Skip to main content

Project costs

Project costs and how we work.

Start with a no-charge conversation. If we decide to work together, each subsequent phase has a defined scope, pricing model and decision point.

A software specialist reviewing project dashboards and deployment notes on a laptop and phone.
Visible progressDefined phases and regular releases keep progress visible, so you decide what to fund next.

Four phases from initial fit to ongoing support

  1. Phase 1
    Fit check

    Fit

    No charge

    Initial call and follow-ups as needed

    Understand the operational challenge and confirm mutual fit before committing to paid work.

    Deliverables

    • 45-minute initial software consultation
    • Follow-up alignment calls as needed
    • Brief summary of findings and proposed next step
    See how the first conversation works
  2. Phase 2
    Fixed fee

    Discovery

    €2,500 – €10,000

    Fixed-price flat fee

    Map operational rules, review risks and test critical UI workflows before building software.

    Deliverables

    • Clear problem definition and scope boundaries
    • Mapped business rules and workflow exceptions
    • Interactive clickable prototype for UI workflows
    • Proposed system architecture and full-build budget
    See how discovery works
  3. Phase 3
    Sprints

    Build

    Estimate your investment

    Defined scope · agreed budget

    Implement production-ready custom software, APIs and integrations in two-week sprints.

    Deliverables

    • Working custom software delivered each sprint
    • Clean APIs and verified system integrations
    • Automated test coverage and deployment pipelines
    • Early production releases to deliver immediate value
    See how build and integration work
  4. Phase 4
    SLA

    Aftercare

    Tailored monthly fee

    System-specific SLA

    Maintain system reliability, security and support once active feature development completes.

    Deliverables

    • Agreed uptime monitoring and alert management
    • Security patches and dependency updates
    • Incident response according to system criticality
    • Smooth handover to your team when you choose
    See aftercare options

Phase 1 explained

Start with the situation, not a finished specification

The no-charge 45-minute conversation clarifies the situation, who needs to be involved and whether Direct Software can contribute. You are not committing to paid work.

Schedule the initial conversation

Phase 2 explained

Test the workflow before production development

Discovery prevents costly false starts. For projects involving user interfaces, we build interactive prototypes so your team can test and refine the workflow before writing production code.

Fixed fees matched to complexity

  • €2,500 – €5,000: Focused workflow or single integration question with low complexity.
  • €5,000 – €10,000: Multi-system workflow, complex business rules or multiple stakeholder groups.
  • Broader operational landscape: Scoped separately before work begins.

Before paid Discovery begins, we agree the question, participants and review criteria. Additional work is agreed separately.

Phase 3 explained

Build and integrate in Agile sprints

We work in disciplined two-week sprints. Your Product Owner sets the business priorities; Direct Software oversees architecture, implementation, testing and production quality.

Indicative investment

Move from one portal or app to a connected software landscape for an immediate sense of likely time and investment.

Likely duration

4–8 weeks

Indicative investment

€20,000–€60,000

One application with a clearly defined purpose.

  • A customer portal, mobile app or internal workflow tool
  • A limited set of features, rules and system connections

Flexible team capacity

A typical core sprint reserves €5,000–€10,000 per week of engineering capacity, planned at approximately €100 per expert hour. Experts use AI across analysis, design, implementation and testing to reduce delivery effort and cost while keeping expert review and necessary quality work in scope. Additional specialists can join when the work calls for their expertise.

We build in two-week sprints, review the result and agree the next priority.

See how delivery works

Phase 4 explained

Maintain continuity after active development

A live system needs clear ownership after release. Monthly aftercare is available under a tailored SLA.

Agree the monitoring, maintenance, security updates and incident response your system needs. Your organisation owns the software and documentation; there is no vendor lock-in.

See the options after a release

Cost transparency

How AI and infrastructure costs are billed

We keep third-party services and AI consumption transparent and separate from our engineering fees.

AI development tools

AI tools used by our engineers to accelerate analysis, coding and testing are fully covered by our engineering rates.

Live AI & API usage

Production AI model usage and external API fees are tracked transparently and billed with an agreed handling markup.

Hosting & infrastructure

Cloud hosting (Azure, AWS, Google Cloud) and platform licences can be billed directly to your organisation or passed through transparently.

Budget limits & alerts

We establish strict budget thresholds and usage notifications so monthly API and AI expenses remain predictable and controlled.

Questions & answers

Frequently asked questions

Does every project follow all four phases?

No. The four phases show our typical engagement path. A straightforward project may move straight to build, while an existing system may only require an assessment or modernisation.

Is the prototype created in discovery reusable in production?

No. Prototypes created during discovery are designed for fast experimentation and stakeholder feedback. Production software is built separately to satisfy strict standards for security, performance and maintainability.

How are variable AI token and API costs controlled?

We define expected usage, alert thresholds and spending limits in advance. Live provider costs appear transparently on invoices alongside the agreed handling markup.

What happens if our priorities change during a sprint?

Your Product Owner controls priorities. Work for the upcoming sprint can be reprioritised at any time. Changes during an active sprint are managed by trading off planned items, keeping capacity and cost steady.

Can we transfer the software to our own team later?

Yes. All source code, architecture documentation, test suites and deployment scripts belong to your organisation. We provide structured handovers whenever you choose to take ownership in-house.

Ready to discuss your project?

Start with a no-charge initial conversation.

We discuss your software situation, answer your questions and assess whether Direct Software is the right partner for your operation.

Schedule a conversation

Prefer email? projects@direct-software.com