What Does Custom Software Cost?

What Drives the Price

Not the number of screens, but:

Different Processes. Ten screens for one process are cheaper than three screens for three different processes with different rules.

Interfaces. Each connection to an external system brings its own coordination, test data, and error cases. It is rarely a major item in planning but often a significant item in reality.

Permissions and Traceability. "Everyone sees everything" is cheap. A tiered role concept with logging is not – but may be legally required.

Data Migration. The effort is almost never in the import but in cleaning up the legacy data.

Why There Is No Price List

The same description – "a customer portal" – can mean eight weeks or eight months. Anyone who quotes a fixed price without a concept either builds in a large buffer or will renegotiate the project later.

How to Arrive at a Reliable Figure

1. Initial conversation – goal and starting point
2. Concept with scope definition
3. Estimation based on this, with a range

Only the third step provides a figure you can rely on.

Where You Can Really Save

• Limit the scope. Half of the initially desired functions will not be used in the first year.
• Early functional prototype. Requirements clarify through experimentation, not through reading.
• Clean up legacy data before migration begins.
• A contact person with decision-making authority. The biggest cost factor in projects is waiting for decisions.

What to Expect

Request an estimate with a range, not a single figure – and a breakdown by sections. Then you can see which part drives the price and can cut back accordingly.

Additionally, ask about ongoing costs from the second year onwards. An offer that does not answer this is incomplete.