Kielderside Growth Agency / BG-Demo – Negotiation
Callcompleted
Kielderside Growth Agency · 8 Oct 2026 13:00
Negotiation call on the Enterprise award at £155k total. The agency's terms lead, a DPA is to be signed alongside, and signature is planned by Fri 13 Nov 2026. No price change requested or offered.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Negotiation call on the Enterprise award at £155k total. The agency's terms lead, a DPA is to be signed alongside, and signature is planned by Fri 13 Nov 2026. No price change requested or offered.
What happened: Sarah Dodds restated the tender timetable: standstill, board approval, signature by Fri 13 Nov 2026. Owen Tallis, Tom Ashdown, Keith Robson and Sarah worked through the agency's terms, the data processing agreement and invoicing.
Customer view: Keith needs the one-off and recurring costs shown separately for the board, and wants the freshness service credit in the contract, not only in literature. He said the answers were clearer than he expected.
Commercial: Tom will confirm the split of the £155k in writing. Owen said no discount would be added, and Sarah recorded that no change to price was requested or offered.
Watch: The funding termination clause needs legal review before BG-Demo agrees. Incident notification period and access logging are unconfirmed. Everything must go through the portal, and comments are due by the end of next week.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Enterprise contract finalisation
Importance
neutral
Sentiment
positive
Voice
decision-maker
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Tom Ashdown to send a written commercial statement splitting the implementation fee and annual subscription, with service credit wording.
- Tom and Owen Tallis to return comments against clause numbers through the portal by the end of next week.
- Tom to confirm with engineers how access to the agency's data is logged.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- The termination clause tied to council funding has not been read by BG-Demo legal.
- The incident notification period and data access logging are not yet confirmed.
- Board approval and the standstill period must finish before the planned signature date.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- The grants team is expected to be an early user, with a gentle phased rollout planned.
- A clear freshness service credit in the order form supports the Enterprise tier.
Transcript
Tom AshdownHello, hello. Can you hear me alright?
Sarah DoddsYes, we can hear you. Good afternoon, Tom.- Tom AshdownAfternoon, Sarah. Keith, are you with us?
Keith RobsonGood afternoon. Yes, I'm here. Apologies, I was just closing another document.- Tom AshdownNo drama. How's your week been, anyway? Busy, I'd imagine, with the tender and everything else.
- Keith RobsonBusy is fair. The council leaders have had us in a lot of meetings, so a call about a contract is a welcome change of pace, if that's not too strange a thing to say.
- Tom AshdownHa, I'll take that. Owen's joining us, I think. Owen?
Owen TallisHere, sorry, I was on mute. Afternoon, both. Keith, Sarah, we've swapped emails but I don't think we've been on a call together. Owen Tallis, I look after the sales team here.- Sarah DoddsGood afternoon, Owen. Thank you for joining. If it's helpful, may I restate the timetable first, so we're all working from the same place?
- Owen TallisPlease do. That's exactly where I wanted to start, honestly.
- Sarah DoddsThank you. The award has been made and we are currently in the standstill period. Once that has ended, the agency's board meets and is due to approve the contract on the Thursday at the start of November. Signature is planned by Friday 13 Nov 2026, and service begins at the start of December. That is the timetable as published to all bidders, and I would like this call to stay within it.
- Owen TallisUnderstood. So the date we're working to is 13 Nov 2026 for signature. Where do you feel we are against that? What's the next dated step?
- Keith RobsonBefore I answer that, can I ask for the commercial position as you understand it? I want to be sure we are describing the same thing.
- Tom AshdownYeah, of course. So, the figure on the award is £155,000. That's the total value of the deal, so it includes the one-off implementation fee as well as the first year of the Enterprise subscription. I'll say now, I'll confirm the split between the two in writing after this, rather than quote it off the top of my head.
- Keith RobsonThank you. That is what I need to hear, because the question I will be asked at the board is the whole-life cost. Is that figure fixed for the contract period?
- Owen TallisIt's what we priced in the tender, and the tender prices are what we're contracting on. I won't be reopening them, and I'm not asking you to. What I'd say is, any change to the subscription after the first term would be set out in the contract, not left open.
- Keith RobsonThat would need to be in writing. And preferably in the agency's terms, rather than a clause that says something will be agreed later.
