Delivery
When a Softlinks retainer beats another project
· Softlinks · 5 min read
How to choose between a fixed build and ongoing Care / Care + Growth capacity.
Projects ship a slice. Retainers keep the product alive — patches, triage, and the next feature without restarting sales every quarter.
Choose a retainer when
- You already have a Softlinks-built system in production
- You need predictable monthly capacity, not surprise invoices
- Uptime, dependencies, and small features matter more than a big bang rewrite
Stay on projects when
- You are still proving the first paid workflow
- Scope is a one-time migration or store launch
- You have an in-house team ready to own ops day two