Waypoint Agribusiness
Independent, AI-Powered Profit Desk for Australian Agriculture
We find money Australian farmers are losing on what they buy and how they operate. We recover it with you, and are paid a share of verified savings against a baseline you agree to. The baseline and findings are free.
Where Australian agriculture stands
Record production, falling profit. Farmers are price takers on both sides of the balance sheet.
Farmers sell into markets they don't set, and buy from suppliers who dictate the terms. Most freight, insurance, finance, energy and inputs are negotiated on relationships and renewed out of habit.
Almost everyone advising a farm on those costs is paid by someone other than the farmer. Waypoint sits on the farmer's side of the table, and is paid only by the client.
Sources: ABARES farm performance estimates and Agricultural Commodities Report; APRA.
What we look at
Three tiers, one fee logic
Every tier resolves to the same fee logic: a share of verified improvement against a baseline both sides agree.
The same thing, bought better
Freight, energy, fuel, inputs, insurance, finance, and money already charged that can be recovered. Measured as price per unit of input.
The same output, for less
Rosters, labour contracting, machinery utilisation, throughput. Measured as cost per unit of output, so producing less never counts as a saving.
Better use of land, water and capital
Crop selection, rotation and allocation. Measured as gross margin per hectare or megalitre. Offered only after a Tier 1 or Tier 2 window is complete.
A different model
Not another app. Not another consultant.
Most help on offer to a farm business is paid for up front, whether it works or not. We use AI to do the analytical work at a fraction of the traditional cost, which lets a senior, independent review be paid for out of verified results.
| Software subscription | Day-rate advice | Waypoint | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you pay | A recurring fee, whether or not it pays for itself | Hours or a project fee, before the result is known | A capped share of savings verified against a baseline you signed |
| Who carries the risk | You | You | Shared. The baseline and findings are at our cost |
| Who does the work | You do, with the tool | People, billed by the hour | AI does the processing; a senior person reviews every finding and runs the implementation |
| What you're left with | Another login and more data to manage | A report | Contracts you've signed, credits in your account, and a savings record your accountant can co-sign |
We're paid only by our clients. We take no commission, rebate or referral fee from any supplier, lender or insurer.
For farmers and agribusinesses
We find the money you're already losing, and our fee comes out of what we get back.
Nothing to install, no subscription, no day rate. Send us twelve months of records. Fourteen days after your file is complete, you get a ranked list of what's recoverable, in dollars, with the evidence behind every line.
Who it's for
Small and medium farming enterprises and agribusinesses with a cost base over $500,000
Broadacre, mixed farming, red meat and wool, dairy, horticulture, viticulture, cotton, sugar, intensive livestock, and the packing, processing, transport and contracting businesses around them. If your business spends more than half a million dollars a year and has no corporate procurement team, there's very likely money in what you already pay, and nobody whose whole job is checking it.
What you get, free
- A baseline. What you spent on each cost line, the volume, the unit cost, and the document every figure came from.
- A findings pack. Each finding ranked in dollars, with its evidence class and a confidence level. Your accountant is welcome at the meeting.
- An exposure summary. Which of your costs are tied to an index, a tariff or the exchange rate, which are contracted and which are spot, and where your next price notice is likely to come from.
- Implementation, if you want it. We run the claims, renegotiations and tenders. You approve every decision in writing.
This isn't another piece of technology
We'll benchmark the technology you already pay for
You don't need another dashboard, another login or another per-hectare subscription. We do the processing on our side and hand you results. And because farm software, precision-ag services and connectivity are cost lines like any other, we check whether they're earning their keep.
| What you pay for | What we check |
|---|---|
| Farm management and accounting software | Seats paid against seats used, overlapping tools, auto-renewals nobody reviewed |
| Precision-ag, guidance and agronomy platforms | Cost per hectare against what the service actually changed in your inputs or yields, where your own records can show it |
| Telematics, sensors and monitoring | Subscriptions on machines or sites you no longer run; hardware you're still paying off |
| Telecommunications and connectivity | Plans against actual use; services on sites you've left |
These sit in the "Software and subscriptions", "Telecommunications and connectivity" and "Administration and compliance overhead" lines you can tick in your Baseline Engagement Agreement.
What we review
You choose the lines. We read every one.
