The biggest driver is scope. A single workflow, say, automated compliance reminder letters that go out on schedule, costs less to build and run than a system that also schedules inspections across hundreds of sites, tracks which technician goes where, drafts deficiency reports after each visit, and flags contracts coming up for renewal. Fire protection work has a lot of moving, recurring pieces, and each one you fold into the same system adds build time and ongoing complexity, even if none of it is individually hard.
The second driver is whether you want it built, or built and operated. A one-off build hands you software and walks away. Precipitate runs what it builds: the system that flags an overdue inspection, drafts a deficiency report, or catches a lapsed contract keeps working, gets checked, and gets fixed when something breaks, for as long as you keep it running. That ongoing operation is priced separately from the build, because it's a different kind of work and a different kind of commitment.
Precipitate quotes each engagement on the value the system creates, not by the hour, so there's no price list to point to here. What we can say honestly: some of this work is a clean fit for automation, reminder letters, status tracking, report drafting, renewal alerts, and some genuinely needs a person, like the physical inspection itself, or a judgment call on a disputed deficiency. The right way to get a real number is a short conversation about which parts of your operation are repetitive and rule-based, and which need a human in the loop.