Firm-flat pricing. One price per firm, not per seat.
Per-seat pricing creates the wrong incentive — principals limit logins to control costs, the AI goes underused, and delivery proof doesn’t cover the full team. Mainstay is firm-flat: pick the tier sized for your team, and adding a teammate within it never changes your bill. Billed annually by default — monthly available at a 20% premium.
$599/month · permanently locked
Mainstay is in its founding cohort stage. 15 firms are coming in now to shape the product — and locking in Shield-tier access at $599/month for life. No price increases. Ever. Direct roadmap input. First access to every new module.
$599/month is the price of one billable hour per day. If Mainstay saves you that — and it will — it pays for itself in week one.
Scarcity is real. When the cohort closes, it closes.
Proof
Solo & 2–5 person firms
$479/mo billed monthly
- Up to 5 seats
- Up to 10 active projects
- Unlimited deliverables
- 100 GB document storage included
- 90-day project history
- SHA-256 delivery proof
- Zero-login client portals
- Community agency reference (read)
- QuickBooks / manual billing export
Shield
5–20 person firms
$959/mo billed monthly
- Up to 15 seats
- Up to 25 active projects
- Unlimited deliverables
- 500 GB document storage included
- Full project history
- SHA-256 delivery proof
- Zero-login client portals
- Full AI co-pilot
- Write access to agency reference
- Priority support
Command
20–30+ person firms · Multi-principal shops
$1799/mo billed monthly
- Unlimited seats
- Up to 100 active projects
- Unlimited deliverables
- 2 TB document storage included
- Full project history
- SHA-256 delivery proof
- Zero-login client portals
- Full AI co-pilot
- Custom private agency reference entries
- Multi-office / multi-principal roles
- Dedicated onboarding + quarterly check-in
- 4-hour SLA response
- Early feature access
Annual billing is a 12-month commitment. Monthly billing is flexible — cancel anytime. 30-day money-back on all plans.
Storage — the way it should be
Every plan includes generous document storage — 100 GB on Proof, 500 GB on Shield, 2 TB on Command — sized so a typical firm never has to think about it.
If your needs ever grow, storage expands in simple flat blocks you opt into — a predictable line item, not a meter running in the background.
No usage metering. No automatic overages. No surprise bills.
Founding-cohort firms: storage is always a conversation, never a hard stop.
One line item. The full compliance workflow included.
Most firms at this stage are paying $700–900/month just to store project files in the cloud — with none of the workflow, none of the audit trail, and none of the regulatory feeds. Mainstay Shield is $799/month for the complete picture: generous document storage, full AI co-pilot, compliance automation, and client portals.
If you’re currently paying for cloud storage separately, Mainstay likely costs less than what you’re already spending.
$9,600/year is one avoided E&O claim. One accelerated invoice cycle. Most Shield customers see ROI before their first quarterly report.
Now compare it to the cost of one dispute.
$4,788
A full year of Proof tier, billed annually
$10,000+
Partner time on a single “we never received it” dispute — before a lawyer is involved
$100k–300k
Annual revenue from one retainer client lost over a documentation dispute
Mainstay pays for itself the first time you never have that argument.
Why firm-flat wins
| Feature | Typical per-seat tools | Mainstay |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per seat — principals limit access | Firm-flat — priced per firm, not per person |
| Client portal access | Per-seat charge or add-on | Unlimited, always included |
| Client login | Account required | Magic link — no account, ever |
| Document collection | Email and manual chase | Magic-link upload; scheduled Collection Requests on the roadmap |
| AI completeness check | Not available | On the founding-cohort roadmap |
| Annual Compilation | Manual assembly | On the founding-cohort roadmap |
| Delivery proof | No | SHA-256 timestamped receipt, dispute-ready |
| Regulatory archive | Cloud storage you manage | Structured archive — automatic on finalization |
| CA regulatory feeds | No | CARB, Water Boards, CalGEM, EPA ECHO — live |
Common questions
Why firm-flat instead of per-seat?
Per-seat pricing creates the wrong incentive. Principals limit seats to control costs — which means the AI goes underused, delivery proof doesn't cover the full team, and churn risk goes up. Firm-flat means you pick the tier sized for your team and adding a teammate within it never changes your bill. The tool becomes infrastructure. Value compounds with usage.
How many active projects does each plan include?
Each plan includes a set number of concurrent active projects — shown on every plan card. A project counts while it's active, on hold, or pending close; drafts, closed, archived, and sample projects don't count. There are no overage charges, ever: if you reach your plan's limit, you either close a finished project to free a slot or move up a tier. You're never billed for going over.
What's the difference between annual and monthly billing?
Annual billing is our default — it's the best value and how most firms budget. If you prefer monthly flexibility, it's available at a 20% premium. No contracts on monthly; annual is a 12-month commitment.
Do my clients need accounts or passwords?
No. Clients receive a magic-link by email and upload directly — no account, no app, no IT ticket. Unlimited client portals are included on every plan at no extra charge.
Can we give auditors and regulators access to our files?
Today, clients receive documents through a zero-login magic link — no account required. Scoped, time-bounded, read-only access for a CARB-contracted auditor or other third-party reviewer — to a specific program's document set and audit log — is on the founding-cohort roadmap. Founding firms shape how it works and get first access.
What is the Annual Compilation?
It's on the founding-cohort roadmap: a gap matrix showing every document requested vs. received across the reporting year, a one-click ZIP organized for regulatory submission, and a firm-branded PDF. Founding-cohort firms help shape it and get first access.
Are there storage limits or overage charges?
Every plan includes generous document storage — 100 GB on Proof, 500 GB on Shield, 2 TB on Command — enough that most firms never approach it. If you ever need more, you add it in simple flat blocks: an opt-in line item, never a metered overage or a surprise bill. Founding-cohort firms — storage is always a conversation, never a hard stop.
How does the founding cohort work?
Annual contract, $599/month, Shield-tier features plus founding benefits: direct roadmap input, first access to every new module, and dedicated onboarding. The price is permanently locked — not just for the first year. Capped at 15 firms because genuine roadmap access and onboarding attention don't scale beyond that.
What regulatory feeds are included?
Live, continuously-synced feeds for CARB, CalGEM, CIWQS, and EPA ECHO — the agencies California environmental firms file with most. Reference data for CalEPA programs (DTSC, CalRecycle, OEHHA) is included for lookups; live sync for those is on the roadmap.
Do you offer discounts?
No. Our rack rate is our rate. Referrals earn a one-month credit applied to your next invoice — not a discount off the rate card. This keeps pricing clean and fair for everyone.
Is there a contract or commitment?
Annual billing is a 12-month commitment. Monthly billing is flexible — cancel anytime. Every plan includes a 30-day money-back guarantee: if Mainstay doesn't visibly change how you work, we refund your first payment, no questions asked.
Stop chasing. Start compiling.
Mainstay handles the collection, the validation, the archive, and the proof — so you can spend April delivering, not scrambling.
$599/month · Permanently locked · 15 firms max · Annual contract