Frequently asked questions

Yes. Customers may request an invoice instead of paying immediately through online checkout. Invoice requests do not constitute payment or automatically start work. Work begins after confirmed payment and completion of the applicable intake or project prerequisites. Online card checkout through NMI remains available; external invoices may be payable through an authorized third-party provider. The invoice request form never collects card or bank details, there is no subscription or automatic recurring charge, product prices and refund conditions are unchanged, and published fit-confirmation requirements still apply.

Northbridge serves organizations in the United States that need practical improvements to operations, internal software, integrations, reporting, automation, or existing applications. Many are growing organizations with approximately 10–500 employees, but suitability depends more on the business problem, scope, and required capabilities than on a strict company-size rule.

Yes. Many engagements begin with existing SaaS tools, databases, internal applications, spreadsheets, APIs, or legacy software. The first step is understanding the current environment, access, data, ownership, constraints, and available integration options.

No. Work may include improving an existing application, connecting systems, automating a workflow, building a focused internal tool, improving reporting, stabilizing older software, or planning phased modernization.

AI is used selectively where it improves a defined workflow, such as document classification, data extraction, summarization, knowledge retrieval, assisted routing, or structured drafting. Appropriate access controls, exception handling, review steps, and human oversight remain part of the solution design.

Custom engagements usually begin with a discussion of the business objective, current process, systems, and desired outcome. Published products follow their own purchase paths: four use direct checkout, two require written fit confirmation before invoicing, and Client Operations Portal uses Start Project with detailed intake after confirmed payment.

Discovery examines the business objective, users, workflows, systems, data, constraints, risks, priorities, and success measures. The goal is to make the recommended scope, architecture, and delivery path clearer before substantial implementation begins.

Material changes should be documented and reviewed for their effect on deliverables, schedule, responsibilities, risk, and billing. Changes are not treated as committed work until they are approved through the applicable project process.

Projects use defined milestones, review points, testing, and agreed acceptance criteria. The specific review and acceptance process is documented in the proposal, statement of work, or applicable service agreement.

The Workflow Quick Scan ($49) is the lowest-cost starting point: a brief written review of one small workflow and up to two tools. The Workflow Review ($149) is a more detailed assessment of one workflow. The Integration Readiness Assessment ($495) evaluates a specific system-to-system connection, the Automation Blueprint ($995) produces an implementation-ready plan, and the Workflow Automation Prototype ($1,795) delivers a working non-production prototype of one workflow — all five can be purchased directly through secure online checkout. Focused Automation Implementation and Internal Operations Starter System require written fit and scope confirmation before invoicing. Client Operations Portal is a published fixed-scope implementation package priced at $9,095 Pay in Full or $9,995 under the Milestone Payment Plan, which starts with $1,995. The detailed intake follows payment. The separate $150 Technical Consultation is scheduled rather than purchased online.

Pricing depends on scope, complexity, risk, dependencies, delivery structure, and responsibilities. Eight fixed-scope products have published prices for qualifying scopes, from the $49 Workflow Quick Scan to the Client Operations Portal ($9,095 Pay in Full or $9,995 under the Milestone Payment Plan). Custom work outside those scopes is described in a written proposal rather than through generic public project-price ranges.

Billing terms are documented in the applicable proposal and agreement. Custom projects may use milestone-based billing, phased billing, or another clearly written structure appropriate to the engagement. Client Operations Portal offers either one $9,095 service invoice for Pay in Full or six separately invoiced milestone payments totaling $9,995 under the Milestone Payment Plan. Full payment preserves all six delivery, review, correction, and confirmation stages, but creates no further invoices for the published fixed scope. Any legally required tax is separately itemized before payment.

General custom software projects are not instant-purchase products. They normally require discussion, written scope, and an applicable proposal or agreement. Northbridge also publishes certain standardized fixed-scope implementation products with their own purchasing rules. The Client Operations Portal, for example, has a published scope priced at $9,095 Pay in Full or $9,995 under the Milestone Payment Plan and uses its product-specific Start Project process. The applicable product page and agreement control the process for that engagement.

