How the money flows
Exalynt is the vehicle we use to provide value to engineers and clients. Most of what a client pays for a block goes to the engineers who fulfill it, and Exalynt keeps what it takes to keep everything running. This page explains where Exalynt's revenue comes from, what the company keeps from each block, and what that money is for. We publish it so clients and engineers can see exactly how a payment is split.
Exalynt aims to retain 10–20% of a block's price: enough to keep everything running. Whatever it retains beyond that is its buffer, for coupons, overruns, slow months, and running the company. It is not profit.
Where revenue comes from
Exalynt has two revenue lines. A third item appears on the client's bill, but it is not Exalynt revenue.
| Line | What it is | Is it Exalynt revenue? |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering Capacity | Flex, Core, or Dedicated blocks, paid once and up front for each iteration. Covers discovery, architecture, development, integrations, and new features. One price, whoever operates the software. | Yes, our primary line |
| Operations plans | For products Operated by Exalynt: a monthly Essential, Standard, or Extended plan per product, starting only once it's in production use. | Yes |
| Infrastructure | Servers, databases, storage, email, SMS, AI usage, domains, and certificates, passed through at cost with no markup, resale margin, or percentage. | No, pass-through |
Block prices are on Engineering Capacity. Plan prices are on Operations plans.
The Capacity Payout Basis
The Capacity Payout Basis is Exalynt's compensation value for a block: the fixed amount that everyone paid for that block is paid a percentage of. The engineer payout, Team support, the Team Lead payout, and partnership earnings are all Capacity Payout Allocations of it. Every block has an engineer payout and a Team Lead payout, team support depends on how many teammates are available, and only some blocks have partnership earnings (details).
A block's Capacity Payout Basis = its capacity units × $1,750 per unit
| Block | Units | Price | Capacity Payout Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flex | 1 | $2,000 | $1,750 |
| Core | 2 | $3,750 | $3,500 |
| Dedicated | 4 | $7,000 | $7,000 |
- It's set per capacity unit. Every capacity unit has the same basis, $1,750, so a block's basis follows the 1:2:4 model exactly: a Core basis is twice a Flex basis, and a Dedicated basis is twice a Core basis.
- It isn't the client's price. Client prices are set separately, so changing a price, or giving a coupon, doesn't change the basis or any allocation of it.
- It isn't paid to anyone itself. It's the value each allocation is a percentage of. What's left of the client's payment after the allocations and other direct costs is the Contribution.
- It's the same for everyone. There's one basis for each block size, whichever client bought the block, whoever operates the software, and whoever fulfills it, at whatever level, wherever they live.
- Exalynt sets and reviews it as a company. It's reviewed against market data alongside the economics of capacity and the company's sustainability (details). A revised basis applies to everyone going forward, and never recalculates capacity already assigned to an engineer.
How a block payment is split
- The client pays for the block up front. Exalynt holds the payment for that block, and buying it doesn't earn anyone anything yet.
- When the block is fulfilled, its Capacity Payout Allocations are earned and paid from that payment. Each is a percentage of the block's Capacity Payout Basis: the engineer payout and Team Lead payout on every block, team support for each available teammate, and partnership earnings when they apply (details). The client's price affects none of them.
- What's left is the Contribution. Contribution = what the client paid − the block's Capacity Payout Allocations − any other direct costs for that block, such as a coupon.
- Exalynt retains the contribution, and only then uses it for anything else (details).
Capacity Payout Allocations
Everyone paid for a block is paid an allocation of its Capacity Payout Basis, worked out the same way:
Capacity Payout Allocation = Capacity Payout Basis × its share, earned when the block is fulfilled
| Allocation | Paid to | Share of the basis | On which blocks | Earned | On a Dedicated block ($7,000 basis) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineer payout | The engineer who fulfills the block | Engineer Share: 60% | Every block: someone always fulfills it | When the block is fulfilled | $4,200 |
| Team support | Each of the fulfilling engineer's available teammates, other than the Team Lead | Team Support Share: 3% each | Every block with available teammates: up to 4 on a full team | When the block is fulfilled | $210 each, $840 for 4 |
| Team Lead payout | The Team Lead of the fulfilling engineer's Engineering Team | Team Lead Share: 5% | Every block: whoever fulfills it belongs to a team with a Team Lead | When the block is fulfilled | $350 |
| Partnership earnings | The partnership that introduced the client | Partnership Share: 5% | Only for a client a partner introduced, on blocks bought in its first 12 months | When the block is fulfilled | $350 |
- Not every block has every allocation. Every block has an engineer payout, because someone always fulfills it, and a Team Lead payout for the Team Lead of that engineer's Engineering Team, because every engineer belongs to a team with one lead. Team support is paid to each of the engineer's available teammates: the members of their team with some availability that week, other than the Team Lead and the engineer. That's anywhere from none to 4 on a full team. Partnership earnings apply only to a client a partner introduced, and only to blocks bought in its first 12 months. Allocations that don't apply are simply absent: they don't move to anyone else.
