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CONTRA CONSULTING
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How we work

Predictable, in writing, without surprises

You are hiring someone in a country whose administration you do not know, often without meeting them first. The way to earn that is to be explicit about everything: what happens, in what order, at what cost, and what falls outside the engagement.

The engagement

Four steps

  1. 01

    First conversation

    A call of thirty to sixty minutes, at no charge and with no obligation. You describe what you are planning; we ask the questions that usually turn out to matter. At the end of it you get an honest answer on whether this is something we can help with — and if it is not, a suggestion of who can.

    A clear yes or no, and a shared understanding of the problem.

  2. 02

    Written scope

    Before any work starts, you receive a short document setting out the objective, what we will do, what we will explicitly not do, who else needs to be involved, the fee and how it is calculated, and the expected timeline. It is deliberately short enough to read properly.

    A scope document you approve before anything is billed.

  3. 03

    Execution

    We run the work with one named point of contact throughout — no handovers between account managers. You get written status updates at agreed intervals, and you hear from us immediately if something changes the timeline or the cost, rather than at the end.

    Progress you can follow without having to ask.

  4. 04

    Handover or continuation

    Engagements end properly. You receive the documentation, the contacts, and a written summary of the position, so that your own people or your next adviser can take over without starting again. If you would rather we stayed, the engagement converts to a standing local representation arrangement.

    Either a clean handover or a continuing arrangement — your choice, not a default.

Principles

How we behave when it is inconvenient

We say when we are not the right answer

If your problem is legal rather than administrative, or if the market assessment points to not proceeding, that is what you will be told. A short engagement that ends in an honest recommendation is worth more to us than a long one that ends badly.

We do not work outside our competence

Legal advice, accounting and certified translation are performed by licensed professionals. We coordinate them; we do not stand in for them.

Conflicts are declared before they are a problem

If we already act for someone whose interests run against yours, or if there is any other reason we cannot be impartial in a matter, you are told before the engagement starts, and we decline it.

Confidentiality is the default

What you are planning is not discussed outside the engagement, including the fact that you are planning it. Written confidentiality undertakings are available on request and we sign yours if you prefer it.

Engagement models

Three ways to work together

Fixed fee for a defined scope

Used for market orientation and establishment coordination, where the work has a clear beginning and end. You know the total before you commit. If the scope changes, the fee is renegotiated in writing before the additional work starts — not added to the invoice afterwards.

Monthly retainer

Used for local representation, where the work is continuous but the volume varies. A fixed monthly fee covering an agreed level of activity, reviewed periodically against what is actually happening. Notice periods are short in both directions.

Hourly

Used for advisory work that does not fit either of the above, and for one-off questions. Billed against a written record of the time spent.

Fees depend on scope, and are quoted for each engagement rather than published as a rate card — a market assessment for a single product line and a full establishment project are not comparable. You will always have the figure in writing before work starts.

Third-party costs — notary and court fees, official charges, certified translation, travel outside Osijek — are passed on at cost against documentation, and estimated in advance in the scope document.

Practical

Working with us

Working languages
Croatian and English
Based in
Osijek, working across Croatia
Response time
Enquiries answered within two working days
Meetings
Video call, or in person in Croatia
Invoicing
In euro, by bank transfer

The first step is a conversation.

No charge, no obligation, and no follow-up sequence if it turns out we are not what you need.