Card and bank account (ACH) payments are available through Northbridge’s secure NMI payment flow. ACH payments are currently undergoing controlled payment testing. Each ACH payment is separately authorized for the displayed amount and remains Processing until trusted settlement confirmation. Secure online card payments are processed through our NMI payment gateway. Complete card numbers and security codes are entered only in the gateway’s secure fields and are not stored on Northbridge application servers. Northbridge may retain billing and transaction metadata, including payment status, card brand, and last four digits, as described in the Privacy Policy. For ACH, bank account and routing details are entered through the secure NMI payment flow and are not retained in Northbridge application systems. Choosing ACH for one invoice does not authorize automatic debits for future milestones. Larger engagements, including Client Operations Portal projects, are invoiced separately, with billing terms provided through the applicable proposal, agreement, invoice, and Payment & Billing information.

Review the published package scope, exclusions, project timeline, milestone schedule, and applicable policies, then select Start Project. You may choose Pay in Full at $9,095 or begin with the $1,995 first milestone payment. After confirmed payment, the secure project intake is unlocked. The completed intake is used to define implementation details within the published package scope.

Yes. The Milestone Payment Plan total is $9,995. The published milestone schedule is: $1,995 — Project Definition & Architecture; $1,850 — Application Foundation; $1,650 — Client Portal Implementation; $1,800 — Staff Operations & Integrations; $1,400 — Testing & Refinement; $1,300 — Deployment & Handoff. Each milestone is separately invoiced.

No. The milestone plan is not a subscription and does not authorize automatic recurring charges. After a milestone is delivered and you confirm receipt, Northbridge issues the invoice for the next milestone. Work on the next stage begins after the required payment and project prerequisites are received.

Yes. Pay in Full is a one-time $9,095 price — $900 less than the $9,995 Milestone Payment Plan. Paying in full does not change the published scope, milestone delivery process, review process, or defect-remediation coverage.

The Client Operations Portal has a published fixed scope and payment structure. The first payment begins the paid onboarding process. The detailed intake provides the workflow, users, systems, integrations, and implementation information needed to perform the first milestone within that published scope. Submitting a requirement through the intake does not automatically expand the package.

Northbridge will identify material scope differences before performing substantive out-of-scope implementation work. You may continue within the published scope, approve a separately quoted change, or request cancellation under the Refunds & Cancellations Policy. You are not automatically required to purchase a larger engagement.

Northbridge provides a milestone completion report and the applicable deliverables. You may Confirm Receipt & Continue or Request a Correction if you believe a delivered item materially does not match the applicable scope.

It records that the described milestone deliverables were received and allows the project to proceed. It does not waive unresolved scope defects or applicable defect-remediation rights.

The project is held at the current milestone while Northbridge reviews the identified scope issue. The next milestone invoice is not generated until the applicable delivery issue has been addressed and the milestone can proceed.

The project timeline may pause while Northbridge is waiting for required information, access, decisions, milestone confirmation, or the next required milestone payment. Published delivery estimates do not include documented waiting periods caused by missing project prerequisites.

For Client Operations Portal, the published Ownership & License Terms accepted at Start Project define ownership of paid Project-Specific Deliverables, the perpetual license to embedded Northbridge Background Technology, third-party components, handoff, and rights on early cancellation. Ownership and licensing for other engagements are defined in their applicable written agreement.

Security considerations are included in requirements, architecture, access control, validation, data handling, integrations, dependency review, testing, deployment, and maintenance as applicable to the engagement. Northbridge does not claim external audits or formal certifications that have not been completed.

Public submissions are handled according to the Privacy Policy and through the website's configured server-side and database controls. Project-specific confidentiality and information-handling responsibilities are addressed in the applicable agreement.

Yes, when ongoing support is included in a written agreement. Support may include maintenance, dependency updates, issue handling, documentation, small improvements, operational guidance, and incremental modernization.

Potentially. An assessment is normally required to understand source-code access, deployment, dependencies, documentation, data, integrations, security, known issues, and operational risk before responsibility can be accepted.

Existing clients can use the Support page, the business phone number, or support@nbsoftware.net. Requests should include the relevant project or reference number where available and a clear description of the issue.