CFO / CIO · Fixed retainer AMS model vs pay-per-resolved-ticket model
Fixed-retainer AMS vs pay-per-ticket — 2026 financial comparison
The fixed-retainer AMS model charges for availability — not result. The pay-per-resolved-ticket model fully reverses the economics.
TL;DR
Financial comparison: fixed-retainer Dynamics 365 AMS vs pay-per-resolved-ticket: cost in slow, standard and peak months. 7 rows.
Microsoft D365 F&O expertise
10 ans
D365 F&O
€200 / ticket
Fixed price per resolved ticket
vs €800-1,200 at a typical SI
48 h
Average delivery time
Azure DevOps
Validated by your IT
The problem with your current vendor
The monthly retainer transfers risk to the buyer
- ✗You pay €12,500-25,000/month regardless of actual tickets resolved.
- ✗Slow months (holidays, business slowdowns) trigger no refund.
- ✗Activity peaks (back-to-school, closing, launches) are billed on top of the retainer, with no cap.
How SKALP solves it
You only pay for tickets actually merged on your Azure DevOps
- ✓No retainer, no deposit, no volume commitment. Cost follows actual consumption.
- ✓Unresolved tickets = no billing. Dropped tickets = no billing. Slow months = €0 invoice.
- ✓Peaks absorbed without surcharge: 50 tickets resolved in a month = €10,000 flat, not €25,000+.
How it works
1
Submit your ticket
Describe the business or technical need in a few lines. No 50-page spec required.
2
AI generates the extension
X++ code, unit tests and documentation produced in under 48 hours.
3
Validation on your Azure DevOps
Pull request submitted on your repository. Your IT lead reviews and validates before merge.
4
Delivered — you pay €200
Once merged, it's delivered. No billing if the ticket isn't resolved.
The factual comparison
| Criterion | Monthly retainer AMS | Per-ticket Skalp AI |
|---|---|---|
| Billing model | Fixed monthly retainer | €200 per resolved ticket |
| Cost in a no-ticket month | €12,500-25,000 (full price) | €0 |
| Cost in a 20-ticket month | €12,500-25,000 (often + overrun) | €4,000 |
| 50-ticket peak month cost | €30,000-50,000 (with overrun) | €10,000 |
| Volume commitment | Often imposed (retainer clause) | None |
| Unresolved ticket | Billed (counted in retainer) | Not billed |
| Financial reporting | Retainer + extra lines | 1 line €200 per ticket — readable |
Frequently asked questions
Why do SIs impose retainer rather than per-ticket?+
Retainer guarantees revenue and allows amortization of fixed costs (teams, premises, training). Per-ticket would demand proven productivity and very low marginal cost — only AI-powered solutions enable that today. That's precisely why no classic SI offers a 100% pay-for-result model.
Does the per-ticket model fit a high-volume client?+
Yes — that's where it pays off most. On 500 tickets/year, Skalp AI cost is €100,000. An equivalent AMS retainer would be €250,000-400,000. Saving grows linearly with volume, with no cap or warped discounting.
What if my current AMS contract locks me in for 3 years?+
Most D365 AMS contracts have annual exit clauses (3-6 month notice). Even on a 3-year contract, it's rare to have no exit door. Have your CFO or legal counsel review your contract before switching — it's often less locked than the vendor claims.
Related pages
To go deeper on the same topic, seen from other angles.