Bespoke Software Costs

Bespoke software is developed on a fixed price project basis. You know exactly how much the cost will be. This price will not change as long as the original specification is not radically changed.

I program from home and have low overheads. As a customers you benefit from a highly experienced consultant at affordable rates.

I guarantee no hidden costs.

You only pay for what you need.

Larger projects can be developed as a series of smaller self contained stages. In this way development costs can be spread, projects are up and running quicker and your risk is reduced.

Example Bespoke Software Costs

1. Small Business Sales Foxpro Database £1500

3,000 company records with full contact details
Call history
Profile by status, type, and products bought
Schedule call backs
Allocate salespeople
Fully multi-user
Mail merge and label printing
Data imported from sage accounts

2. Event Planning Access Database £3,000

10,000 contact records
Records event key data, links to external documents
Manages workshop and sessions
Lists of invited, accepted and attended
Maintain budget across events
Tasks with reminders on logon
Allocates attendee places to workshop based on preferences
Suppliers & purchase ordering
Data imported from 3 existing sources more...

3. PC Configuration Web Application & SQL Database £9,000

Tracks PC orders requiring configuration, such as extra memory & software installations
Live reporting of current job status via company intranet
Performance reporting of throughput
Customer Certificate of Configuration
Allocation of Jobs to Engineers
Supervisor facilities
Recording of asset tags
Export of asset information to customers via external website
Continuous live feed from core business system
100-200 jobs per day

How Costs are Split

In a proposal I give you a detailed break down of the costs.

A typical breakdown for large web fonted data base application could be:

• 15% Specification, Design and Meetings
• 10% Import and Export
• 5% Database Setup, Security, Framework, Menus
• 30% Forms
• 15% Reports
• 25% Testing, Amendments, Support & Handover

These obviously varies depending on the nature of the project.

Stage Payments

You pay for projects in stages. You are in control. An example:

• 15% on placement of order
• 15% on agreement of specification
• 30% on coding completion and demonstration of all functions and reports completed
• 40% on satisfactory completion of user testing and handover

No Site Licenses

With my software there is no site licenses, or per user charge that are common with off-the-shelf packages.

Hourly Rate

I also charge at an hourly rate for ongoing support, small additions to the original application, and when work is needed urgently, or when no clear specification has yet been agreed.

My hourly rate is £35 per hour.

Is It Worth It?

The bottom line is always money. New software should deliver savings in improved:

• efficiency,
• profitability,
• increased sales or
• reduced costs

Analysing these cost benefits will determine when or if the bespoke software pays for itself.

Finally - avoid the common mistake - and don't under-estimate your time and resources needed to successfully implement the new project. A good developer will be able to advise you on this.

Please call Paul on 01695 720562 if you would like a cost for a software project.

If your are in the feasibility stage and details are not finalised, I can give ball-park figures.

Bespoke Software Project Development >>

Examples of Bespoke Software Projects >>