- Owen TallisFair. Let's come to the terms in a second. Sarah, can I check something on process? If we agree wording today, how does it get recorded?
- Sarah DoddsAnything that touches the contract should be submitted through the portal, so there is a record. I can't take a question off the record, I'm afraid, and I cannot extend or alter anything for one party. The wording has to stay within the tender documents. This call is to clarify, and the written position follows.
- Tom AshdownThat's fine by us. We'd rather have it all tidy. Well, I say that, my paperwork's not always tidy, but this one will be. Leave that with me.
- Keith RobsonI'm glad to hear it.
- Owen TallisSo, three things I have on my list. The agency's terms, the data processing agreement, and invoicing. Have I missed anything?
- Sarah DoddsThat matches the list I have. Shall we take the agency's terms first?
- Keith RobsonYes. In short, the contract is on the agency's terms, as stated in the tender. I know that is not how you would normally paper it. Our auditors, and the six councils, expect to see one set of terms they recognise.
- Owen TallisYes, and we saw that in the tender, so there's no surprise on our side. Our standard paper would normally be the master agreement with an order form under it. For this we're happy for your terms to lead, with the order form carrying the commercial detail: the tier, the users, the connectors, the service levels.
- Keith RobsonIs that within the evaluation criteria? I mean, are the service levels in the order form the same as in your tender response?
- Tom AshdownThey should be word for word. I'll check them against the response before anything goes over, and if there's any gap I'll tell you straight, not bury it.
- Keith RobsonThank you. If there is a gap, I would rather know now than at signature.
- Sarah DoddsTo be precise, the bid is the baseline. The order form may restate it. It may not improve or reduce it without it being recorded.
- Owen TallisAgreed. Restate, not change. We're comfortable with that.
- Tom AshdownMm. Can I ask, are there any clauses in your terms you already think will be sticky for us? I'd rather get ahead of it than get a surprise next week.
- Keith RobsonNot that I would call sticky. There is a clause on audit access, because we are public money, and one on termination if funding from the councils changes. Our legal team can walk yours through both.
- Owen TallisAudit access is normal for us, particularly as the platform runs in your own Snowflake account, so you can see what's there anyway. The funding clause I'd want our legal colleague to read before I say yes. I don't want to say yes to something I haven't seen the wording of.
- Keith RobsonThat seems sensible. I would not expect you to agree to it blind.
- Sarah DoddsI will send the terms as a single document, with the clause numbers, through the portal. Please return comments against the clause numbers, not as a covering letter.
- Tom AshdownBrilliant. Clause numbers, got it.
- Owen TallisAnd when would you like our comments back? What's the date?
- Sarah DoddsAllowing time for the board papers, I would ask for them by the end of next week.
- Owen TallisEnd of next week. Tom, that's yours and mine.
- Tom AshdownYep, it's in the diary. Well, it will be in about ten seconds.
- Keith RobsonShall we move to the data processing agreement? This is the item I have been asked about most.
- Sarah DoddsThe agency has its own template. It covers the businesses we account-manage, the enquiries line and the grant applications, so there is personal data in all three. We would like the agreement signed alongside the main contract, not afterwards.
- Tom AshdownThat makes sense. Can I explain where we sit, because it might shorten the conversation? The way B-Viz is built, it's deployed inside your Snowflake account. So your data doesn't get copied out into some separate system of ours. It stays where you already hold it.
- Keith RobsonI understood that from the demonstration. But I want it stated in the agreement rather than in a presentation.
- Owen TallisAbsolutely, and I'd want it stated too. It protects you and it protects us. The agreement should say what we can see, when, and why. Typically that's support access when you raise a ticket, and nothing else.
- Sarah DoddsWould that access be logged, and could the agency see the log?
- Tom AshdownGood question. Because it's your account, the access logging is on your side to see. I'll confirm exactly how that works with our engineers rather than guess, and put it in the written response.
- Sarah DoddsThank you. If it is going into a written response, then please submit that through the portal, so all bidders can see the answer where it relates to the tender.
- Tom AshdownRight, yeah. Understood. Sorry, I forget it's a formal one. Portal it is.
- Keith RobsonThere is no need to apologise. It is simply how this has to work.
- Owen TallisCan I ask about sub-processors? The agreement will ask us to list anyone who touches the data. In your case the platform sits in your own environment, so our list is short. But I'd like to be sure the template asks for it in a form we can fill in cleanly.
