answer is that you need us at all.
Only after that do we scope. A fee quoted before the work is understood is a guess; we don't quote guesses. What follows the call is a short, written engagement charter — scope, deliverables, fee, and exclusions in plain language, with what we will not do stated as carefully as what we will.
A fee reflects the work, so we define the work first
Scoping is the step that makes a fee fair. Before any number is put in writing, we establish the boundaries of the engagement: which activities and approvals are in play, what depth of analysis the decision warrants, which steps require a licensed professional we will coordinate, and what timeline you are working to. These are the variables that determine effort — and effort, not a tariff, determines the fee.
Four factors, and nothing hidden
Fees are not arbitrary and they are not a fixed rate applied to everyone. They move with four factors, all established during scoping and all visible to you:
- Complexity — a single-activity company and a multi-entity structure with an RHQ are not the same problem.
- Regulated execution — where an engagement requires licensed counsel, tax, audit, or brokerage work, those professionals' costs are part of the picture and are disclosed, never marked up in the dark.
- Coordination load — the more moving parts and parallel workstreams, the more of the work is orchestration.
- Timeline — genuine acceleration takes more concentrated effort; a comfortable corridor costs less than a compressed one.
None of these is a surprise line item. Each is discussed before the charter is signed, and the charter states the fee approach in full.
Scoped, milestone-linked, or success-linked — disclosed
We use whichever structure fits the engagement, and we say which in the charter:
Before specifics, and without hidden incentives
Confidentiality comes first: an NDA can precede any detail, and your identity, intent, and numbers travel on a need-to-know basis — even inside our own network. Independence is the other half: we hold no hidden mandates and take no undisclosed commissions that would steer advice. Conflicts are declared before an engagement or the engagement is declined. Our independence is the product; the fee model protects it.
A handover that lets you operate without us
An engagement closes with a handover pack that leaves you able to operate independently — not a dependency. You keep the memos, the maintained calendars, the structures, and the documentation. If you prefer to keep a seat filled, the retained-counsel subscription exists for that; if you don't, you leave with everything you need. The measure of the work is that you could carry it on without us.
Why don't you publish a price list? +
Because no two engagements are identical — a fee applied from a tariff would be wrong in both directions. We scope first, then quote a fee that reflects the actual work, in a written charter before anything begins.
Is the consultation really free? +
Yes, and it's useful whether or not you engage us. Some consultations end with us telling you that you don't need us, or not yet — that's a legitimate and common outcome.
Do you ever work on a success fee? +
Only for brokerage and market-access mandates, always disclosed and documented. Advisory deliverables are never contingent — analysis that must flatter to be paid has no value.
Book a consultation and we'll scope it together.
Free, confidential, and useful either way — NDA on request, a written charter with the fee approach in full before any work begins.