Short answer: it depends on how the builder bills. Our standard rates are a $650/month platform fee plus $49/month per staff login, adjusted to each project and confirmed in a written quote before work starts. A two-person shop works out to $748 a month; a five-person shop to $895. Hosting, security updates, and bug fixes are included. Changes after launch are $150 an hour, and only after you approve them in writing.

If you've ever asked a dev shop for a quote and quietly closed the email, this article is for you. Here's where the big traditional numbers come from, how our pricing works instead, and exactly what's included versus billed separately.

Why custom software has always been expensive

When an agency quotes you a big number for a booking system, you're not paying for the software. You're paying for people-hours: developers, a project manager, a designer, and a tester, all billing for months. The materials are free; it's labor all the way down.

And most of that labor is repetitive. Every custom job tracker or customer portal shares most of its DNA with every other one: login screens, databases, forms, dashboards, notifications. Traditional teams rebuild that by hand, every time, on your invoice. Then, once it launches, keeping it hosted, patched, and fixed is often a separate bill — or nobody's job at all.

What changed: AI-accelerated development

Modern AI development tools generate, review, and test code far faster than anyone can type it by hand. An experienced developer working with AI spends their time on the part that's genuinely unique to your business, not on rebuilding the same login screen for the hundredth time. Here's how AI-accelerated development works under the hood.

Fewer build hours is what makes a monthly price workable. Instead of a big bill up front and a separate maintenance contract later, you pay a set monthly fee for software that's built, hosted, and maintained by the same people. (Larger builds can carry a one-time build fee too — more on that below.)

Our standard rates

These are starting points. Every project is different, so the rates are adjusted to each one and confirmed in a written quote before any work starts.

  • Platform fee: $650/month. The base fee for running your software; what the monthly fees cover is listed below.
  • License fee: $49/month per staff login. A seat is a person on your team who signs in.
  • Changes and new features after launch: $150/hour. Done only after you approve the work in writing (email is fine). Hours are tracked and reported.
  • Larger builds or new modules may carry a one-time build fee, quoted as a fixed price or hourly before work begins.

Two worked examples at standard rates:

  • Two-person shop: $650 + 2 × $49 = $748/month.
  • Five-person shop: $650 + 5 × $49 = $895/month.

Billing is monthly in advance, with invoices due in 15 days.

What's included, and what's billed separately

Included in the monthly fees:

  • Hosting, infrastructure, monitoring, and backups.
  • Security patches and dependency updates.
  • Bug fixes. If the software doesn't do what it was built to do, fixing it is on us.
  • Email support.
  • The third-party services the software runs on — hosting, email, AI usage, storage — at ordinary usage levels.

Billed separately:

  • Changes and new features after launch, at $150/hour, approved by you in writing first.
  • A one-time build fee for a larger build or new module, when the quote includes one.
  • Text messaging (SMS) and other new third-party integrations, such as a POS or a bank feed.
  • Data migration and bulk imports — moving your history in from spreadsheets or an old system.
  • Hands-on training, on-site work, and travel. (Email support is included.)
  • Third-party usage that materially exceeds the baseline — large-scale AI processing, for example. We tell you first, then either pass the extra through at cost or agree on new pricing in writing.

One thing that isn't a line item: your data. It's yours. Either side can end the agreement with 60 days' written notice; when it ends, your data is made available to you in a common format, and you have 30 days after the agreement ends to take it.

What moves the quote

The standard rates are where a quote starts. These are the things that move it, or decide whether a project needs a build fee:

  • Number of screens and workflows. A quoting tool with three screens is a smaller job than a full operations platform with twenty.
  • Integrations. Each external system you connect (QuickBooks, Stripe, Google Calendar, your POS) adds work.
  • User roles. "Everyone sees everything" is simple. Owner/manager/staff permissions add complexity.
  • Data migration. Moving years of spreadsheet history into a new system takes care and testing.
  • AI features. Document reading, smart intake, and drafting assistants are all useful, but each one adds scope — and heavy AI processing can add usage costs.

How it compares

Off-the-shelf software charges monthly too, and many business tools price per user once you're past the free tier. That's normal; our license fee works the same way. The difference is what the monthly fee buys: software shaped around how your business actually runs, with hosting, support, and fixes included, from the people who built it. If an off-the-shelf tool fits your workflow, it will usually cost less, and we'll tell you so. Here's our honest custom vs off-the-shelf comparison.

A traditional agency build usually works the other way around: you pay for the build up front, then arrange hosting and maintenance separately. Neither model is a trick. Ask any builder you talk to which one they use, what's included, and how your data comes back to you if you leave.

How to keep your costs down

  • Start with one painful workflow, not your whole business. You can always expand.
  • Count logins honestly. A seat is someone on your team who signs in. Not everyone who touches the work needs one.
  • Get the written quote before you commit. Monthly fees, any build fee, and what's included, all in writing before work starts.
  • Batch your change requests. Changes after launch are hourly, so one clear list is easier to scope and approve than a trickle of one-offs.
  • Bring examples. "Like this spreadsheet, but it emails the customer automatically" is a great spec.

Frequently asked questions

How much does custom software cost for a small business?

It depends on how the builder bills. Our standard rates are a $650/month platform fee plus $49/month per staff login, adjusted to each project and confirmed in a written quote before work starts. A two-person shop works out to $748/month and a five-person shop to $895/month. Larger builds may also carry a one-time build fee, quoted up front.

What does the monthly fee include?

The monthly fees cover hosting, infrastructure, monitoring, backups, security patches and dependency updates, bug fixes, and email support, plus third-party services like email, storage, and AI usage at ordinary levels. Changes and new features after launch are billed at $150/hour, only after you approve them in writing. Text messaging, data migration, new integrations, and hands-on training are quoted separately.

Why a monthly fee instead of one price up front?

Because the work doesn't stop at launch. We own and maintain the software and license it to you while you're a client, so hosting, security updates, and fixes are our job, not a separate contract you have to find. Your data stays yours: when the agreement ends, it's made available to you in a common format, and you have 30 days to take it.