- Sarah DoddsThe template has a schedule for that. If the list is short, then the schedule will be short. I would rather it was complete than brief.
- Owen TallisComplete, yes. Of course.
- Keith RobsonAnd in the event of an incident, how quickly would we be told?
- Tom AshdownI don't want to give you a number from memory, Keith. Your template will set a notification period and we'll tell you whether we can meet it. My expectation is that we can, but I'll get it checked and come back in writing.
- Keith RobsonThank you. Please do.
- Owen TallisI'll take that one with our legal colleague so Tom isn't chasing it alone. Who signs the DPA on your side? Is it you, Keith?
- Keith RobsonIt would be me, on behalf of the agency. But not before the standstill period has ended, and not before the board has approved. I will not sign anything early.
- Owen TallisUnderstood, and we wouldn't ask. I just want to know who signs, because the date has to be real. A date nobody owns tends to slip.
- Sarah DoddsThe standstill period is fixed. It ends when it ends. I cannot shorten it for anyone.
- Tom AshdownNo, nor would we want you to. We'd rather it was done properly.
- Keith RobsonGood. Then the third item. Invoicing.
- Sarah DoddsThe tender asked for annual invoicing. I would like to confirm that this is what you are offering, because I understand your usual model has some variations.
- Owen TallisAnnual, in advance, yes. The subscription is invoiced once a year at the start of the term. Quarterly is available on request, but you've asked for annual, so annual it is. The one-off implementation fee is invoiced separately, at the start.
- Keith RobsonSeparately meaning a separate invoice, or a separate payment date?
- Owen TallisA separate invoice. Payment terms are the same for both.
- Keith RobsonAnd the £155,000 is the sum of the two, for the first year?
- Tom AshdownThat's how I read it, yes. The total value, implementation included. As I said, I'll set it out line by line in writing so there's no ambiguity about which part is which.
- Keith RobsonPlease do, because the board will want the one-off cost and the recurring cost separately. A single number is not enough for them.
- Owen TallisThat's right, and it's the right way to present it. One more thing from me, so nobody is surprised. The tender price already reflects where we wanted to be. I won't be adding a discount on top of it, and we're not asking you for anything different either. Let's not discount twice.
- Keith RobsonI was not going to ask. I do not negotiate outside the procurement process.
- Owen TallisNo, I know. I wasn't suggesting it. I just prefer to say it out loud.
- Sarah DoddsNoted. For clarity, I will record that no change to price was requested or offered on this call.
- Owen TallisPlease do. That's accurate.
- Tom AshdownRight. Can I ask a practical one? Once the contract's signed, we'd start straight in, so when would you want the kickoff? Because the service starts at the start of December, and I don't want us standing around.
- Keith RobsonOur delivery lead would want to plan that, and I would rather not commit her time before the board has approved. Shall we say that planning begins after the board meeting?
- Tom AshdownThat's fair. I'll hold off any scheduling until I hear from Sarah that the board's been. We can do the prep in the background, like making a list of the systems you'd want connected, but nothing with a date on it.
- Sarah DoddsA list of systems would be useful, but please send it as part of the written response, not separately.
- Tom AshdownWill do. Sorry, again, the portal. I'll keep saying it until it sticks.
- Keith RobsonIt does appear to be becoming a theme.
- Owen TallisHa. Fine by me.
- Keith RobsonCan I come back to one thing, though. You said service levels in the order form will match the tender. If the platform were to answer on out-of-date data, is that treated as a breach, or is that something else?
- Owen TallisGood one. On Enterprise, freshness of the data is a service level in its own right, separate from the platform simply being up. A missed morning refresh counts, and there is a service credit attached. That's in what we tendered, and it'll be in the order form.
- Keith RobsonAnd the credit is calculated how?
- Owen TallisAs a share of a month's fee, for each month with a breach. I'd rather not recite the percentage from memory in front of procurement, so I'll put the exact wording in the written response, with the clause.
- Sarah DoddsThank you. That is the correct approach.
- Keith RobsonIt is important to me that the credit is in the contract, and not only in your literature.
- Owen TallisAgreed. If it's not in the executed order form, it's not worth much. The order form is what counts.