- Every allocation comes from the basis, not the client's price. Client prices, coupons, and who operates the software don't change any of them.
- Each is worked out separately. Team support, the Team Lead payout, or partnership earnings on a block don't reduce the engineer payout, and none of them changes the client's price. Exalynt bears them out of what it would otherwise retain, so a block with more teammates available leaves Exalynt less.
- Each is earned when the block is fulfilled, not when it's bought. A client pays up front, but an allocation becomes due only once the block it comes from is fulfilled, and is then paid on Exalynt's payout schedule from that block's own payment, which Exalynt holds until then (details). The engineer's agreement governs cancellations and partially fulfilled work, and the partnership terms govern partnership earnings.
- They come out before the contribution, so what retention pays for doesn't count them again.
The details of each are on Engineer compensation, Engineering Teams, Team Lead, and The Exalynt Partnership Program.
One block, step by step
Pick a block and how many of the engineer's teammates are available, then switch the partner on or off to see how team support and partnership earnings change the split.
- Engineer payout $4,200
- Team support $630
- Team Lead payout $350
- Exalynt retains $1,820
- The client pays $7,000 up front. Exalynt holds it for this block until the block is fulfilled.
- When the block is fulfilled, its allocations are earned. Each is a share of the Dedicated Capacity Payout Basis, $7,000:
- Engineer payout, on every block: the engineer who fulfills it earns 60%, $4,200.
- Team support, for each available teammate: 3 × 3% ($210 each), $630.
- Team Lead payout, on every block: the Team Lead of the engineer's Engineering Team earns 5%, $350, whichever client the block is for.
- Partnership earnings, only for a client a partner introduced: none here.
- What's left is the contribution: $7,000 − $5,180 in allocations = $1,820, before any other direct costs, such as a coupon.
- Exalynt retains the contribution and only then uses it to run the company: finding work, engineering standards, tooling, coupons, absorbing overruns, and reserves.
Engineer pay, like every allocation, is not a percentage of the client's price. Every engineer earns the same for a block, whatever their level and whoever operates the client's software, and if client prices change, payouts do not.
Operations plans are paid separately from blocks. A plan's price funds the engineering it takes to keep production software running over time, and Exalynt retains what's left after the costs of providing the service. Infrastructure billed to clients at cost passes straight through and is not retained, so Exalynt earns nothing more when a client's cloud bill grows, and loses nothing when we make it smaller.
If a block or plan leaves nothing after costs, Exalynt absorbs the shortfall. Engineer payouts are never reduced to protect company margin.
What Exalynt aims to retain
Exalynt aims to retain 10–20% of a block's price. That's what it takes to keep everything running: finding work, running the company, building the team, and the reserves that carry it through slow months (details).
On most blocks Exalynt retains more than that, and the rest is its buffer. The buffer is what makes the commitments on this page affordable:
- Coupons. A coupon comes out of what Exalynt retains, never out of an allocation.
- More teammates. Each available teammate adds team support, so a block on a full team leaves Exalynt less.
- Partnership earnings, on blocks from a client a partner introduced.
- Overruns, blocks that take longer than planned, and unpaid or refunded bills.
- Self-funded capacity and slow months.
When the buffer isn't needed, it builds the reserves and funds growth. It is not profit set aside in advance.
Examples
These examples use current client prices from exalynt.com, with the engineer payout (60%), team support for 3 available teammates (3% each), the Team Lead payout (5%), and no partnership earnings, coupons, or other direct costs.
Every block
| Block | Client pays | Engineer payout | Team support (3 teammates) | Team Lead payout | Exalynt retains | Exalynt as % of price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flex | $2,000 | $1,050 | $157.50 | $87.50 | $705 | 35% |
| Core | $3,750 | $2,100 | $315 | $175 | $1,160 | 31% |
| Dedicated | $7,000 | $4,200 | $630 | $350 | $1,820 | 26% |
Here Exalynt retains 26–35% of the price, above the 10–20% it aims for; the difference is the buffer. It keeps a larger share of smaller blocks, which take more scheduling and coordination per unit. The buffer shrinks as allocations grow: with a partner on a Dedicated block, Exalynt retains $1,470, and on a full team with a partner, $1,260.
Operations plans
For a product Operated by Exalynt, a month of Essential is $399, Standard is $749, and Extended is $1,399. Each pays for accepted responsibility, coverage, and readiness, whether the month is quiet or difficult (details).
A plan funds keeping production software running, not new features or capabilities. Substantial work beyond what a plan covers is sold as Engineering Capacity.
A sample month
Suppose a client buys 4 Dedicated blocks at $7,000 each, each fulfilled by an engineer with 3 available teammates.
| Exalynt keeps | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Dedicated blocks | 4 × ($7,000 − $4,200 engineer − $630 team support − $350 Team Lead) | $7,280 |
| Total, before shared costs | $7,280 |
That total is not profit, and it leaves out operations plans. Everything in the next section still comes out of it.
