Four model budgets
Numbers first, because that is what you came for. The four budgets below were produced by the calculator on this site for typical briefs. They are not quotes and not the price of any particular project; they are the range briefs like these land in. The rate is 65 EUR per hour excluding VAT.
A first version
One workflow, a few screens, no integrations. It makes sense where you want to check first whether people take to it, and build the rest afterwards. 2,300 to 3,300 EUR. Extending it later is possible; paying up front for features nobody uses is not.
An operational tool for a team
Job or attendance records used by a single kind of user. No connections to other systems, materials ready. 3,400 to 5,000 EUR, roughly two to four weeks. Migrating old data and payments are not in there.
A booking or ordering system
Two or three roles, card payments, a connection to invoicing, some materials still to be produced. 7,600 to 11,100 EUR, roughly five to nine weeks. That is about the scope of Layered.
A client portal
Four or more roles with separated permissions, payments, a connection to another system and migration from an old solution. 10,500 to 15,100 EUR, roughly six to twelve weeks.
What none of those numbers includes: hosting and domains, licences and third-party fees, content nobody will write for you, and development after launch. Running costs alone tend to be from a few to low hundreds of euros a month, depending on load and on which paid services the system calls.
Why we do not quote straight away
A figure given after reading one paragraph is either high enough to cover anything, or low enough that the whole project turns into an argument. Neither helps. A serious price means we have been through what the system has to do, who works in it and what it connects to.
In practice that is one call and then a written brief. If it fits, we prepare an offer with the agreed scope, the price and a list of what is out of scope. That last part matters as much as the price. If a fixed price suits the project, it will be stated right in the offer.
What the price is made of
We count hours and multiply by a rate of 65 EUR per hour excluding VAT. We do not add per-user licences or a fee for the system merely existing to the price. Hosting, the domain and paid third-party services sit outside that and you pay them directly.
The hours split roughly into brief and design, development, connecting to other systems, testing and handover. People estimating for themselves usually leave out the last two, and the result is a third off.
What drives the price up most
The number of roles
A tool for one kind of user is a different order of work from a system where the client, the staff and the administrator each have their own view and their own permissions. Every extra role means another set of screens, more rules and more situations to test.
The states a record can be in
An order that only goes from created to paid is simple. An order that can be cancelled, part-paid, refunded or waiting for approval is five different screens and twenty rules. At Layered a single state, where payment is running and a place is held for fifteen minutes, made us rewrite the whole booking model.
Connections to other systems
A payment gateway, invoicing, stock or a CRM. Each connection is not just code but the question of what happens when the other side does not answer, or answers differently from its documentation. These hours cannot be estimated without looking at the actual interface.
Migrating the data you already have
A spreadsheet with five thousand rows, filled in by feel for three years, is a project of its own. Two date columns in four formats, clients entered three times slightly differently, blank values that mean something. Treat it as its own line item, not as a detail at the end.
What keeps the price down
- Materials ready. Copy, photos and a logo prepared up front can reduce the amount of work; the actual saving depends on the brief.
- A willingness to start smaller. A first version for one role, the rest based on what production actually shows.
- One person who decides. Comments from five people with no agreed position make every round more expensive.
- An existing platform, when you fit into it. Sometimes the answer is an add-on to what you have, not a new system.
Roughly, before you get in touch
So you know whether we are talking about the same thing: an internal tool for one role with no integrations starts in the tens of hours. A system with three roles, payments and invoicing is a multiple of that. The calculator gives a closer idea: you pick the scope and see a range. It is orientation, not an offer.
When not to pay us at all
When an off-the-shelf product fits. It happens, and we say so on the first call. Custom development makes sense where a company has its own rules that will not fit in a box, or where monthly fees would outgrow the cost of your own solution within a few years. Compare the total cost over several years. With a ready-made service that means licences and limits; with your own solution, development, running costs and further development.