On sign-up you tick the cost lines you want reviewed. Ticking more costs nothing extra; it only widens what we read. Lines you don't tick are outside the engagement.
Freight and cartage
Grain, livestock, containers, port and receival
Energy and fuel
Electricity, gas, diesel, irrigation pumping, fuel tax credits
Insurance
Farm package, crop, livestock, machinery and motor
Finance
Term debt, seasonal facilities, equipment finance, banking fees
Inputs
Fertiliser, chemicals, seed, feed and animal health
Levies, rebates and credits
Money already owed to you, and charges applied in error
Labour and contracting
Roster structure, shearing, harvest, spraying and planting contracts
Machinery and equipment
Utilisation, own, lease or contract, replacement timing
Software and services
Subscriptions, connectivity, and professional fees
The full list is Schedule 1 of the Baseline Engagement Agreement. We don't publish savings estimates: what's recoverable depends entirely on your records, and we'll only put a number on it once we've read them.
How you pay
Free to find out. A capped share of what's verified if you act.
Every rate, cap and option below is written on the order form you sign. Nothing is added later, and no amount can change except by the published CPI formula in the Master Terms.
| Stage | What it costs | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline and findings | $0 | We bear our own costs. The one fee this stage can create is below. |
| If you act on a finding without us | The same performance rate, on that finding only | Applies only if a finding on a line we identified takes effect within 12 months without an Implementation Agreement. Capped, with four carve-outs, including changes already under way before we delivered. |
| Implementation retainer | A fixed monthly amount for 3–6 months | Agreed on the Implementation Agreement order form before work starts. You choose whether it's credited against performance fees. |
| Performance fee, Tiers 1 and 2 | 30% of verified savings with a connected ledger, 32% on annual accounts | Over each saving's measurement window. Annual accounts cost two points more because the fee arrives up to two years later. |
| Optional second year | 10% of verified savings | Only if you choose it in writing when you sign. Never an automatic extension. |
| Enterprise mix, Tier 3 | 20% of verified uplift over 24 months | Only under a separately signed schedule, after a Tier 1 or 2 window is complete. |
One engagement cap covers every fee calculated on savings. There's no minimum saving: amounts under $1,000 a quarter roll up to the annual statement. If a saving reverses, the fee on it is credited back. Invoices are itemised by cost line, with the evidence attached.
Start with one document. We'll send you a one-page note within five business days.
If handing over twelve months of records feels like a big step, send us one thing: an insurance schedule, a year of freight invoices, or a loan schedule. Reply "agreed" to a short letter, and we'll tell you what we see, including if that line already looks competitive. No cost, no commitment, nothing goes into benchmark data, and we delete it within 90 days unless you engage us.
For investors and partners
Building an AI-native processor and reference database for agricultural cost, optimisation and enterprise strategy.
Every engagement adds verified, de-identified observations of what Australian agribusinesses actually pay and produce. The services business funds the build. The database is what accumulates.
General information only. Nothing on this page is an offer of securities or financial product advice. A detailed briefing is available on request to wholesale and sophisticated investors.
Investor access
The full briefing is for invited investors and partners
The macro case, the reference database, how the asset is secured, the market and our growth horizons. Enter the access code you were given.
Don't have a code? Contact us through the enquiries details below.
How it works
Who does what, what gets signed, and when a fee can arise.
Three gates, eleven phases, the same for every client. The rules for measuring a saving are fixed before any work starts, and nobody can change them afterwards.
Three gates
Each step asks a little more, and only the last one can pay us for our work
You send one file. We send a one-page note within five business days. No cost, no commitment, deleted within 90 days if you don't engage us.
One-File Review Letter · reply "agreed"Twelve months of records, a signed baseline and a ranked findings pack. Its only possible fee: if you implement one of our findings yourself within 12 months.
Baseline Engagement Agreement · signed as a deedYou tick the findings you want us to act on. We go to market, recover and renegotiate, and are paid a capped share of what's verified.
Implementation AgreementPhase by phase
Who does what, and what you sign
The fourteen days run from the day we confirm your file is complete, not from the day you sign.
Qualifies the fit, captures your objective, and tells you where we got your details.
Decide whether to keep talking.
Nothing. You receive a privacy collection notice.
Reads one document and writes a one-page note, including if the line already looks competitive.
Email one document.