- Tom AshdownI'll flag it on the cover note so you don't have to hunt for it.
- Keith RobsonGood. Thank you.
- Sarah DoddsShall we summarise the actions? I would like the record to be clear before we finish.
- Owen TallisYes please. I'll try and keep up, you'll need to go slowly.
- Sarah DoddsFirst. The agency will issue its terms and its data processing agreement as documents with clause numbers, through the portal.
- Tom AshdownGot that. Documents with clause numbers, via the portal.
- Sarah DoddsSecond. BG-Demo will return comments against clause numbers by the end of next week.
- Owen TallisYes. Tom and I, with our legal colleague on the funding clause and the incident notification period.
- Sarah DoddsThird. BG-Demo will provide a written commercial statement showing the implementation fee and the annual subscription separately, totalling £155,000, with the invoicing arrangement and the service credit wording.
- Tom AshdownThat's me. I'll check it against the tender response first, line by line.
- Sarah DoddsFourth. BG-Demo will confirm how access to the agency's data is logged, and the agency can see it.
- Tom AshdownMine again, with a bit of help from our engineers.
- Sarah DoddsAnd fifth. The board approves on the Thursday at the start of November, and the contract is signed by Friday 13 Nov 2026, after the standstill period has ended.
- Keith RobsonYes. And I would add that I will sign only once all of that is in hand and in writing.
- Owen TallisUnderstood. And that's the right order of things. Who signs on our side? That'll be me for the order form, so I'll need the final wording a few days ahead, not the morning of.
- Keith RobsonThen it would be sensible for the final documents to settle shortly after the board. I would not want anything left to the last day.
- Sarah DoddsI will build that into the timetable and tell all parties through the portal.
- Tom AshdownBrilliant. Is there anything else we should be thinking about? I'd rather ask now than find out in a fortnight.
- Keith RobsonOne thing. The grants team will be among the first to use this. They are cautious. I would like the first weeks to be gentle, not a flood of changes.
- Tom AshdownThat's useful. We'd plan it that way anyway. Start with the account managers, get the enquiries line looking at the same picture, then bring the grants team in once people trust what they're seeing. No rush.
- Keith RobsonThat sounds right to me. Though I cannot commit the grants team to anything on this call.
- Tom AshdownNo, no. Just thinking aloud. We'd plan it with your delivery lead after the board.
- Sarah DoddsI should note that anything about the delivery plan sits outside the contract finalisation, so it is not for today's record.
- Tom AshdownFair enough. Struck from the record, then. Well, not struck. Not on it.
- Sarah DoddsThank you, Tom.
- Owen TallisCan I ask one last thing about the board? If they come back with a question on the day, who do they go to, and how quickly can you turn it round? Because the Thursday and the Friday are close together.
- Keith RobsonAny question would come through Sarah, so that it is on the record. I would expect it to be narrow. If it is not, I will tell you that straight away.
- Owen TallisThen we'll keep someone free that week. Tom, that's a diary note for you, and one for me as a backup.
- Tom AshdownDone. Let's get something in the diary for the days around it. I'll keep myself clear.
- Sarah DoddsIs there anything further from either side on the three items?
- Keith RobsonNot from me. I have what I needed. The answers on the terms and the agreement were clearer than I expected.
- Owen TallisGood. We want to get you to a clean signature, not a rushed one.
- Keith RobsonA clean one is the aim. And in writing.
- Tom AshdownIn writing. Every bit of it. I'll send the first piece as soon as the portal documents land with us.
- Sarah DoddsThey will be with you shortly. I will issue them today if I can.
- Owen TallisBrilliant. Thank you, Sarah. I know this is a lot of process for you to hold together.
- Sarah DoddsIt is the job. Thank you for the courtesy.
- Tom AshdownRight, I think we're done. Is it okay to stop the recording, or does that need to stay on for the record?
- Sarah DoddsIt can stay on until the end. I will send a short note of the actions through the portal afterwards, so please check it matches your own.
- Owen TallisWe will. Thanks, everyone. Keith, good to finally speak.
- Keith RobsonAnd you, Owen. Thank you both.
- Tom AshdownCheers, all. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon. Speak soon.
- Sarah DoddsGoodbye, all. Thank you.
- Tom AshdownStill here, Owen? Just checking the recording stopped. Ha. Right, bye.
Callsmade from