Target: the MRR ladder in WHAT-TO-DO-AND-AVOID.md. The planning target is $5k MRR at ~15 hrs/week and $10k MRR full-time by month 24, profitable, ≥80% gross margin. $20k needs a second province.
Rule: nothing in a later phase starts until the current phase's gate is hit. Gates and pivot rules are in WHAT-TO-DO-AND-AVOID.md. The detail for days 1–90 is in 08-90-day-plan.md.
The calendar matters more than usual here. Alberta's audit season (Oct–Jan) is when people buy. Spring and summer are for building and for making the product a monthly habit.
Phase 1: Prove it in the 2026 audit season (Months 0–4, Oct 2026 – Jan 2027) → Gates G1, G2
| Track | Work |
|---|
| Customers | 20 discovery calls. 15 paid audit evidence sprints (CA$399). 2 consultant pilots. |
| Product | Thin PWA: offline capture (5 templates), certificate list with expiry alerts, evidence index by element, gap view, PDF evidence pack. Canadian hosting. |
| Distribution | Refund calculator, SECOR checklist, audit-deadline page, 10 SEO pages. |
| Team | Certified COR auditor signed as paid advisor. Written answer from ACSA on referencing the audit tool. |
| Pricing | Annual plans offered from 1 Jan 2027, sprint fee credited. Founding customers keep their price for 2 years. |
| Exit | G1 (30 Oct): 5 paid sprints + 2 consultant pilots. G2 (21 Jan): every pilot submits on time, ≥8 annual plans. |
Phase 2: Convert and repeat (Months 5–6, Feb – Mar 2027) → Gate G3
| Track | Work |
|---|
| Product | Consultant multi-client console. Monthly gap report email. Self-serve checkout (CAD, annual default). |
| Distribution | Case studies from pilots (on-time submission, refund kept, bids won). Consultant referral terms. |
| Ops | Onboarding checklist so a new employer is live in under 1 hour. |
| Exit | $1k MRR (15 hrs/week) or $1.5k (full-time). ≥70% of employers on annual plans. 3+ consultant accounts. |
Phase 3: Make it a monthly habit (Months 7–12, Apr – Sept 2027) → Gate G4
| Track | Work |
|---|
| Product | Corrective-action tracker. Site QR codes. Consultant template library and white-label packs. Certificate photo reading (AI, capped cost). |
| Distribution | Presence at 1–2 certifying-partner or industry events (details unverified). 30 SEO pages. Early-bird "start your 2027 evidence now" campaign in Aug–Sept. |
| Metrics | Monthly active accounts ≥60% in the off-season. Gap-report open rate ≥60%. |
| Exit | $2.5k MRR (15 hrs/week) or $5k (full-time). 6+ / 10+ consultant accounts. ≥30% of new accounts organic. |
Phase 4: The second audit season (Months 13–16, Oct 2027 – Jan 2028) → Gate G5
| Track | Work |
|---|
| Customers | Renewals. Every existing account gets a pre-season gap review in October. New sprints for consultants' remaining clients. |
| Ops | Part-time Mountain Time support for Nov–Jan if full-time and above ~$5k MRR. |
| Exit | ≥85% of employer accounts renew. Consultant accounts retained. Below 70%: reprice as a seasonal service, or stop. |
Phase 5: Scale Alberta, decide on a second province (Months 17–24, Feb – Sept 2028) → Gate G6
| Track | Work |
|---|
| Product | Mapping engine that takes a second audit tool as configuration. Subcontractor pre-qualification (if prime contractors ask). |
| Distribution | Double down on the single best channel from months 1–16 (almost certainly consultants). |
| Expansion | Only if G5 held: research BC (10% incentive) and Manitoba (15% or $3,000 rebate), sign one consultant there, and pilot for the 2028 season. |
| Checkpoint | Month 18 (Mar 2028): $4k MRR (15 hrs/week) or $8k (full-time). |
| Exit | $5k MRR (15 hrs/week) or $10k+ (full-time), profitable. |
Revenue path (illustrative, not a forecast)
| Month | Consultant accounts (15h / FT) | Employer accounts (15h / FT) | MRR ~15 hrs/week | MRR full-time |
|---|
| 4 (Jan 2027) | 1 / 2 | 6 / 8 | ~$0.6k | ~$0.9k |
| 6 (Mar 2027) | 2 / 3 | 8 / 12 | ~$1k | ~$1.5k |
| 12 (Sept 2027) | 5 / 10 | 15 / 30 | ~$2.5k | ~$5k |
| 18 (Mar 2028) | 8 / 16 | 22 / 45 | ~$4k | ~$8k |
| 24 (Sept 2028) | 10 / 20 | 30 / 60 | ~$5k | ~$10k |
This assumes consultants average ~US$255 a month once they have about 20 clients (early consultant accounts cover fewer clients, so months 4–6 are counted lower), employers average ~US$82 (a SECOR and Small COR mix), ≥70% on annual plans, and annual renewal of ≥85%. Sprint revenue (one-off) is not counted as MRR. If annual renewal runs below 70%, this path doesn't work: fix the off-season habit before selling more.
$20k MRR needs ~40 consultants and ~120 employers (~920 companies, ~8% of Alberta's holders), or a second province. That's why it sits at ~3% / ~7% on the ladder.
Budget guardrails (bootstrapped)
- Hosting, storage, SMS and AI below 7% of revenue. AI only for tagging records and reading certificates, with a monthly cap.
- Auditor advisor fee is the one fixed cost from month 1. Everything else waits for revenue.
- Zero paid acquisition before month 9. After that, only channels with payback under 3 months.
- Keep 12 months of runway for the founder's time. If runway falls below 6 months, cut to the consultant channel only.