Fixed Price Software

FAQ

Common questions

Honest answers about how fixed-price engagements work, ownership, speed, and what happens when things change.

What does "fixed price" actually cover?

Everything written in the specification we agreed before the build started — design, code, testing, deployment, source-code handover. If a line item in the spec turns out to take twice as long as we estimated, that's on us. We absorb it.

Anything not in the spec is a change order. We price it in plain English, you approve or decline before any work starts, and the build price stays the same.

What happens if I want to change my mind mid-project?

You can. Most engagements include at least one or two change orders — that's normal. We quote each one separately and you decide whether to proceed. If a change is small, we'll often just do it without charging; we use judgement, not stopwatch billing.

What you won't see is a six-figure "overrun" appearing in the final invoice because requirements drifted. Change is fine; change without prior agreement isn't, and that's a one-way protection that benefits you.

Who owns the code?

You do, completely, the moment the final invoice is paid. The GitHub repository, every commit, the deployment configuration, the architecture documents, all of it. We never license code to clients or retain residual rights. We don't believe in "developer owns the source, client rents access" arrangements — they're traps.

You get full GitHub access from day one of the build, not at handover. That way you can browse what we're doing in real time and there are no last-minute surprises.

How do you deliver so much faster?

A combination of three things:

  1. Experienced architects up front. No juniors learning on your project. The lead engineer on day one is the same person who wrote the specification and made the architecture decisions.
  2. AI-accelerated development. Modern AI tools meaningfully compress the time spent on boilerplate, refactoring, and the "first 70%" of every feature. The remaining 30% is where human judgement matters, and that's where the experienced architect spends their time.
  3. Boring, battle-tested tools. We use Next.js, TypeScript, Postgres, Supabase, Vercel. No bleeding edge. No exotic architectures. No frameworks invented six months ago. This isn't the part of the build to be clever in.

The honest expectation: at least 50% faster and 50% cheaper than a comparable traditional consultancy engagement for the same deliverables. Often quite a bit better.

What if I'm not happy with the quality?

Every stage of the build ends in a review. If something doesn't match the spec, we fix it as part of the fixed price — not as a "change order". The spec is the contract; we owe you what's in it.

If something matches the spec but doesn't match what you meant, that's a sign the spec wasn't clear enough. We treat that as a shared learning, document it as a change order, and quote the correction transparently.

What if you go bust mid-project?

The GitHub repository belongs to your organisation from day one, so the source code is safe regardless of what happens to us. We carry professional indemnity insurance for the situations no source-code backup can solve.

If you'd like a copy of our insurance certificate before signing, just ask.

Do you sign NDAs?

Yes. Standard mutual NDAs are fine; we'll sign yours, or send ours if you don't have one. We won't sign anything that prevents us mentioning that the engagement happened — "you" can stay anonymous, but "we did a project" needs to remain truthful for our own reference list.

Do you take on rescue projects?

Rarely, and only after a paid discovery phase. Estimating someone else's tangled codebase under a fixed price is the fastest route to a painful overrun, and that's bad for both of us. If you've got a half-built project that needs finishing, tell us about it and we'll be straight about whether it's a good fit.

Where are you based?

Remote-first, UK time zone. We work with clients in the UK, Europe, and North America. All written work is in English.

How do I get a quote?

Fill in the contact form. It takes a couple of minutes and we'll get back to you within one working day to schedule the initial conversation. The conversation is free.