One-File Review Letter, by replying "agreed"
Completes the order form with you and walks through the cost-line schedule line by line.
Tick the cost lines in scope, choose connected ledger or annual accounts, and opt in or out of benchmark contribution.
Baseline Engagement Agreement, signed as a deed, with the Master Terms and five schedules
Confirms your file is complete within two business days, or lists exactly what's missing.
Your bookkeeper sends the records on the checklist. On the connected-ledger option, you set up read-only access.
Nothing. The 14-day clock starts when the file is complete.
Organises your accounts, computes unit costs, traces every figure to a source document and assembles the market references.
Nothing.
Nothing yet.
A senior person judges every finding as contestable, protected or sequenced, and assigns its evidence class.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Presents the ranked findings with class, tier, value and confidence, plus your exposure summary.
Attend, with your accountant if you like, and review the baseline.
Baseline Schedule, at the meeting or within 10 business days
Scopes the work finding by finding and sets out the retainer, rates, cap and options.
Tick the findings to act on, and choose the second-year and re-baseline options.
Implementation Agreement
Claims and corrects, renegotiates against published references, and runs tenders. Presents every action with its evidence and collects the proof it took effect.
Approve or reject each action in writing. You sign every contract with the supplier directly.
Written approvals; a letter of authority if you want us to negotiate for you (we can never accept or bind you)
Issues a Verification Statement with the evidence attached, then invoices. Recoveries are verified when they land.
Review within 20 business days, with your accountant if you wish. On annual accounts, your accountant sends the year-end figures.
Co-sign the Verification Statement, or tell us what you disagree with
Offers a new baseline, or gives 60 days' notice with a reminder, depending on the option you chose.
Accept or decline. Declining is free.
A new Baseline Engagement Agreement, if you go ahead
Where it can lead
A gated path from cost recovery to enterprise strategy
Each stage earns the next. We only look at how your land, water and capital are allocated once earlier results are verified, because a strategy built on a clean, proven cost base is one a buyer, lender or valuer can check.
Recover what you already pay
Freight, energy, insurance, finance, inputs and money owed back to you.
Verified in weeks to months
Produce the same for less
Rosters, contracting, machinery and throughput, measured per unit of output.
Verified over a season
Put land and capital to better use
Crop and enterprise mix, area and water allocation, lease or own, infrastructure sequencing.
24-month verification
Built for bigger objectives
Enterprise-mix work is measured on gross margin per hectare or megalitre against a rolling three-year baseline, adjusted for commodity prices named up front, and verified over 24 months. That's long enough to show a durable change in how the business earns, not one good season.
- Preparing for sale or exit. A verified, accountant-reviewed record of improvement supports the earnings a buyer sees and makes diligence faster.
- Acquisition or aggregation. A consistent baseline shows what a combined operation actually costs to run.
- Succession. A clear, documented picture of the business for the next generation.
- Refinancing. Evidence of a defensible cost position for your lender.
Tier 3 is offered only after a Tier 1 or Tier 2 measurement window is complete, under a separately signed schedule, with your accountant (and agronomist where relevant) reviewing the baseline before work starts. We don't value businesses or give transaction advice; we provide the verified operating record your advisers work from.
The measurement standard
The rules for counting a saving are fixed before work begins
The unit and the reference for every line are locked when the Baseline Schedule is signed, and change only by a document we both sign. That protects you as much as us, and it's why the savings record stands up to a bank review or a buyer's diligence.
- The right unit. Cost recovery is measured per unit of input. Operating margin is measured per unit of output, per tonne, head or hectare, never per hour paid.
- Market movement removed. Where a published index exists, its movement is stripped out in both directions. We're paid for beating the market, not for the market moving.
- Increases avoided count, on evidence. Where there's no index, a price rise your supplier notified in writing, and that we held down, is measured as a saving. Once per line, never twice.
- Contracted, not projected. Recognised only on a signed contract, issued policy, varied facility, credited invoice, refund, or an invoice paid at the new price.
- Output protected. No operating saving counts if output per hectare, head or hour has fallen. If drought or a closed market caused the fall, the saving is measured on your baseline volume.
- Only named lines. Savings you find on other lines are yours alone.
- Independent checks. Your accountant can co-sign every statement. A disagreement can go to a binding independent accountant. Their fee comes out of your share of the savings, unless they cut our figure by more than 10% or our conduct caused the review, in which case we pay.
