Fixed scope before fixed price
We can fix the price once the job is clear. If the work is still vague, the first paid step is usually scoping, not a loose build quote.
What our work costs
Most jobs fall into a handful of bands. Here's what each one covers and where it fits, so you know roughly what you're dealing with before you get in touch. We quote the exact number once we understand the scope.
You get the same principal-level engineering a Sydney or Melbourne firm charges a premium for, without the metro agency overhead baked into every hour. We quote each job on its scope: above template and offshore shops, and below what a large city agency charges for work of the same quality.
Principal-level judgement
You are buying architecture, delivery judgement, security thinking and production software experience, not a cheap account setup.
A first release you can build on
The first useful release should answer a real business question and leave foundations that do not need to be thrown away.
Typical engagement sizes.
These are the bands most work falls into. We quote the exact number once the scope is clear; it moves with integrations, risk and how much of the system you need to own.
Initial fit check
A brief read on the problem, the business context and whether Rangefront is useful here.
Free
- A plain view of the next sensible step
- A steer on whether to buy, integrate, automate or build
- A straight answer if we are not the right fit
Best when: you know something is wrong or worth building, but not yet what kind of help you need.
Website build, rebuild or performance rescue
Focused website work for a site that needs to load faster, rank better, bring in enquiries or stop fighting the people who edit it.
From A$3,500 ex GST
- Technical audit and rebuild recommendation where needed
- Fast, maintainable website implementation
- Redirects, metadata, analytics and handover
Best when: a business site is costing enquiries or making every content change painful.
Custom software, apps and portals
Production software for business workflows, mobile and web apps, customer portals, internal systems and SaaS products. Native or cross-platform apps sit in this band, with the final number driven by platforms, integrations and app store needs.
From A$20,000 ex GST
- Product and architecture direction
- Incremental build with working releases
- Documentation, handover and maintainable code
Best when: the work is important enough to own and off-the-shelf software keeps bending the business sideways.
Scoping and architecture sprint
A short paid engagement that turns an unclear problem into a written plan: scope, architecture, risks and a budget range. No code yet. This is the thinking that stops you building the wrong thing.
From A$3,500 ex GST
- Workflow, system and data review
- Risk, integration and security notes
- Build options with a clear recommendation
Best when: you are considering a serious build, rescue or AI project where the expensive assumptions need to be found early.
Prototype or proof of concept
A working slice you can click or run, built to prove the riskiest part actually works before anyone commits to the full build. Where scoping gives you a plan, this gives you evidence on screen.
From A$7,500 ex GST
- Clickable prototype or working technical slice
- Enough integration to prove the hard part
- Build, change or stop recommendation
Best when: a founder idea, internal tool, AI concept or software project needs evidence more than a slide deck.
Automation or AI workflow starter
One focused workflow automated end to end, with review points, logging and handover built in.
From A$7,500 ex GST
- Process mapping and exception handling
- Connection to the systems the workflow needs
- Measurement against a baseline
Best when: one repetitive process is costing hours every week and the team needs proof before expanding.
Integration work
Some integrations are small connector jobs. Business-critical integrations, finance sync, reconciliation and monitored API work are scoped to the systems and risk involved.
From A$2,000 ex GST
- API, webhook, file or data-flow design
- Monitoring, reconciliation and failure handling where the connection matters
- Documentation and handover
Best when: one or two systems need to exchange records, or a larger workflow needs a reliable connection layer.
Data and reporting systems
Dashboards, reporting and forecasting built on live data people can trust, not figures pasted together before meetings.
From A$10,000 ex GST
- Metric and source-of-truth definition
- Data model, dashboard and reporting build
- Checks for stale feeds and disputed numbers
Best when: leaders need reliable numbers and the current reports do not agree.
Interactive prototypes and 3D experiences
Playable slices, real-time 3D, AR, VR and interactive product or training experiences. Production builds are scoped to the target devices and content.
From A$9,000 ex GST
- Playable or interactive prototype
- Engine and device-path recommendation
- Production scope if the prototype holds up
Best when: the idea needs to be played, explored or tested before a larger production spend.
Private AI and on-prem deployments
AI systems inside your security boundary, including private assistants, retrieval, local models and sensitive-data workflows.
From A$25,000 ex GST, excluding hardware
- Data, security and infrastructure design
- Model, retrieval and evaluation setup
- Access controls, logging and operational handover
Best when: public AI tools are useful in theory but the data cannot be handled casually.
Ongoing support and product improvement
Optional ongoing help after launch, from advisory check-ins to active product improvement cycles.
Quoted monthly
- Maintenance, updates and monitoring
- Roadmap advice and architecture review
- Planned improvements when there is value in continuing
Best when: the system is important enough to keep improving but you do not need a full internal software team.
Scoping or a prototype? Scoping gives you a written plan and a budget when you are not sure what to build or how big it is. A prototype gives you working software when the question is whether the hard part actually works. Most serious builds scope first, then prototype, but you can skip straight to a prototype when the problem is clear and only the tech is risky.
What changes the price?
Scope is not just feature count. The cost usually moves when the work touches risk, data, permissions or other systems.
Cost drivers
- 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 excluded
- 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.
If all you need is a basic tool install, say so.
We will tell you if the job is smaller than a Rangefront engagement, or if a subscription, template, contractor or internal staff member can do it cheaper. That is better than dressing a small setup as a software project.
Where we fit best is the work that has to keep running: custom software, integrations, automation, data systems and AI tied into the way the organisation actually operates.
Send the scope →Know the problem, but not the budget?
Send the process, system, deadline and budget pressure. We will tell you the smallest useful next step.