How we work and what it costs
The budget question always comes, usually after three emails. Here are the answers before you write: how we can work together, the order of magnitude of a project, how long it takes and what happens after launch.
The figures on this page are orders of magnitude, not a price list. They exist so you can gauge the scale of a project before discussing it. The actual quote comes from a free requirements analysis, because two systems that sound alike can cost three times one another depending on the integrations involved.
Three ways to work together
The shape of the engagement depends on how well defined the problem is, not on how large the project is.
Fixed-scope project · When the outcome can be defined upfront
We agree scope, timeline and price before starting. Payment follows milestones, typically a deposit plus balances as each working part is delivered. This is the right shape when you know what you need and want to know the cost in advance.
Price agreed upfront, paid in milestones
Ongoing partnership · When the product lives and changes
A monthly allocation of hours dedicated to your product: new features, fixes, updates and improvements decided together month by month. Nothing restarts from scratch with each request and priorities can shift as you go. It is the natural shape after a platform goes live.
Monthly fee against an agreed number of hours
Consulting by the hour · When you need to understand before building
Process analysis, technology choices, review of an existing architecture, a second opinion on a quote you received, technical support to an in-house team. You pay for actual time, with no minimum commitment.
Hourly rate, billed on actual time
Orders of magnitude
What to expect for the three most requested types of work. The variable that moves the cost most is not the number of screens, but how many integrations with external systems are required.
| Type of project | Order of magnitude | Typical timeline | What pushes it up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automating one process | €1,500 to €6,000 | 1-3 weeks | Number of systems to connect, data volume, how much human oversight each step requires |
| MVP or focused application | €5,000 to €15,000 | 4-8 weeks | User and role management, payments, integrations with existing systems, a mobile app alongside the web one |
| Multi-tenant SaaS platform | €15,000 to €40,000 and above | 3-6 months | Data isolation between customers, subscriptions and billing, admin panel, multilingual support |
| Consulting and analysis | agreed hourly rate | from half a day | Breadth of the systems to review and the level of detail required in the documentation |
Recurring costs to account for
These are yours and do not go through us: we mention them because they affect the total and are often left out of quotes.
- Hosting and managed databases: from tens to a few hundred euros a month depending on traffic
- AI model APIs: paid per use, depending on how many requests the automation processes
- Third-party services: payments, email delivery, file storage
- Domain and certificates, where you do not already own them
Custom software or an off-the-shelf product?
The right question is not which is better in the abstract, but which one fits your case. This table compares the two paths on the criteria that actually matter.
| Criterion | Custom software | Off-the-shelf product |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | High: you pay to build it | Low or none: you start immediately |
| Recurring cost | Only infrastructure and agreed maintenance | Per-seat licence, grows with the team |
| Time to be operational | Weeks or months | Days |
| Fit to your process | Complete: the software follows the process | Partial: the process adapts to the product |
| Code ownership | Yours, with no licensing strings | The vendor's: you are a guest on their platform |
| Customisation | No technical limits | Within what the product allows |
| Integrations | Any system exposing an interface | Only those in the catalogue |
| If the vendor shuts down | The software stays and keeps working | Everything must be migrated, often in a hurry |
The practical rule
If the process is standard, an off-the-shelf product is almost always the right call, and we will say so even when it means not taking the work. Custom software pays off when the process is the reason clients choose you, when you need integrations generic products do not offer, or when per-seat licence costs grow faster than the cost of building it.
What maintenance covers
Launch does not close the project. Software left untouched degrades on its own: dependencies age, external services change their interfaces, browsers move on.
Included in the fee
- Dependency and version updates
- Error monitoring and corrective work
- Adjustments when external services change
- Small changes and refinements
- Backups and restore checks
Agreed separately
- New features and additional modules
- Architectural rethinks
- Migrations to different infrastructure
- Urgent out-of-hours work, where requested
The support level is defined together based on how critical the software is to your work: a system used daily by ten people has different needs from an internal tool used once a month.
What you need to get started
You do not need a specification document. You need these four things, and the first two are enough for the first conversation.
The problem, not the solution
Tell us what does not work today and what it costs in time or money. "We need a management system" says little; "every order is re-entered by hand into three different systems" says everything.
Who will use the software
How many people, in which roles, and whether they are internal staff or external customers. It changes the architecture radically, and therefore the cost.
The systems already in use
Which platforms, spreadsheets or tools are running today, and which must keep working. Integrations are the part that weighs most on a quote.
An internal point of contact
Someone who knows the process and can answer questions during development. It is the single factor that most often decides whether a project runs smoothly or drags on.
Frequently asked questions
Why is there no fixed price list?
Because two projects described with the same words can cost three times one another. The decisive variable is integration with existing systems, which you can only assess by looking at the actual case. A fixed list would either be padded for safety or bound to break.
Is the initial analysis chargeable?
No. The first thirty or sixty minute consultation and the analysis leading to the quote are free. You pay only if we decide to work together. If the analysis shows an off-the-shelf product suits you better than custom software, we will tell you.
How are payments structured?
For fixed-scope projects: a deposit at the start and balances tied to the delivery of each working part, so you pay as you watch the software grow. For ongoing partnerships: a monthly fee. For consulting: billed on actual hours.
What happens if the project grows during development?
It often does, and it is normal: using the software surfaces needs no document had anticipated. Additions beyond the agreed scope are quoted before being built, never after the fact. No surprises on the invoice.
Do you work with small budgets?
Yes, provided the scope is proportionate. A few thousand euros will not build a complete platform, but it will automate a process that costs you hours every week. That is often the better starting point: you measure the result and then decide whether to go further.
Let us talk, with no commitment
Thirty minutes to understand what you actually need, what order of magnitude it has, and whether we are the right people for it. If we are not, we will say so.