- Workplace issues are never a saving. Any underpayment or misclassification is disclosed to you immediately, with a recommendation to get specialist advice.
Verification
Choose how savings are checked. Either way, we don't send you information requests during the year.
| Connected ledger | Annual accounts | |
|---|---|---|
| What you do during the year | Nothing. Read-only access to the accounts in scope, which you can revoke at any time | Nothing. Your accountant sends the year-end figures |
| How often we verify | Quarterly, invoiced in arrears | Once for each financial year the window covers |
| Measurement window | 12 months from when the saving takes effect | To the 30 June at least 12 months later, so 12 to 23 months |
| Performance rate | 30% | 32% |
| Switching | Move to the connected ledger whenever you like, and the lower rate applies from the day you connect. | |
About us
Farmers are the original entrepreneurs. We're built to back them.
Australian producers carry the weather, the markets and the cost base on their own balance sheet. The advisers around them mostly get paid either way. We think that's the wrong way round.
We share the risk
If we're wrong, it costs us, not you
Producers take risk for a living. We think the people helping them should take some too. So the work that decides whether there's any money to find is done at our cost, and our performance fee exists only when a saving is contracted, evidenced and verified against a baseline you signed.
- We build the baseline and findings at our own cost. If there's nothing worth recovering, you'll have spent some time and nothing else.
- We're paid when you are. Performance fees are invoiced on savings that have actually happened, never on projections.
- When a season goes wrong, we wait with you. If drought or a lost market cuts your volumes, the saving is measured over comparable activity. We never charge on volume that didn't happen.
- If a saving reverses, so does our fee. It's credited back.
- Every fee has a ceiling agreed on the day you sign.
Why we're built this way
We set out to replace two models that ask farmers to carry all the risk
Technology you pay for whether it works or not
Ag-tech sells tools. The farmer supplies the time, the data and the judgement, and pays every month regardless. We keep the technology on our side and sell the result.
Advice you pay for before you know it's right
Consultants bill for hours and opinions. We use AI to do the analyst's work at a fraction of the cost, so a senior review can be paid for out of the savings it finds.
A long-term partner with nothing to sell you
No product margin, no supplier commissions, no reason to recommend anything except what saves you money. We re-baseline every year, so you build a verified record of a well-run business year after year.
Our independence charter
We contest what you pay, never who you deal with
- Paid only by you. We accept no commission, rebate, referral fee, volume incentive, or gift of more than nominal value from anyone you buy from, borrow from or insure with. If one is offered, we decline it and tell you in writing within five business days.
- No panel. No preferred suppliers and no exclusive relationships steering the comparison.
- Conflicts disclosed first. We tell you about any relationship that could look like a conflict before you're asked to decide.
- Your accountant is invited in to the baseline and the verification, with our working method.
- We tell you when a premium is worth paying. A shearing team that's the only one to turn up in a wet June is worth more than the district rate. We say so and leave it alone.
- You decide, always. We never accept an offer, sign a document or commit you to anything.
- We stay in our lane. No financial product, credit, tax, legal, workplace relations, agronomic, veterinary, engineering or valuation advice. Where acting on a finding needs a licensed adviser, you appoint one and we work with them.
- We decline work we shouldn't take. A business in genuine distress needs a rural financial counsellor, and we'll help you find one at no cost.
Founder and principal
Joshua Thaisen
Founder and Principal, Waypoint Agribusiness
AI · Agriculture · Portfolio strategy
Agricultural science, Charles Sturt University · Executive Dean’s Award
Strategic Operations Management, The Wharton School (current)
“Waypoint is charting the future for AI-powered agriculture by democratising strategic capability once reserved for institutions and large corporations. This is a generational chance to reset the balance of power in rural economies, so that a greater share of agriculture’s economic contribution flows back to the people and communities who create the value.”
Joshua Thaisen is an agricultural economist, entrepreneur and AI expert whose career spans finance, technology and agriculture. He specialises in blended finance, data-driven decision-making and portfolio construction for farmland and timberland asset managers, and has led the commercialisation of major agricultural development and forestry programs for governments, food and beverage companies and landholders around the world.
