Start with the budget you have
Tell us what you can spend. We'll work out what can be done now, what can wait and whether a simpler option would do the job.
How we quote software projects
You don't need a six-figure budget or a polished brief. Tell us what needs fixing and what you can spend. We'll tell you what fits and put the price in writing before we start.
A five-page website and a customer portal are different jobs, even if both start as "we need something online". We look at the work before we price it, then explain the number in plain English.
Some jobs can be quoted immediately
Small, clear jobs can move straight to a quote. Paid scoping is for work where the workflow, technical path or risk needs investigation first.
No surprise invoice
Once the work is clear, we put the scope and price in writing. If something changes, we talk about the cost before doing the extra work.
What happens before you get a quote.
Small, clear jobs can reach a quote quickly. If the expensive parts are still unknown, we investigate those before asking you to commit to the build.
Start with the problem
Send the process, product idea or existing system, along with who uses it, what is failing and the budget you're working with. We'll tell you whether we can help and what information is missing.
Get an early budget range
Once we understand the likely size and risk, we can usually give a range to test whether the project fits the available budget. The final number still depends on the agreed scope.
Investigate the uncertain parts
If the hard part is still unknown, the first paid work may be scoping, a technical investigation or a prototype. That work should remove a named risk and leave you with something useful.
Quote an agreed stage
The written quote states what is included, what is assumed and what sits outside the work. Bigger projects can be split into stages or a payment schedule that doesn't hammer your cash flow.
Build, release and support
Software is delivered in usable increments. Launch, handover and ongoing support are included or quoted separately according to what the product needs after release.
What changes the number?
The cost moves when the work touches more systems, dirtier data, stricter permissions or a harder release. Two projects with the same number of screens can be nowhere near the same job.
Inside the quote
- How many systems need to connect
- Whether it is mobile, web or both, and how many platforms
- App store review, release and ongoing OS updates
- Whether the data is clean, messy or disputed
- How many user roles and permission rules are needed
- Whether customers, staff or external partners use it
- Security, privacy and audit requirements
- Whether old data has to be migrated
- How much training and rollout support the team needs
Usually separate
- GST
- Third-party subscriptions
- Hosting, model usage and API charges
- Hardware for on-premise work
- Paid licences, stock, datasets or vendor fees
- Travel outside the agreed project area
Not-for-profits, charities and community groups.
If you run a registered charity, not-for-profit, community group or social enterprise, tell us when you get in touch. We reduce rates case by case based on the work and who it serves, rather than quoting a blanket discount we cannot stand behind. The build still has to be worth doing, but the price reflects who it is for.
We'll happily talk ourselves out of money.
Sometimes the answer is a decent template, an off-the-shelf plugin or a few hours fixing what you already have. We'll tell you.
We don't pad quotes with features you don't need or push custom software when the simple option is better. We'd rather talk ourselves out of money than watch you waste yours.
Need a quote for a project?
Send us the problem, deadline and budget you're working with. We'll tell you what can be done now, what can wait and whether the simple option will do the job.