What retention pays for
- Finding work: sales, proposals, and conversations that don't turn into paid work.
- Running the company: software, security, insurance, accounting, legal, administration, and payment processing.
- Building the team: recruiting, onboarding, training, and improving how Exalynt delivers.
- Absorbing risk: blocks that take longer than planned, and unpaid or refunded client bills. This is the risk Exalynt takes on for clients in the block model.
- Coupons: whatever a coupon takes off a client's price.
- Self-funded capacity: blocks Exalynt buys for itself, such as open source, technical debt in our tooling, charitable work, and future investments (details).
- Reserves and growth: cash set aside for slow months, reinvestment, and eventually profit.
How cash is handled
A client's payment for a block isn't used for anything else until the block is fulfilled and every Capacity Payout Allocation on it is paid.
- The payment is held for its block. When a client pays for a block up front, Exalynt holds that payment. It isn't spent on operating bills, other blocks, reserves, or anything else while the block is being fulfilled.
- Allocations are paid from it. When the block is fulfilled, the engineer payout, team support, the Team Lead payout, and any partnership earnings on it are paid from the block's own payment.
- Only then is the contribution available. What's left is the contribution, and Exalynt uses it as needed for what retention pays for.
Because every allocation on a client block is paid from money already set aside for that block, the people who earn allocations are never competing with Exalynt's other expenses for cash. If a block's payment ever doesn't cover its allocations, for example after a large coupon, Exalynt makes up the difference from retained contribution.
Cash priorities
Retained contribution is spent in this order:
- Committed payouts and delivery costs that no client payment covers, such as the engineer payout on an assigned self-funded block, which Exalynt pays for itself.
- Operating bills.
- Reserves. The target is at least 6 months of fixed operating expenses, built from retained contribution.
- Owner distributions. These are considered only after everything above is funded.
Frequently asked questions
Is what Exalynt retains its profit?
No. Exalynt aims to retain 10–20% of a block's price to keep everything running, and what it retains beyond that is its buffer for coupons, overruns, and slow months. Profit, if any, comes after all of that. See What Exalynt aims to retain.
Why does Exalynt retain more than its target on most blocks?
Because the rest is the buffer. Coupons, team support for more teammates, partnership earnings, overruns, and slow months all come out of what Exalynt retains, never out of an engineer's payout. Without a buffer, any one of them would put that promise at risk. See What Exalynt aims to retain.
When are engineers, teammates, Team Leads, and partners paid for a block?
When the block is fulfilled, not when the client buys it. The client pays up front, but every Capacity Payout Allocation (the engineer payout, team support, the Team Lead payout, and partnership earnings) is earned only once the block it comes from is fulfilled. See Capacity Payout Allocations.
Is the Capacity Payout Basis what the client pays?
No. It's a compensation value Exalynt sets per capacity unit, separately from client prices, and every allocation on a block is a percentage of it. See The Capacity Payout Basis.
Does a coupon reduce the engineer's payout?
No. The payout is Capacity Payout Basis × Engineer Share, and client prices don't enter it, so a coupon comes out of what Exalynt retains alone. If a block leaves nothing after costs, Exalynt absorbs the shortfall.
Does an engineer's level change what they're paid for a block?
No. Every engineer earns the same Engineer Share, 60%, of the same basis. Levels describe the kinds of problems an engineer leads, not their pay. See Engineer compensation.
Who pays a partnership's earnings when a partner introduced the client?
Exalynt does. Partnership earnings are a Capacity Payout Allocation, earned when each eligible block is fulfilled. The client's price and the engineer's payout are the same as they would be without a partner, so the partnership earnings reduce only what Exalynt retains. See Where it comes from.
Does Exalynt mark up infrastructure?
No. Infrastructure is billed at cost, with no markup, resale margin, or percentage, and it is not Exalynt revenue.
Why isn't an operations plan a percentage of infrastructure spend?
Because Exalynt would then earn more as a client's cloud bill grew, and less whenever we made it smaller. Keeping plans separate from the cloud bill means Exalynt benefits from making systems simpler and cheaper to run.
Who pays team support?
Exalynt does, out of what it would otherwise retain. Team support is a Capacity Payout Allocation, 3% of the basis for each of the engineer's available teammates, so it doesn't reduce the engineer's payout or change the client's price. See Capacity Payout Allocations.
Could Exalynt be short of cash to pay for a fulfilled block?
No. A client's payment for a block is held until the block is fulfilled and every allocation on it is paid, so engineers, teammates, Team Leads, and partners are paid from money set aside for that block, never from what's left after company bills. See How cash is handled.
What does Exalynt pay first from what it retains?
Committed payouts and delivery costs that no client payment covers, such as self-funded blocks, then operating bills, then reserves, and only then owner distributions. See Cash priorities.