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Will your dev quote explode?
Score any quote in 5 minutes.
Have your quote, proposal or contract open. Answer each question yes or no. If the document doesn't say it, the answer is no: if it isn't written, it isn't promised.
It works on any quote — from an agency, a freelancer, an offshore team or a studio. No email needed to see your score.
Your score is calculated in your browser, which needs JavaScript. Without it, you can still use the 15 questions below as a checklist.
The number — does it hold?
Changes — how does the number move?
Delivery — will you get something that works?
Control — can you leave?
People — who builds it?
One more thing — not scored
Is the paid discovery credited against the build?
This isn't a red flag on its own: most studios credit it, and a credited discovery can be perfectly honest. But know how the incentive works. If the scoping phase only pays off when you sign the build, the studio needs a number you'll sign. Two questions settle it: do you keep the scoping documents if you don't sign — and are they written so another team could use them? If both answers are yes, you're free to compare.
Then use it as a checklist: what to ask for before anyone gives you a number.
- 01
Is the price fixed in writing?
What to ask for — "Please confirm in writing that the total is a fixed price for the scope described, not an estimate."
- 02
Was the scope written down before the price was given?
What to ask for — The document the price is based on: the user flows, the screens, what is in and what is out.
- 03
Does the quote list what is not included?
What to ask for — An explicit "out of scope" list.
- 04
Does the price stay valid long enough for you to compare it?
What to ask for — A written validity date.
- 05
If the work takes longer than planned, is that their cost — not yours?
What to ask for — "If the agreed scope takes longer than planned, will any of it be billed to me?" The answer must be no, in writing.
- 06
Is every change priced in writing, and approved by you, before any work starts?
What to ask for — "No work outside the agreed scope starts without a written quote I have approved."
- 07
Is there a deadline for pricing a change?
What to ask for — A maximum delay to price any change request — days, not weeks.
- 08
Are bugs on the agreed scope fixed for free — during the build and for a defined period after launch?
What to ask for — A written warranty period after launch, covering defects on what was delivered, at no charge. Ask how long.
- 09
Apart from a deposit to start, do you pay milestone by milestone — after you've used what was built?
What to ask for — Payments tied to milestones you accept after using the product yourself, on a test version.
- 10
Will you see the real product regularly — not slides or status reports?
What to ask for — A demo of the working product at least every two weeks, and access to a test version between demos.
- 11
Is "done" defined before each milestone?
What to ask for — For each milestone, the user flows that must work before you accept it.
- 12
Is the code in a repository your company owns — at the latest when each milestone is paid?
What to ask for — A repository in your company's name, with each paid milestone's code delivered there.
- 13
Are the hosting, the domain and the third-party accounts in your name?
What to ask for — Accounts created in your company's name. The vendor gets access, not ownership.
- 14
Will you get documentation another team could use to take over?
What to ask for — A handover document: how to run it, how to deploy it, where everything is, what's still open.
- 15
Are the people who scoped your project named as the ones who build it?
What to ask for — Named people in the contract, and no substitution without your written agreement.
The best way to get quotes you can compare is to write the scope first. Open the template
Check your inbox. Click the link in our email to confirm, and it's on its way.
Your score
Solid
A solid quote. The number is likely to hold. Keep the written answers — they're your protection.
Negotiate
Negotiate before you sign. Your red flags are the questions to send — a serious vendor can answer them in writing.
Exposed
Most of the risk sits with you. This quote is built to move.
Your red flags
- 01 — Is the price fixed in writing? An estimate is a forecast, not a commitment. With an estimate, every overrun is billed to you.
- 02 — Was the scope written down before the price was given? A price given before the scope exists is a guess. It is either padded to absorb the unknown, or it grows once the unknown shows up — and the vendor usually knows it when they quote.
- 03 — Does the quote list what is not included? Surprise invoices come from the gaps: content, integrations, app store fees, hosting, the admin panel nobody mentioned.
- 04 — Does the price stay valid long enough for you to compare it? A quote that expires in a few days pushes you to sign before you've compared. A few weeks is reasonable.
- 05 — If the work takes longer than planned, is that their cost — not yours? At a fixed price, an underestimate is the vendor's problem. On time and materials, every extra hour is yours.
- 06 — Is every change priced in writing, and approved by you, before any work starts? "We'll figure it out as we go" is how a $40,000 project becomes an $80,000 one. Pricing low, then billing every change, is a known way to win the margin back.
- 07 — Is there a deadline for pricing a change? While a change waits for a price, the project stalls. A stalled project costs you runway, not them.
- 08 — Are bugs on the agreed scope fixed for free — during the build and for a defined period after launch? If bug fixes are billable, the vendor earns more when the code is worse.
- 09 — Apart from a deposit to start, do you pay milestone by milestone — after you've used what was built? The story founders tell most often isn't the inflated bill. It's paying, and getting something that looks right but doesn't work.
- 10 — Will you see the real product regularly — not slides or status reports? A status report can say anything. A product you can click can't.
- 11 — Is "done" defined before each milestone? Without written acceptance criteria, "done" means whatever the vendor says it means.
- 12 — Is the code in a repository your company owns — at the latest when each milestone is paid? Code that lives on the vendor's account is leverage against you. "You'll get it at the end" means you can't leave before the end.
- 13 — Are the hosting, the domain and the third-party accounts in your name? Apps hosted on a developer's personal account become hostages the day the relationship ends.
- 14 — Will you get documentation another team could use to take over? If only the vendor can run it, you can't switch — and they know it.
- 15 — Are the people who scoped your project named as the ones who build it? One person sells, different people build. The senior who wins the deal isn't always the one writing your code.
Check your inbox. Click the link in our email to confirm, and it's on its way.
Want a quote built on a written scope from the start? That's what our scoping Sprint produces. Product Discovery Sprint