# Welcome and Onboarding Axdale. Software engineering by Michael Lip, Warsaw, Poland (CET). Version 1.1. 23 October 2026. Website https://www.axdale.com. Code record https://github.com/theluckystrike. This page shows the path from your yes to day 1 of work. You send at most 2 messages. There are no calls, no meetings and no video at any step. Everything is in writing, so your team can read it, forward it and check it later. ## What you have already Before you say yes, you have 3 things from me. 1. A written plan for week 1, with 3 to 5 acceptance criteria, made from your brief. 2. A pre-filled Order Form (A-02 Order Form). It names your company, your Decision Maker, the plan, the scope, the start date and the hourly rate. 3. A pre-filled Access Request (O-03 Access Request Checklist). It lists the least access the plan needs, system by system. The rest of this pack answers the usual procurement and security questions in advance. Your team can read it without me. ## If you need the plan today The standard plan is free and reaches you within 1 Working Day of your brief. If that is too slow, you can pay USD 500 for a priority reply through GitHub Sponsors at https://github.com/sponsors/theluckystrike/sponsorships?tier_id=672884. GitHub notifies my phone the moment you pay. Pay by 17:00 CET on a Working Day and the written plan, with scope, risks and a first estimate, reaches you by 19:00 CET the same day. Later payments get a reply the next Working Day morning. The USD 500 is credited in full against your first paid invoice. ## The 2 messages ### Message 1. Accept the Order Form Your Decision Maker replies to my Order Form email from a company address with this sentence. > I accept Order Form AX-OF-____ for ____ (company name). An electronic signature on the Order Form PDF works too. Use either one. If your company needs a mutual NDA (A-03 Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement) or a data processing agreement (A-04 Data Processing Agreement) first, attach your signed copy to the same reply. I countersign the same Working Day. ### Message 2. Access and answers When the access in O-03 Access Request Checklist is in place, reply with these 2 items. 1. A short note that the access is granted, with the account names. 2. Your answers to the Kickoff Questionnaire (O-02 Kickoff Questionnaire). Short answers are fine. Each question has a default, so "default" is a valid answer. That is all. I test every access within 4 working hours and confirm in writing. Day 1 starts on the start date in the Order Form, or on the next Working Day after the access works, whichever is later. ## Checklist from yes to day 1 All times are Warsaw local time (CET, or CEST in summer). A Working Day is Monday to Friday, except public holidays in Poland. | Step | What happens | Owner | When | Done | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Send the written plan, the pre-filled Order Form and the pre-filled Access Request | Michael | Within 1 Working Day after your brief | [ ] | | 2 | Read the plan and the Order Form. Ask any written question | Client Decision Maker | When it suits you | [ ] | | 3 | Message 1. Accept the Order Form by reply or e-signature. Attach the NDA or DPA if you need them | Client Decision Maker | Any time before the start date | [ ] | | 4 | Countersign the Order Form, the NDA and the DPA. Send the PDF copies and the first invoice if week 1 is paid | Michael | Same Working Day, or by 12:00 CET the next Working Day | [ ] | | 5 | Create the accounts and grants in the Access Request. Share test keys through your secret manager or a one-time encrypted link | Client technical contact | At least 1 Working Day before the start date | [ ] | | 6 | Message 2. Confirm the access and send the Kickoff Questionnaire answers | Client technical contact or Decision Maker | Same time as step 5 | [ ] | | 7 | Test each access. Confirm in writing what works. Ask for anything that is missing in one grouped message | Michael | Within 4 working hours after step 6 | [ ] | | 8 | Pay the first invoice, only if week 1 is a paid week | Client finance | Within 5 Working Days after the invoice date | [ ] | | 9 | Day 1. Work starts on a branch or a fork. The first written update arrives by 18:00 CET | Michael | Start date in the Order Form | [ ] | ## The more context, the better the work I work best when I can see what your team sees. Please share any documents, tickets, past incidents, examples of good and bad output, or a short recording of the problem, as early as it suits you. Nothing is required beyond the brief, and you decide what stays private. The kickoff questionnaire (O-02 Kickoff Questionnaire) lists what helps most and why. More context means a sharper plan, fewer questions from me and a faster first week. ## What happens in the week 1. You get a written update by 18:00 CET each Working Day. It says what shipped, what is next, what is blocked, the decisions I need from you, the hours used and the risks. 2. Every change reaches you as a pull request with tests. 3. On the last Working Day you get the weekly report and a handover note (O-05 Handover and Offboarding). 4. After week 1 you decide in writing. Continue on paid weeks, or stop. The Engagement Agreement says what you keep in each case. ## The documents in this pack | No. | Document | Who reads it | |---|---|---| | 00 | Welcome and Onboarding (this page) | Decision Maker | | 01 | Order Form | Decision Maker, legal | | 02 | Mutual NDA | Legal | | 03 | Kickoff Questionnaire | Technical lead | | 04 | Access Request Checklist | Technical lead, security | | 05 | Security Pack | Security, procurement | | 06 | Data Processing Agreement template | Legal, privacy | | 07 | Handover and Offboarding | Technical lead, security | | 08 | Invoicing and Payment | Finance | The full Engagement Agreement, the Statement of Work template, How I Work Async and the Security and Access Policy are at https://www.axdale.com/documents/. ## If something blocks you Send the blocker to michael@axdale.com in one line. I answer within 4 working hours on Working Days. If your company needs a form of its own, such as a supplier form or a vendor security questionnaire, send it and I complete it in writing. --- Axdale. Michael Lip, independent engineer, Warsaw, Poland (CET). michael@axdale.com. https://www.axdale.com. Code record https://github.com/theluckystrike.