Joshua works at the frontier of applied AI in finance and AI governance, collaborating with central banks and Big Four accounting firms. His work includes developing audit strategies for AI-based approaches to measuring and managing natural resources, and he speaks regularly at the Singapore FinTech Festival.
His work on agricultural finance R&D with financial institutions in Asia, alongside agri-fintech ventures and farmers across Africa, Asia and Australia, gave him a first-hand view of the structural challenges holding agriculture back: production constraints, resource scarcity, fragmented data, bankability gaps and inefficient capital allocation.
Joshua founded Waypoint Agribusiness to build the intelligence layer for global agribusiness—bringing together production data, AI and economic analysis to help determine how land and agricultural assets can be used most productively. By making these decisions measurable, transparent and actionable, Waypoint gives farmers, investors and capital providers greater confidence to allocate resources effectively, helping build a more productive, resilient and equitable food system.
Industry and institutional work
Managed the scale-up of the world’s largest regenerative agriculture program, with 10x year-on-year growth in adoption of sustainable maize in West Africa.
Transformation of Rice Value Chains and sustainable development in the Mekong Delta (TRVC), working alongside SNV Netherlands and Deloitte.
Delivered a major aggregation of farmland assets (over 100 Australian farms) into hybrid land management regimes under Australia’s Emissions Reduction Fund.
Developed digital land management systems adopted by more than 500 farmers in Australia.
Project NovA!: AI-enabled verification and sustainability performance-benchmarking developed under Singapore’s National Innovation Program in Finance.
Guest speaker at the Elevandi Insights Forum and contributor to the AI-Driven Net Zero report.
Asia Pacific learning lab for forest management, with FAO and UN-REDD.
Working with Blue You to develop financing blueprints for scaling sustainable aquaculture in Southeast Asia.
Compliance strategy for hybrid renewable energy and forest conservation assets.
Global commodities insights.
Degas Africa, Gait Global and Boreal Company: fintech products, digital land-tenure and KYC systems, and strategic operations that expanded market access for farmers across Africa and Asia.
How the firm is built
A senior front line, an AI production layer, and a named human behind every output
Commercial judgement
Every finding is challenged before a client sees it: what's contestable, what's protected, and what to leave alone.
Delivery and implementation
Claims, renegotiations and tenders, run on the client's mandate. Added as concurrent engagements grow.
[Name, when appointed]
Analysis at scale
Normalisation, benchmarking and drafting, with a named human owner and a defined boundary for every function.
Sales Partnerships
Run your own book. Uncapped upside, paid on the results you bring in.
We're looking for people who already know the producers in their district or sector, and want to build something of their own on top of a product that costs the client nothing to try.
The model
An entrepreneurial role, not a sales quota
You own the relationships in your territory or vertical. You open the conversation, run the first call and bring the client to a signed baseline. Our delivery team and AI production layer do the analysis and implementation. You earn a share of every fee collected from the clients you originate, for as long as they keep working with us.
- Uncapped commission. A share of every fee collected from the clients you originate, paid as we're paid. Rates are set out in your agreement.
- Recurring by design. Clients re-baseline annually and add cost lines over time, so a good book compounds.
- Leadership upside. Heads of vertical earn an override on genuine client revenue across the teams they build, train and support.
- Structure that suits you. Commission-led, with salaried options for senior roles. Employee or contractor status is agreed on the substance of each role.
What you're selling with
An easy first yes, and the tools to get there faster
Free to the client until it works
No subscription, no day rate. A free baseline and findings pack in fourteen days, and a performance fee only on verified savings. You're never asking a farmer to take a risk.
Leads, prep and follow-up handled
A monitored lead pipeline, call preparation on every prospect, a CRM that updates itself, and follow-up drafted for you to send.
Trained and certified
A defined sales method with AI roleplay practice and scoring. You certify before taking live leads, and coaching continues on real calls, recorded with client consent.
The standards
What we ask of everyone who represents us
- Independence, personally. No commission, gift or benefit from any supplier, lender or insurer of a client. Ever.
- Paid for clients, never for recruiting. Every dollar of commission and override comes from genuine client revenue. There's no joining fee and nothing to buy.
- No overstated claims. Every figure you use must be traceable. We don't promise savings before we've seen the file.
- Confidentiality. Client information, our methods and our benchmark data are protected under a confidentiality and IP deed signed before you start. What you create for Waypoint belongs to Waypoint.
