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    • Pricing

    Custom development is charged under one of three models. They differ in how settled your requirements are, how you want to spread the budget, and whether you need to own the code and infrastructure.

    Model 1: Fixed-price projectModel 2: Time and materialsModel 3: Business partnership
    Best forClear requirements; you want to own the code and resourcesRequirements still evolving; you want to own the code and resourcesLimited upfront budget; code ownership is not a priority
    BillingFixed total priceActual hoursActual hours, at a lower rate than Model 2
    Payment50% / 30% / 20%Agreed per projectAgreed per project
    Hour cap—OptionalOptional
    Code ownershipYoursYoursOurs, licensed to you
    DeliverablesCode repository, Docker imagesCode repository, Docker imagesA running service; code can be bought out at an agreed price

    Step one: requirements assessment

    Every model starts the same way:

    1. You share your requirements — the business context, the problem to solve, and the target launch date. Already have a demo? Run our PRD prompt on its code and send us the result.
    2. Requirements draft — we assess and refine the requirements into a draft that defines the scope, including an explicit out-of-scope list.
    3. Demo scope — from the draft we agree on the shape of an initial demo and give you a quote (Model 1) or an hour estimate (Models 2 and 3).

    The assessment is usually free. For large projects that need several rounds of interviews we may charge an assessment fee, agreed in advance. It is fully credited against the contract if you go ahead and is non-refundable if you don't.

    Model 1: Fixed-price project

    For clients with clear requirements who want to own the codebase and resources.

    • A fixed total price, based on the confirmed requirements document.
    • Payment schedule:
      • 50% upfront when the quote is accepted and the contract signed; development starts;
      • 30% when development is complete and acceptance testing begins;
      • 20% when acceptance testing passes.
    • Acceptance: the confirmed requirements document is the acceptance standard. If no written issues are raised within 10 business days of delivery for acceptance, the work is deemed accepted.
    • Change requests: changes beyond the requirements document are quoted separately or billed at the Model 2 hourly rate, and are only carried out after written confirmation.
    • Delivery: the full codebase and Docker images are handed over once the final payment is received.

    Model 2: Time and materials

    For clients whose requirements are not yet settled but who want to own the codebase and resources.

    • After the assessment we provide an hour estimate; the project is billed on actual hours worked.
    • Hourly rates are tiered by role and listed in the estimate.
    • Billing: the billing cycle is agreed per project, and each invoice comes with an itemised timesheet for that period.
    • Hour cap: you can set a cap per month or for the whole project. When the cap is reached we pause and wait for your confirmation — we never go over it automatically.
    • Transparency: hours are tracked in a self-hosted Kimai instance, and you get a read-only account to check them at any time.
    • Code: work happens in a repository you own from day one, so the code is delivered continuously; Docker images are handed over at the end of the project.
    • Early termination: either side may end the engagement early. Hours already worked are billed, and the code is delivered as it stands.

    Model 3: Business partnership

    For clients with a limited upfront budget who are not concerned with owning the code or resources.

    • We first check whether your requirements fit our own product roadmap. Only roadmap-aligned work qualifies for this model.
    • Because the result becomes part of our product, we work at a lower hourly rate than Model 2.
    • Billing, hour caps and transparency work as in Model 2: a billing cycle agreed per project, an optional cap, hours tracked in Kimai.
    • Ownership: we keep the intellectual property and grant you a licence to use it. We may turn the general-purpose parts into products offered to others.
    • Delivery: we deploy and run the service; you use it directly.
    • Buyout: if you later need to own the code, you can buy it out at an agreed price, and we hand over the codebase and Docker images as in Model 1.

    Common terms

    Warranty and annual maintenance

    • Free warranty: defects found within 90 days of launch are fixed at no charge.
    • Annual maintenance: after the warranty period, maintenance is billed yearly, one year at a time. As a guide, it is 15%–20% of the contract value (or of the previous year's hourly fees).
    • Included: bug fixes, security updates, dependency upgrades and incident response.
    • Not included: new features, which are billed separately under Model 1 or Model 2.

    Cloud resources

    Servers, databases, object storage and other cloud resources can be purchased by you directly, or by us on your behalf. Resources we purchase for you are billed at the cloud provider's actual invoice.

    Taxes and currency

    • All prices exclude tax. VAT invoices are available.
    • Quotes are in RMB by default; USD quotes are available for overseas clients.

    Productized services

    Productized services such as Race Watch Faces and CapRover consulting follow the pricing and payment terms on their own pages, not the models above.

    Tell us about your project and we'll recommend the model that fits.