Frequently Asked Questions
You have many different options when it comes to software development, including upgrading an outdated system, consolidating your systems, or beginning new product development altogether.
Custom software development is meant to solve your most complex software problems, streamlining your business process so you can focus on your work. Before you make such a significant investment, you may have a few questions — and rightfully so.
To help you feel more confident about moving forward with custom software for your business, we’ve outlined the answers to some of our most frequently asked questions. Please note that these answers are in no way comprehensive, as every project is different, but they will give you a good idea about what to expect.
When you hire someone to create custom software for your business, you’re getting something built just for you. That means everything is done by scratch and tailored to your needs so you get exactly what you want, in a way that works for you. The final cost of your project will depend on many different factors, but these ballpark ranges can help you budget.
Project Ranges
- Minor projects - $3-5k
- Smaller projects - $10-50k
- Medium projects - $50-150k
- Larger projects - $250k+
If you’re not sure what you need or what range your project falls in, we can help you figure it out.
Every project is different, which means timelines vary just as much as cost. There are also many factors that can play a big part in how quickly a project progresses, including how often you communicate with us, how timely your feedback is, and how many decision makers you have. When it comes to the timeline for your project, it’s dependent on both the complexity of your project and you. In most cases, though, there’s a general timeline you can assume based on complexity (give or take a few weeks).
Project Ranges
- Emergency work and quick fixes – These are not usually coples, so they can often be done in a day or a week, or even an hour or less depending on the problem and urgency.
- Minimally complex project – 4-8 weeks
- Slightly complex project – 3-6 months
- Large builds and overhauls – 12-36 months
Software development is hard, and this process can seem somewhat daunting. However, our process is designed to handle the scenario best, and we’ll be happy to walk you through it (after all, if we can’t manage something like this, we can’t manage your business model either!).
Here’s what the software development process looks like, in 10 clear steps:
- We’ll review your current situation, technical environment, general business operations, problem areas, and future plans.
- We’ll use the information you gave us to create a general estimate and determine what type of range this project falls in, based on complexity.
- We’ll talk with you and share our thoughts on the basic lay of things.
- At this point, we’ll provide valuable consulting advice where we’ll explain the range you’re in, work up a basic scope estimate, dig into things in full detail, run a business analysis, and spend some time planning.
- Following your consultation, you’ll receive a more defined estimate for your project, suggested plans of action, detailed lists of information, workflows, app screen blanks (pages), architecture diagrams, and other important project-related information.
- Finally, we’ll present you with a project plan and scope estimate. We encourage you to take this information with you to other people for second and third opinions. We’ll even give you a list of questions to ask while you’re there!
- When you choose to move forward with our team, we’ll get to the nitty gritty… together. We’ll reevaluate your project, enter a review of all items, and prioritize, separating must-haves from nice-to-haves. Then, we’ll re-adjust the scope and break things into phases so you can see what’s to come and when. From here, we’ll shoot for approval on development so we can get started.
- At first, it won’t seem like we’re doing much, but we’ll actually be laying the foundation for everything that is to come. Behind the scenes, we’ll be working on infrastructure, setting up environments, and security. It’s all the stuff that nobody really sees, but things you really need.
- After that’s done, we’ll enter an iterative cycle of development, which is typically biweekly. At the end of each cycle, we’ll meet with you, deliver any new pieces we’ve developed (fully functional or not), walk you through them, let you review them and offer feedback, and review budgets. This teamwork and communication is critical to keeping the project in scope and preventing surprises and problems.
- When all the work is done, you’ll have a custom piece of software that does everything you need. As a result, you’ll be able to say goodbye to frustrating software with a new way to streamline your business process.
The thing about custom software is that it’s built for you — for your business, for your operations, for your ease. To help you get the best software possible, we take the time to understand your business needs from the beginning so we can design custom software that will truly benefit you, making work easier. We’ll talk through everything with you, creating a series of diagrams, workflows, and plans that are in line with exactly what you want and need, and we’ll never move forward with something you’re not fully comfortable with.
Our team has worked in the software development field for more than 20 years. Not to mention, our founder is well-respected in the software industry, having spoken internationally at software development conferences and won globally recognized awards from some of the biggest names in the software industry. We’re business and software experts who understand how frustrating cookie-cutter software can be. We believe your software should be the foundation of how your business runs, and it should help you run your business smoothly. On every project, you can expect honesty, transparency, and expertise. We’ll never hide anything from you, show you everything we’re working on, and be upfront with you from start to finish.
We handle everything from small businesses to the needs of a large enterprise system. For example, a lawn care business may come to us to create a scheduling app for their clients and staff, or an extensive healthcare network may engage us to build out software for electronic medical records.
Each project is unique, and it depends on the client’s needs. We do a complete analysis to understand the organization’s needs and how we can build the best solutions. This includes an in-depth understanding of how the business operates, so we can architect our work to meet each requirement. For some clients, this means we will integrate many systems. We excel in seeing all the pieces: from the big picture down to the nitty-gritty details.
Testimonials
