Integration surface
How many systems the build has to talk to, and whether they have documented APIs. One legacy system without an API can cost more than three modern ones.
Pricing & engagement
What it costs,
What it costs,
and why.
We quote per engagement after discovery rather than from a rate card. An estimate given before the process is mapped is wrong in both directions — usually expensively so. This page explains the models, what drives the number, and what is included regardless of size.
Engagement models
Four ways to work with us
Most clients start with discovery and move into a build. Programme and retained arrangements follow from there.
Discovery
The problem is clear, the solution is not.
Fixed feeQuoted before it starts · credited against a subsequent build
Interviews with the people doing the work
Written map of the current process
Bottlenecks identified and costed
Technical options with trade-offs
Phased estimate for the build
Most engagements
Build
Scope is agreed and ready to ship.
Fixed scopePriced per phase from the discovery estimate
Everything in discovery
Working software in reviewable increments
A running environment you can open
Automated tests and pre-release checks
Architecture notes and runbooks
Team training at handover
Retained
Live systems needing support and iteration.
MonthlyRolling, with an agreed notice period
Maintenance and dependency hygiene
Monitoring and incident response
An agreed monthly change allowance
Priority on capacity
Quarterly review against the baseline
Programme engagements — several linked systems delivered across three to six months — are priced as a sequence of build phases with a roadmap agreed up front. Agency partnerships run on agreed rates with a named engineering contact. Both are quoted individually.
Cost drivers
What actually moves the number
If you want a cheaper engagement, these are the levers. We would rather tell you where they are than pad an estimate.
Clarity of the process
If the workflow is already documented and agreed internally, discovery shortens considerably. If three people describe it three ways, it does not.
Number of user roles
Each distinct role adds permissions, screens and test paths. Two roles is not twice one — it is closer to three times.
Compliance requirements
Audit trails, data residency, retention rules and access reviews are all buildable, and all add scope. Tell us early rather than at UAT.
Data migration
Moving history from an old system is frequently the largest single line item, and the one most often left out of a first estimate.
Decision speed on your side
The cheapest projects have one named decision-maker who replies within a day. This is genuinely the largest variable we see.
Included as standard
Not billed separately
These are part of delivery on every engagement, at every size. If another supplier quotes them as extras, that is worth comparing.
Written scope with an explicit out-of-scope list
A running environment available throughout the build
Automated tests on the paths that matter
Code review on everything, regardless of author
Architecture notes, environment setup and runbooks
Team training session at handover
Intellectual property transferred on final payment
A defect-correction window after go-live
Commercial terms
How billing works
| Item | How we handle it |
|---|---|
| Currency | Invoiced in INR for clients in India; other currencies quoted on request |
| Payment schedule | Staged against delivery milestones rather than calendar dates |
| Taxes | GST applied as applicable and shown separately on every invoice |
| Change requests | Quoted and approved in writing before work starts — never absorbed silently or billed as a surprise |
| Third-party costs | Hosting, licences and API usage billed at cost, or paid directly by you on your own accounts |
| Contract | Statement of work per engagement; we work under your MSA and NDA where you have them |
On the first call we will give you a range. Not a number we then defend for six weeks — a range for work of a similar shape, with the assumptions behind it stated out loud so you can tell us which ones are wrong.
Get a range on the first call.
Describe the process and the constraints. We will tell you the shape of engagement it needs and roughly what that costs — including when the answer is that you should not spend the money yet.