Expression of interest
Register your interest
Tell us where you work, who you know and which role fits. We'll be in touch as roles open in your region or vertical. Accountants, agronomists and rural professionals interested in a referral partnership are welcome too.
Almost done
Send this to our team
Copy your expression of interest below and email it to sales@waypointagri.com.au. Nothing has been sent yet.
FAQ
You're handing us your books. Here's exactly how they're held.
Data ownership, privacy, confidentiality, independence and fees, answered plainly. The binding version is in the Master Terms and the Baseline Engagement Agreement, which you receive before you sign.
Data ownership
Who owns my data?
You do, including all intellectual property in it. Nothing in our agreements transfers it to us. We hold it as custodian, only to deliver the services, calculate and verify savings and fees, and meet the law. We never sell it, license it or use it as security.
Who owns the findings and reports you give me?
We own the reports themselves, and you get a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free licence to use, copy, adapt and share them for your business, including in confidence with your accountant, auditors, advisers, bank, insurer and genuine prospective buyers or investors. The licence passes with your business if you sell it. The facts about your business in those reports remain your confidential information.
Do the new contracts and arrangements belong to me?
Yes. Every contract, policy, facility, roster or arrangement you enter into as a result of our work is yours. We claim no rights in it, and you sign it with the supplier directly.
Can I talk about what I pay?
Yes. Nothing in our terms stops you using or disclosing your own information, including your prices and terms, to anyone, for any purpose.
Will you name me as a client?
Not without your specific written consent to that use. We won't identify you, or describe your business, location or results in a way that could identify you, in any marketing, case study or presentation. You're free to say you've engaged us.
Benchmarking
Will my data be used to benchmark other businesses?
Only if you tick "yes" on the order form. Contribution is voluntary. If you decline, the work, the fees and the timeline are exactly the same.
If you opt in, we create de-identified prices and unit costs from your records, recorded only by region band, scale band, enterprise type and period, never by name, postcode or supplier. Nothing is released unless it combines at least five contributors, none above a quarter of the total, and covers periods that ended at least three months earlier. That floor is written into your contract.
What do I get for contributing?
A free benchmark summary at least once a year for the cost lines in your findings pack, wherever enough contributors exist to meet the aggregation floor.
Could a supplier or competitor work out what I pay?
No benchmark output ever goes to a supplier, a potential supplier or their industry association, in any form, even if it meets the aggregation floor. We never tell one supplier about another's prices, terms or intentions. We don't attempt to re-identify anyone and don't allow anyone else to. Once a year, on request, we'll confirm in writing that we've complied.
Can I withdraw my consent?
Yes, at any time, by written notice. We then create no further benchmark data from your records. Data already de-identified can't be traced back to you and may stay in the library.
When do you contact my suppliers?
Not before you sign an Implementation Agreement. After that, only on findings you've ticked, only with information you've approved for that tender, and only on your behalf. We can negotiate if you give us a letter of authority, but we can never accept an offer or commit you.
Privacy and security
Does the Privacy Act apply to you?
We comply with the Australian Privacy Principles as if we were bound by them, whether or not the small business exemption would technically apply. Business records of sole traders, partnerships and family farms often contain personal information, and we treat them that way.
Do you need payroll records or tax file numbers?
No. Please don't send tax file numbers, health information or individual employee records. For labour lines we only need labour cost by category (permanent, casual, contract). If tax file numbers or health information arrive by mistake, we destroy them. We never keep them.
Where is my data stored?
Schedule 5 of your Baseline Engagement Agreement names exactly where your data is stored and processed, and every provider involved. Each provider is contracted to process only on our instructions and never to use your data to train or improve its own products. We give you 30 days' notice before adding a provider or location. If you object and we can't resolve it, you can end the affected agreement at no cost.
Do you use AI on my data?
Yes. Software, including AI tools, extracts, organises and analyses your records. That's how we deliver in fourteen days. Every finding is reviewed by a person before it's issued, and no decision about you or any individual is made by automated means alone. AI providers are listed in Schedule 5 and bound by the same no-training restriction.
What security controls do you commit to?
