FAQ - Frequently asked questions.

• What does Program do?

  Program builds commerce systems and finance automation. We improve the technology behind how you sell whatever you sell, increase its velocity, optimise it and automate it, then automate the finance that follows: payables, invoicing and reconciliation. In short, we specialise in automating your sales and your payables. AI agents, custom software and the data work all serve that specialisation, and one accountable team owns the whole build from the first decision to shipped product.

• What problems does Program actually solve?

  The common ones that sit between selling something and banking it. Sales that work but run on manual steps: quotes typed twice, bookings confirmed by text, orders re-entered into accounting. A store platform you have outgrown, clipping every sale. Books that eat days each month in invoicing and reconciliation. A stalled build or a platform that keeps breaking. Systems that do not talk to each other, so nobody can say what actually worked. Each of those is a system we build and hand over.

• Can you automate our payables and reconciliation?

  Yes, that is half of the specialisation. Invoices emailed in are read and matched automatically, spend is planned against actual on both sides of the ledger, bank detail changes are flagged before approval, and approved bills post to your accounting system with the document attached. Reconciliation stops being a weekend job and becomes something the system does as the money moves.

• Can you build our online store or checkout?

  Yes. Headless storefronts and embedded checkout on your own domain: your catalogue, your pricing rules, deposits, instalments and scheduled balances, wallets and cards, settling to your own account. The working surfaces are on the site, built rather than described, including a live store that takes real money.

• What is a fractional CTO?

  A fractional CTO is a senior technology leader you engage part-time, for the architecture and the technical decisions, without the cost of a full-time hire. Programbuilt goes further than most: the technology chair also builds the system, not just advises on it. You get senior judgement and working software from one accountable team.

• Fractional CTO versus an agency or a full-time hire?

  A full-time CTO at $180k to $300k plus equity brings judgement, but directs the work rather than builds it. An agency brings capacity, but splits the work across a team you manage and goes quiet when the contract ends. A fractional CTO from Programbuilt is the third option: senior architecture, the AI decisions and the production software, from one accountable team, scaled to what you need.

• How much does a fractional CTO cost?

  Fractional CTOs typically run from around $5,000 to $30,000 a month, or $150 to $500 an hour. Programbuilt does not sell the chair by the month: the technology judgement comes inside a Program, Light at US$3,999 or Pro at US$8,499, each a fixed price to a fixed scope. Either way it is a fraction of a $180k to $300k full-time hire.

• What is an interim CTO, and when do you need one?

  An interim CTO is a Chief Technology Officer engaged full-tilt for a fixed stretch: the technical founder left, due diligence is on the calendar, a build has stalled, or the agency is gone and someone has to hold the systems now. Program takes interim engagements with a defined end, stabilises the systems, makes the decisions that cannot wait, then hands over to a permanent hire or steps back to a fractional cadence.

• Who actually builds the software?

  Programbuilt does, end to end. One architect designs the system, integrates the AI and builds it, so the decisions hold together instead of falling between vendors. Behind the architect sits a senior bench, data science, design, motion and brand, plus a vetted partner network, brought in as the work calls for it, so capacity is never the ceiling. You deal with one accountable team. KiTT and Wiktis are two production platforms built exactly this way.

• Is working with a small studio risky?

  Not the way Programbuilt is set up. You engage one accountable team, not a single pair of hands. Behind the lead architect sits a senior bench and a vetted partner network, brought in as the work calls for it, so capacity is never the ceiling. You own the system and the IP, handed over clean and documented, the build is tested before it ships, and you follow it on a live dashboard the whole way. One team stays accountable, with the depth of a studio behind it.

• What is a solution architect, and why does it matter?

  A solution architect designs the whole technical system before it is built: the architecture, the stack, how the parts fit, and the path from idea to production. It matters because most builds fail in the design, not the code. Program puts a senior architect at the centre of every engagement, accountable for the result.

• Is Program a fractional CTO?

  Yes, among other things. Programbuilt provides the technology chair, fractional CTO and senior solution architecture, for companies that need senior technical leadership without a full-time hire, and goes further by building the systems too, not just advising on them. You get the architecture and the working software from one accountable team.

• Can you integrate AI into an existing business?

  Yes. AI integration is core to what Program does. We wire AI into your real systems and workflows, not a standalone pilot, and build the AI agents that do the work, from the first use case through to autonomous and assisted agents running in production.

• Do you build AI agents?

  Yes. Program builds AI agents and agentic systems for businesses: autonomous and assisted agents integrated with your real tools and data, built to run in production rather than demo once. AI agent development and integration is a core service.

• How does an engagement start?

  Book your setup for US$100: pick the Program and Light or Pro, pay the deposit through Stripe, and we call within two business days to set the start date. The deposit comes off the price and is refunded in full if we cannot build what you booked. Prefer to talk first? Book a free 30-minute call.

• What does it cost to work with Program?

  A fixed price, published before you commit. Every Program, from customer service and bookings to payables and the operating system, comes as Light at US$3,999, delivered in four weeks, or Pro at US$8,499, delivered in eight. US$100 books your onboarding and comes off the price. Twelve-month warranty at no cost. You invest in a result, not an hour.

• Are there additional costs?

  Two, and both are clear up front. First, you carry your own running costs, the things your software runs on: hosting, database, cloud storage and email. We set them up and can bill them through us, but they’re yours, the same as they’d be with anyone. Second, the base engagement is your lead architect and the build. If you want specialist depth on top, advanced data science, motion graphics, a complex data architecture that needs a dedicated data scientist, or high-end UI work, we bring in the right expert and quote it in your proposal. It’s there if you want it and have the budget, and left out if you don’t.

• What industries does Program work in?

  Program builds deepest where systems are hardest and data matters most: financial services and trading, energy and resources including gas, petrol and mining, events and exhibitions, agencies and the creator economy, and regulated betting and gaming.

• Do I own the software and the IP?

  Yes. You own the system and the intellectual property. Program designs, builds, tests and hands over a clean, production-ready system, and stays on only if you want ongoing work.

• Where is Program based, and do you work globally?

  Program is based in Australia and works globally. We build a personal relationship with every client and will come to you in person when understanding your organisation calls for it.