By Artem Korsakov ·
The price of development is not made up only of the number of screens. Two identical interfaces can differ greatly in how they work: one handles a small set of data, the other connects several systems and deals with different access rights. That is why a “starting from” figure helps you understand the order of magnitude of the budget but does not replace an estimate of the specific task.
The amount of work depends on the number of scenarios. Booking a single service is simpler than building booking with several specialists, resources, rescheduling, payment and notifications. It is important to list the user’s actions and the rules that change the result of each action.
Integrations require separate inputs. Specify the systems the product must work with, and whether documentation and a test environment are available. If you need to receive data from a CRM, check which fields are filled in and who is responsible for their quality. Interface development will not automatically fix errors in the source data.
Content and approvals also affect the calendar. Texts, photographs, company details and legal documents need to be ready for the relevant stage. It helps to decide in advance who makes decisions and how quickly the team can get an answer to a question. It is worth distinguishing between the time spent on work and the time spent waiting for approval.
For an estimate, prepare the product’s goal, audience, main scenarios, integrations and constraints. Add examples: how the task is solved now and what should change after launch. You do not need to describe the technical architecture yourself. It is more important to explain the expected result and the mandatory conditions.
Compare proposals by their scope, not only by the total. Clarify whether design, adaptation for mobile screens, integrations, error testing and launch are included. Discuss further support and the costs of external services, if they are needed, separately.
A practical way to start: choose a first version with one complete scenario, agree on the criteria for completion and get an estimate for exactly that scope. Additional features can be moved to the next stage. This approach helps you discuss the budget concretely and keep a working result at every step.