Agencies
The productized software menu your agency can sell
Eight packages with defined inclusions, a named buyer and a repeatable delivery rhythm — the difference between "we also build apps" and a price list clients can say yes to.
Productized software packages are fixed-scope application offers an agency sells repeatedly — a client portal, a local business CRM, a campaign command center, a franchise portal, an AI knowledge assistant, a booking and payments app, a legacy workflow replacement, and an internal ops app. On Ciao, each package is delivered as a real React, TypeScript and Supabase application the agency owns, built and governed on one platform, so scoping, pricing and delivery stay consistent across clients.
Published 2026-07-03 · Last updated 2026-07-03
Custom software sells badly; packages sell
"We build custom software" is one of the weakest sentences in an agency pitch — not because it is untrue, but because the client cannot picture it, cannot compare it and cannot budget for it. Custom means discovery calls, open scopes and a price that arrives late and lands badly. A package inverts every one of those problems: a name the client repeats internally, an inclusion list they can nod along to, a delivery rhythm they can plan around, and a boundary that protects your margin.
The packages below are the shapes agency clients ask for most, drawn from the requests that page builders cannot serve: users, roles, data, logic, approvals, integrations. Most agencies launch with one or two, learn the rhythm on real clients, and expand the menu as their delivery muscle grows. Because every package is built on the same platform — same Builder, same Guardrails review, same QA gates, same deployment — adding the next one is a sales decision, not a retooling project.
Every package follows the same commercial spine: a fixed-fee build measured in weeks, then a monthly care plan covering hosting, monitoring and iteration. The build wins the client; the care plan builds the agency.
The eight-package menu
Each card lists what ships and who signs. Inclusions are deliberately tight — everything outside the list is care-plan iteration or a quoted follow-on.
Client Portal in 7 Days
Branded onboarding, document uploads, status tracking, approvals and email notifications, plus an admin view. Buyer: any service business still running client handoff through email — accountants, builders, consultancies. The classic first sale.
Campaign Command Center
Shared campaign calendar, asset approval workflow, live reporting dashboard and automated weekly email updates. Buyer: your own retainer clients — it makes marketing work visible daily and approvals auditable.
Local Business CRM
Lead capture, pipeline stages, follow-up reminders, a quote builder on the client's real price list, intake forms and automations. Buyer: trades, clinics, brokers and local services selling from a spreadsheet.
Franchise Portal
Brand asset library, local marketing approvals, dealer and franchisee request intake, compliance checklists and a network dashboard. Buyer: franchisors and dealer networks whose brand governance currently runs on email.
AI Knowledge Assistant
Private knowledge base from the client's documents, chat with source citations, admin and analytics tools, escalation paths. Buyer: any client whose staff or customers ask the same questions all day.
Booking and Payments App
Scheduling with availability rules, intake forms, deposits and payments via one-click payment integration, reminders and a back-office calendar. Buyer: clinics, studios, tutors, trades — anyone who sells time and chases no-shows.
Legacy Workflow Replacement
One creaking process — the access database, the macro spreadsheet, the fax-shaped form — rebuilt as governed software with data migrated. Buyer: operations leads at established businesses; the brief writes itself from their complaints.
Internal Ops App
Intake, task handoffs, approvals and reporting for one internal process, replacing the email-and-spreadsheet chain. Buyer: the same client who bought the first package — usually the request that follows any shipped build.
One delivery rhythm across every package
1. Brief
One structured session per package: who uses it, what it holds, who approves what. The packaged inclusion list keeps the conversation from sprawling into discovery.
2. Build
Generate and iterate in the Builder against a live preview. Packages you have delivered before start from a proven shape and diverge to fit the client.
3. Review with the client
Clients click through working software with seeded data at a preview URL. Package boundaries make feedback easy to triage: in scope now, or care-plan later.
4. Govern
Guardrails applies the same plain-English policies to every build — auth, data access, payments — and records human review, so quality does not depend on who did the work.
5. Ship
QA smoke gates before publish, Security probes on the live app, one-click deploy to the client's domain. Identical gate, every package, every client.
6. Retain
Every package hands off into the same care plan: hosting, Doctor monitoring, monthly iteration. One retainer structure to sell, operate and renew.
The menu at a glance
Delivery rhythms assume the packaged scope. Set your own client pricing on top; serious agency development programs on Ciao start at USD 10,000 per year.
| Package | Typical scope | Delivery rhythm | Revenue model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client Portal in 7 Days | Onboarding, uploads, status, approvals, notifications | Seven working days | Fixed fee + care plan |
| Campaign Command Center | Calendar, approvals, reporting, email digests | One to two weeks | Setup fee + retainer uplift |
| Local Business CRM | Leads, pipeline, follow-ups, quotes, forms, automations | Two weeks | Fixed fee + care plan |
| Franchise Portal | Assets, local approvals, requests, compliance checklists | Three to four weeks | Project fee + network care |
| AI Knowledge Assistant | Knowledge base, cited chat, admin tools, analytics | Two to three weeks | Fixed fee + knowledge care |
| Booking and Payments App | Scheduling, intake, deposits, reminders, back office | Two weeks | Fixed fee + care plan |
| Legacy Workflow Replacement | One process rebuilt, data migrated, team onboarded | Three to five weeks | Staged fixed fee + care plan |
| Internal Ops App | Intake, handoffs, approvals, reporting for one process | Two to three weeks | Fixed fee + care plan |
White-label and ownership across the menu
Every package ships the same way underneath: standard React, TypeScript and Tailwind over Supabase, 100% owned and exportable to any repository, deployed to Ciao cloud or the client's own AWS, Azure or GCP account, running on the client's domain under your agency's brand. One ownership story, one security answer — role-based access, append-only audit trail, SOC 2 Type II reports under NDA — reusable in every proposal you send.
Sequencing advice from agencies that run this well: lead with the package your existing clients already almost asked for, ship it under the Agency Build Grant if it is your first paying build, and let the care plan carry you to the second sale. The menu is a ladder, not a buffet — most clients climb from one package to the next as trust compounds.
Frequently asked questions
Which package should we launch first?
The one closest to a request you have already declined. For most agencies that is the Client Portal in 7 Days — highest demand, tightest scope, fastest rhythm. Marketing-led agencies often start with the Campaign Command Center because they can pilot it on their own retainer clients.
Who owns the code across all these packages?
You or your client, per contract — never the platform. Everything is standard React, TypeScript and Tailwind, exportable at any time, which keeps the ownership clause identical across the whole menu.
Do we have to publish prices on the menu?
No, and most agencies publish rhythm and inclusions while quoting price per client — value varies wildly by client size. What must be public is the boundary: a named package with a defined list is what stops every deal from re-opening scope.
What do clients see of Ciao?
Usually nothing: they see your proposals, a live preview URL during the build, and finished software on their own domain. Some agencies present the platform openly as their engineering stack — governance and audit trails impress procurement — but that is a positioning choice, not a requirement.
Can we resell hosting on every package?
Yes. Every package deploys to Ciao cloud or the client's own cloud account, and every care plan can bundle hosting, monitoring and iteration into one monthly fee under your name. Ciao bills the agency; the client relationship stays yours.
What happens when a client wants something not on the menu?
Take the brief — the menu is your storefront, not your ceiling. The same platform that delivers the packages delivers one-off builds; you simply quote it as a project. Many agencies notice their best new package ideas start as off-menu requests that keep recurring.