When you're leading a planning transformation, it's understandable to want to manage risk. You've been burned by projects that spiral out of control. Budgets have been blown. Deadlines missed. Stakeholders disappointed. And so, you try to take control the best way you can: with a fixed scope and a fixed price. 

It makes sense on paper. Define the work, lock in the budget, agree the milestones. But in reality? This approach does more harm than good—for you, and for your technology and consultancy partners. 

Because here's the truth: fixed price contracts don't remove risk—they just move it. And in doing so, they break the very foundations you need to build a successful project: trust, flexibility, creativity, and shared accountability. 

Let’s explore why

You Don’t Know What’s Possible—Yet 

You're investing in platforms like Anaplan or Jedox because you know your Excel-driven processes are holding you back. But at the outset of a project, it’s hard to fully grasp what this new digital technology can truly do for you. You’re still thinking in rows, columns, and tabs—when the new paradigm is connected, scalable, and dynamic. 

So when you fix the scope too early, you're setting constraints based on a limited view of what’s possible. As the project unfolds and new possibilities emerge, you naturally want to adapt. But under a fixed scope contract, every change is a negotiation. You either compromise your ambition or burn time and money fighting the contract. Either way, you lose. 

You need a partner who can help you reimagine what’s possible—not a vendor locked into outdated assumptions. 

Fixed Price Silences the Most Valuable Voices 

Consultants love solving problems. The best ones see opportunities in your data, your processes, your structure—and know how to connect those dots in ways you hadn’t imagined. 

But fixed price contracts stifle that creativity. Every idea has a cost implication. Every deviation from scope risks margin loss. Your consultant, instead of being a proactive thought partner, is forced into self-protection mode—prioritising efficiency over innovation. 

The result? You don’t get their best thinking. You get the minimum required to stay within bounds. And that’s not what you’re paying for. 

You need a partner who’s incentivised to think with you, not against the clock. 

Milestones Become Checkpoints, Not Outcomes 

In a true partnership, milestones are collaborative moments to assess progress and adjust course. Under a fixed contract, they become checkboxes—deliverables to be ticked off regardless of whether they still serve the project’s purpose. 

And when things fall behind (as they often do), the question becomes: “What’s in scope?” rather than “What’s the right thing to do?” 

Worse still, these contracts create an imbalance of responsibility. Clients often underestimate the role they need to play in achieving project milestones, assuming the consultancy will fill the gaps. But when timelines slip due to internal delays, unclear ownership, or competing priorities, the pressure still lands on the consultant. The result? Frustration on both sides and erosion of trust. 

You need a partner who’ll tell you the truth—not just deliverables. A partner who challenges you, and expects the same in return. 

Integrity Gets Lost in the Estimation Game 

Here’s a secret from behind the curtain: when consultants estimate a fixed price project, we know the number we give you isn’t real. 

We inflate it—because we know there will be changes, unknowns, hidden complexity. But even then, we’re probably underestimating because the scope is rarely defined in full and the project can easily become "fixed price, open scope". It means we build pricing models based not on truth, but on fear—fear of risk, scope creep, and adversarial disputes. 

This is not integrity. This is negotiation theatre. And it sets the wrong tone from the very beginning. 

If you’ve read our thoughts on integrity and RFP culture, you’ll know where we stand. Integrity isn’t just honesty. It’s wholeness. Completeness. Soundness. A fixed price based on flawed assumptions is not sound. A partnership where one side carries all the risk is not whole. 

You need a partner who operates in integrity. And to get that, you need to make space for it. 

Even Time & Materials Becomes a Fixed Price in Disguise 

You may think T&M contracts solve this—"We’ll only pay for what we use." But the moment you say, “We have this much budget,” you're back in the fixed price mindset. The pressure to deliver "everything" within a fixed financial envelope sneaks in the back door. Consultants start watching the clock. Creativity dims. Scope drift becomes a threat again. 

It’s the same problem, just with a softer label. 

You need a partner you can trust enough to say, "Let’s do what’s right, and figure out the cost together.

So What Do You Actually Need? 

You need: 

• A partner who challenges your thinking, not just delivers your brief
  

• A partner who co-creates the solution with you as it evolves
  

• A partner who tells you the hard truths and expects you to do the same
  

• A contract that protects both sides—not one that creates mistrust 
  

• A foundation built on integrity, not fear 
  

Fixed price contracts don’t do that. They don’t serve your ambition. They don’t unlock the value of digital planning. And they don’t reflect the kind of partnership you actually want. 

Fixed Price Isn’t Enough—Build Collaboration 

Transformation thrives on trust, not transaction. Rather than chasing a deceptively “safe” fixed fee, seek a collaborator who commits to transparent dialogue, aligns your ambitions with honest budgeting, and treats every budget conversations as a joint problem-solving session—not a negotiation battlefield. When you partner with a team that values integrity over tactics, you unlock the true power of your investment: continuous innovation, shared accountability, and measurable business impact. Stop paying for certainty—start investing in a foundation built on openness, mutual respect, and a genuine win-win mindset. 

If your goal is transformation—not just transaction—then your contract should reflect that. Rigid scope and artificial pricing might feel like risk mitigation, but they’re really risk reallocation. And when that reallocation undermines trust, limits creativity, and compromises integrity, everyone loses. 

The real risk? Building your future on the wrong foundations. 

Let's Build Something Better!

If you're done with rigid scopes, false certainty, and partnerships built on protectionism instead of progress—let’s talk. At Profit&, we do things differently. No cookie-cutter contracts. No hidden agendas. Just honest conversations, bold thinking, and shared commitment to your goals.

Ready to experience the Profit& Way? Connect with us today to explore your goals and unlock a custom roadmap—no obligation, just honest conversation. Schedule your complimentary discovery call now and let’s build something remarkable together.