The ones written into your contract: multi-factor authentication on every account that can reach your data; encryption in transit and at rest, with full-disk encryption on every device; access limited to the people on your engagement; access logs kept for at least two years; files shared by access-controlled link, never as email attachments; privacy and security training before anyone touches client data; and backups tested at least twice a year.
What happens if there's a data breach?
We'll tell you without undue delay, and in any case within 72 hours of becoming aware of it. We'll contain it, work with you to assess whether it's a notifiable breach under the Privacy Act, and not contact your customers, staff or suppliers about it without consulting you first, unless the law requires it.
How long do you keep my data, and can I have it destroyed?
We keep it until 90 days after the last measurement window or attribution period ends, or longer only while a fee dispute is open or the law requires it. Then we securely destroy it, or return it if you ask, and confirm in writing. You can ask for earlier destruction at any time; if we need to keep anything to verify fees or meet the law, we'll tell you what and why.
De-identified benchmark data you consented to, and our own methods, aren't returned or destroyed, because they no longer identify you.
Independence and advice
Do you take commissions from suppliers, insurers or lenders?
No. Our only income is the fees our clients pay. We accept no commission, rebate, referral fee, volume incentive, or gift or hospitality above nominal value from any supplier, lender, insurer, broker, processor or buyer connected to your cost lines. If one is offered, we decline it and tell you in writing within five business days.
Are you giving me financial, tax or legal advice?
No. We don't provide financial product advice, credit assistance, legal advice, tax agent services, workplace relations advice, or agronomic, veterinary, engineering or valuation advice. On insurance, finance and credit we give factual information about the cost, terms and structure of what you have, and work with a licensed adviser, broker or credit provider you appoint, who makes any recommendation. On labour lines we benchmark cost and structure only, and you get your own workplace advice before any change.
Do you set or coordinate prices?
No. Every client sets and negotiates its own prices independently. Suppliers who quote through us confirm their pricing was set independently, and we never tell one supplier what another quoted.
Fees
Is the baseline really free?
Yes. The baseline and findings cost nothing, and there's no obligation to go further. The only fee this stage can create is if a finding on a line we identified takes effect within 12 months without us, whether you put it in place or someone else does. Then the performance rate applies to that finding's verified savings, up to a capped amount.
That doesn't apply if the change was already under way before we delivered our findings, if it's a general price change the supplier gave all customers without negotiation, if we declined to act on that line, or if you end the agreement because we missed our delivery date.
How is the performance fee worked out?
30% of verified savings on the connected-ledger pathway, or 32% on annual accounts, over each saving's measurement window. A second year at 10% applies only if you choose it when you sign. Enterprise mix work is 20% of verified uplift over 24 months, under a separate schedule. One engagement cap covers every fee on savings.
Is there a retainer?
During implementation, yes: a fixed monthly amount for three to six months, set on the order form before any work starts. You choose whether it's credited against performance fees. You can end implementation on 30 days' notice.
What if costs are rising anyway?
Where a published index exists, market movement is stripped out in both directions. Where it doesn't, as with most freight and insurance, a price rise your supplier notified in writing, and that we held down, is measured as a saving. That applies once per line, on the supplier's own written figure, never our estimate.
What if a drought or a lost contract cuts my volumes?
Our fee is a share of real savings on what you actually used or produced, so lower volumes reduce it. If volumes fall more than 20% early in a window for reasons unrelated to our work, the window can extend by up to 12 months, so the saving is measured over comparable activity. The rate and the cap don't change, and you can decline the extension at no cost.
Who verifies the savings, and what if we disagree?
Every Verification Statement comes with its evidence. You have 20 business days to review it with your accountant, and it's never treated as accepted just because you didn't reply. If we can't agree, either of us can refer it to an independent accountant whose decision binds us both. Their fee comes out of your share of the savings, unless they reduce our figure by more than 10% or find our conduct caused the review, in which case we pay.
What if I implement something you proposed after we stop working together?
If you put into effect a specific action we presented to you in writing, naming the supplier and the mechanism, within 12 months after implementation ends, the performance fee applies to it as if we'd implemented it. That doesn't apply if you ended the agreement because of our uncured breach.
This FAQ summarises Waypoint's standard terms. It isn't legal advice, and the engagement documents prevail if there's any difference.
Before any finding reaches you
Every line is classified: act now, leave alone, or wait
The numbers will show a shearing team is 18% above the district rate. They won't show it's the only team that turns up in a wet June. This test is why a senior person reviews every finding.
