Why we quote fixed prices, and what happens when scope changes

Most agencies bill by the hour or the day. It's easier for them: whatever happens, they get paid for the time. We quote a fixed price for a fixed scope, and people sometimes ask how that can possibly work. Here's the honest version.

Why fixed

Because our clients are startups and small businesses, and they need a number. A founder raising a round can't put "somewhere between £30k and £90k depending on how it goes" in a spreadsheet. A business owner replacing a spreadsheet wants to know whether it's worth it before they start, not after.

A fixed price also puts the risk where it belongs. If we estimate badly, that's our problem to absorb, not yours. It means we're careful about scoping, and it means we have every incentive to build the simple thing rather than the clever thing.

How we get to the number

We spend the first call understanding the problem, not the feature list. Then we write a short scope document: what the product does, what it explicitly doesn't do, and what "done" looks like. The price and timeline are attached to that document. Usually we'll also propose one or two things to cut for the first version, with a price for adding them later.

When scope changes

It will. Something always turns up once real people use the thing. When it does, we tell you before it costs you anything. Small changes we absorb, because a quote that can't flex a little is a quote that causes arguments. Bigger changes get a short written addendum with a price, and you decide. Nothing is added to the bill that you haven't agreed to in writing.

In fourteen projects we've had to reprice twice. Both times it was because the client's business changed direction mid-build, and both times they knew before we did.

What it costs us

Occasionally we lose money on a project. That's the deal. It happens less than you'd think, because the same discipline that makes a quote accurate also makes the build faster. And we'd rather lose a little on one project than have every client wonder whether the meter is running.