Every week someone calls us with a project and a reasonable question: what will it cost? Sometimes we can give a ballpark on that first call. What we will not do is hand you a fixed number for a project nobody has looked at, because in our industry that number is usually the start of the problem.
What we do instead is called pre-project consulting. It is the front end of every engagement we take on: a short series of conversations, then a small fixed-fee planning step, then a proposal with a number that means something. This post explains each step, why we do them in that order, and what you walk away with at each one, whether or not you build with us.
The industry has trained you to expect a quote
Our industry is notorious for low-ball bids and overruns. Roughly 70% of software and data projects fail or run over. Those two facts are the same fact. A firm that quotes from a one-page description has to guess low to win the work, and then the project spends its life trying to catch up to a number that was never real.
A quote on the first call says: this amount of money buys everything on your list. That sentence has three problems.
- The unknowns are not known yet. Nobody has looked at your data, your integrations, or the system you already run. The expensive surprises live there, and they cannot be found from a call.
- Your list is too long. First versions that try to do everything cost the most and ship the latest. The right first release is usually smaller than the list, and finding it takes work.
- Your list will change. You will learn things once the work starts. A fixed quote against a fixed list punishes you for learning.
So we do not put a fixed number on a project we have not examined. Here is what we do instead.
What happens instead
It is the same five steps for every kind of work we do. The first two cost you nothing but time.
1. Discovery Call (30 to 60 minutes)
You tell us the problem in your words. We ask what it is costing you, who lives with it, what you have tried, and why you called. We tell you straight whether and where we can help. About half the time the honest answer to some part of that is no: the problem does not need custom software, or an off-the-shelf tool will do, or we are not the right firm. We say so and, where we can, point you somewhere better.
We are not salespeople. The person on that call has built software for a living and will still be around when the work starts.
2. Deep Dive (60 to 90 minutes)
If there is a fit, we go deeper with the people closest to the problem. Not just the executive who called, but the operations lead, the person who owns the spreadsheet, whoever has been living with the workaround. We get to the real constraint, how you would measure success, and roughly what you could invest. We share what we have seen work and fail in situations like yours, and we are not shy about disagreeing with the plan you walked in with.
After the Deep Dive we talk it through internally and come back with two things: a ballpark range for the whole effort, so you know early whether we are in the same neighborhood, and a fixed fee for the first step. Sometimes that takes one more conversation.
3. A planning step with a fixed fee
Here is where the money starts, and where we are different from a firm that emails a quote. The ballpark told you the neighborhood. This step turns it into a number you can plan around.
If you have a system you already run, the next step is a System Evaluation: an independent look at its architecture, code, infrastructure, and security, with written findings, a prioritized plan, and a fixed proposal for what comes next. One to four weeks. Starts at $3,500.
If you are building something new, the next step is a VDP Sprint, which stands for Validation, Design and Planning: a two-day workshop, design sessions, click-through mockups of the key screens, requirements, a technology recommendation, and a roadmap with the investment for the first release. Three to four weeks. Starts at $9,500.
Both are fixed fees agreed before we start. Both end with a plan and a cost you can take anywhere. That last part matters. Some clients take the plan to their board and pause. A few take it to another firm. Most build with us. In every case the plan is theirs, and the money bought something real.
4. Proposal and paperwork
Now we can give you a number, because now it means something. Scope, price, and timeline in writing, on the engagement model that fits how well-defined the work turned out to be. Our default is a fixed budget with controlled scope: the budget and the quality are fixed, and we prioritize together every week to get the most value out of the money. When the plan is firm enough, we fix the price. When the unknowns are real, a dedicated team on time and materials with a monthly cap is the honest answer, and we say so rather than hiding the uncertainty inside a round number.
A standard master services agreement and a short statement of work. No 50-page lock-up.
5. Prep and kickoff
Access, environments, and a kickoff with everyone who touches the work. You know who is on it and what ships first before anyone writes code.
What this costs you
Time, mostly. From the first call to a signed proposal is usually four to eight weeks. A firm that quotes on the phone will beat us to a fixed number by most of that, and you will find out later what the number left out.
We think that trade is worth it, and our record says so: across hundreds of projects since 2005, 96.5% of our projects have succeeded, more than 3X the industry average. The planning step is most of the reason. The hardest problems get found while they cost a conversation instead of a month, the first release is sized to the money you actually have, and the number on the proposal is one we can stand behind.
What you get if you walk away
This is the part the industry does not talk about, so we will. If you stop after the Discovery Call, you have an honest read on whether your problem needs custom software at all. If you stop after the Deep Dive, you have a sharper definition of the problem and a ballpark range for what it would take. If you stop after the System Evaluation or the VDP Sprint, you have a written plan, a cost, and a set of designs or findings that any competent team can execute.
None of that is a sunk cost. All of it is yours.
How to start
Bring the problem in your words, the people who live with it, the number you would want to move, and the range you could invest. It does not need to be polished. Ask us for references from comparable work, and we will connect you before you sign anything.
The first conversation is thirty minutes. We will tell you straight whether and where we can help. Book a Discovery Call, or read how getting started works first.