Above market, with no hidden loss
Recommended. The saving is real and changing it costs you nothing you value.
The premium buys something real
Reported and marked not recommended. Reliability in a narrow window, scarce skill, herd or block knowledge.
Worth doing, but not this season
Timed against your calendar. Refinancing mid-harvest or switching contractors before calving isn't a saving.
How we know
Three classes of evidence, stated on every finding
| Class | What it is | Evidence | How it's realised |
|---|---|---|---|
| From your records | The arrangement itself is defective: renewed without a contest, a rebate or fuel tax credit never claimed, duplicate cover, a levy misapplied | Your own records | Claim, correct or vary. Often a one-off recovery, verified on the credit note |
| Against a reference | A gap against a named, dated reference: a published index, tariff or rate card, or, where none exists, a price increase your supplier has put in writing | A public source, or the supplier's own written notice | Renegotiate against the reference |
| Tested in the market | A gap that can only be proven by going to market on your actual requirement | Real quotes from real suppliers | Tender or remarketing, only under an Implementation Agreement |
Your agreement calls these Class A, B and C findings.
How each tier is baselined
Three tiers, three baselines, one rule: the measure is fixed before the result is known
Every baseline starts from the same place: your last completed financial year, with any agreed one-off exclusions listed line by line and every figure traced to a document you gave us. What changes by tier is the unit being measured.
Input cost
The same thing, bought better, or money already charged, recovered.
- Baseline measure
- Price per unit of input: baseline spend ÷ baseline volume
- Typical units
- $/t-km of freight, c/L over terminal gate, c/kWh, $ per $1,000 sum insured, % p.a. on a facility, $/kg of nutrient
- Saving
- (adjusted baseline unit cost − actual unit cost) × actual volume
- Adjusted for
- A named published index where one exists; otherwise a price rise your supplier notified in writing; otherwise nothing
- Recoveries
- Credits and refunds are counted once, at the amount received, with no adjustment
- Window and fee
- 12 months (connected ledger) or 12–23 months (annual accounts); 30% or 32%
Diesel baseline $1.62/L. The terminal gate index falls 5.6%, so the adjusted baseline is $1.5293/L. You now pay $1.44/L on 60,000 L a quarter. Verified saving: $5,358. Fee at 30%: $1,607, about half what it would be without the market adjustment.
Unit cost of production
The same output, produced for less.
- Baseline measure
- Cost per unit of output: cost of the operation ÷ what it produced
- Typical units
- $/t packed, $/head shorn, $/ha harvested or sprayed, $/kg liveweight gain, $/ML delivered, $ per operating hour
- Saving
- (adjusted baseline unit cost of output − actual unit cost of output) × actual output
- Safeguards
- No saving counts if output per hectare, head or labour hour falls. If drought or a lost market caused the fall, the saving is measured on your baseline output. Any workplace compliance issue is disclosed and never counted.
- Window and fee
- Verifies over a season; 12 months (connected ledger) or 12–23 months (annual accounts); 30% or 32%
A packing shed runs at $3.82/t. A roster redesign lifts the hourly rate slightly but raises throughput from 9.1 to 11.3 t per labour hour, bringing unit cost to $3.18/t. On 40,000 t that's a $25,880 saving. Measured per hour paid, it would have looked like a cost increase.
Gross margin per hectare
A better allocation of the same land, water and capital.
- Baseline measure
- Gross margin per hectare or megalitre, averaged over a rolling three years rather than a single season
- Typical units
- $/ha by crop and country class, $/ML by water use, $/head and $/ha for trading or breeding
- Uplift
- (actual gross margin per ha − commodity-adjusted baseline gross margin per ha) × hectares (or megalitres)
- Adjusted for
- A commodity index named before work starts, so we're paid for the allocation decision, not for prices moving
- Before it starts
- Your accountant, and your agronomist where relevant, review the baseline. Offered only after a Tier 1 or 2 window is complete, under a separately signed schedule
- Window and fee
- 24 months; 20% of verified uplift
The unit and the reference for each line are recorded in the Baseline Schedule you sign, and can only be changed by a document we both sign. Examples are illustrative and aren't a forecast for your business. Every fee on savings, in every tier, counts toward one engagement cap.