Fee Models for Matchstick Clients

Matchstick’s services can be customized to fit any type of creative business: whether a small, boutique studio or a large, full-service agency. Our services are offered either on an as-needed basis or through a Matchstick Retained subscription.

Clients hiring Matchstick on an as-needed basis engage in a more traditional manner: hourly or fixed fee services when needed. While this provides maximum flexibility, it is a less proactive model. In addition, engaging on an as-needed basis is more expensive: hourly fees are $450 per hour (vs $400 for subscription clients) and fixed-fee projects are 20 – 25% more compared to prices when purchased under a subscription. In addition, work for Fee clients is based on availability after serving subscription clients.

On the other hand, Subscription clients get the most out of Matchstick. Each subscription starts with a small monthly fee to cover Core Services. Those Core Services include priority service, rapid-response times, lower hourly rates, lower fixed-fees on projects added to the subscription, and more. 

We believe that a subscription is the best model for proactive, growing agencies. Here’s a deeper look into the Matchstick Retained subscription to help you inform your decision.

Matchstick Retained

Every Matchstick Retained subscription is made up of three parts: Core Services, Monitor Services, and Projects.

Core Services

Every subscription starts with a suite of Core Services for $149 per month. The Core Services include the following:

  • Priority availability over non-subscription clients.
  • Response time of one business day or less.
  • Discounted hourly rates on work outside of your subscription.
  • Ability to add fixed-fee projects (each, a ​“Project”) to your subscription at any time.
  • No-charge kick-off calls for new Projects.
  • Discounted fees (vs non-subscription clients) on Projects.
  • Three-month payment terms on Projects.
  • No-charge ​“quick questions” via email (things that take 5 – 10 minutes).
  • Annual consult with your attorney.
  • No-charge review of inbound nondisclosure agreements.

With these basics in place, you can customize your subscription with just the Monitor Services and Projects you need to ensure your subscription covers everything your business needs.

Monitor Services

Monitor Services take care of paperwork and make your agency more proactive. There are four optional services available here: Contract Monitor, Corporate Monitor, Trademark Monitor, and Periodic Meetings.

  • Contract Monitor. Contracts aren’t static. Changes in your business, your clients, the law, and our drafting recommendations mean your contracts need periodic updates. Contract Monitor is an annual review and update of all of your Matchstick-drafted agreements to ensure they reflect our most up-to-date recommendations and the latest in your business. Cost: $100 per month.
  • Corporate Monitor. Your business has at least one corporate registration in the state where it is organized. And you should have corporate registrations in each state where you have employees or offices. Corporate Monitor serves as your registered agent in those states plus handles filing of your annual reports to ensure ongoing compliance. Cost: $50 per month, per state filing managed (state filing fees included).
  • Trademark Monitor. This service monitors the USPTO database for any attempted registrations of marks that conflict with your mark. Knowing of a potential conflicting registration gives you time to respond to ensure your mark is protected. Cost: $50 per month per mark (bulk monitoring of marks is available with custom pricing).
  • Periodic Meetings. These are exactly as described: periodic meetings with your lawyer to tackle whatever you want. We can strategize about new problems, review recent business results, discuss a difficult client issue, identify upcoming Projects, whatever. Cost: $25 per month per meeting.

Beyond Monitor services, you can further customize your subscription with specific Projects.

Projects

Projects are defined scope, fixed-fee engagements on things like drafting a new Services Agreement, creating a new Independent Contractor Agreement, or implementing Employee Bonus Plan. Some common Projects (and their fees when included in a subscription) are:

  • Master Services Agreement and Statement of Work ($3,000)
  • Discovery Letter ($900)
  • Client and Contractor NDA ($600)
  • MSA Playbook ($4,800)
  • Managing Difficult Clients Playbook ($3,000)
  • Employee New Hire Agreement ($1,500)
  • Independent Contractor Agreement ($1,200)
  • Employee Bonus Plan ($2,700)
  • Phantom Stock Plan ($2,700)
  • Severance and Release Letter ($1,800)
  • Trademark Registration ($1,500)
  • Trademark Knockout Search ($600)
  • Owner Agreement ($2,400)

All Project fees are financed over a three month period when purchased as part of a subscription. Project prices for Fee clients are typically 20 – 25% higher.

Special Services

The items above are just common Projects. If you have ideas about other things you’d like to tackle in your agency, we can work with you to define the scope and fee so you can add it to your subscription as a custom Project. For agencies needing more continuous support, we offer two other services:

  • Bulk Hours. Buy hours in bulk at a discount for use against whatever type of work you want. Because rates for subscribers are already discounted ($400 vs $450), additional discounts are available when purchasing more than 25 hours for use over a 12 month period. Typical cost: $750 per month.
  • Fractional General Counsel. This is for larger agencies that want Matchstick to handle all services agreement negotiation, whether on your form of agreement or your client’s form of agreement. The price depends on the number and size of contracts your agency signs in a typical year. Typical cost: $2000 to $4000 per month.

Find Out More

Want to see how a subscription might look for your agency? Use our Pricing Tool to build a custom subscription or contact us to discuss.