Custom Software Development Company in the UK

Look at how they price and what you will own. A good partner insists on discovery before a fixed price, shows working software every sprint, puts running costs in writing, builds on mainstream technology, and keeps code and accounts in your name from day one. Ask how change requests are handled — it tells you how the relationship will feel mid-project.

Ownership of code, designs and IP passing to you; repositories and hosting in your name; a scope with acceptance criteria for each milestone; the payment schedule; a written change-request procedure; what is excluded; how defects found after launch are handled; and what handover includes if you change supplier. We are happy for your solicitor to review ours.

Every change is written up with its cost and its effect on the timeline, and nothing is built until you approve it. Often a new idea can replace something of similar size that matters less, so the price does not move. What you never get is an invoice for work you did not agree.

That depends on users, data and integrations, so we estimate it for your system during discovery. The usual lines are hosting on your own cloud account, a support and maintenance arrangement, third-party services such as payments or SMS, and change requests as the business evolves. Flexible support starts from £20 an hour.

Because a fixed price without a written scope is a guess, and guesses are either padded or cut short later. The discovery sprint, from £2,000, produces user journeys, a prototype and a scope with acceptance criteria — documents that are yours to keep, even if you then build with someone else.

A fixed price suits a defined build: you know the cost, and change control protects both sides. Paying by the hour suits small, unpredictable work such as fixes and minor features once a system is live. Using both is common — a fixed price for the build and flexible hours afterwards.

Sometimes. A good freelancer can be the cheapest route for a small, well-defined job, but you carry the key-person risk. An in-house developer makes sense once there is a steady stream of work, though one person rarely covers design, backend, testing and hosting. A team costs more per hour but brings those skills together, with cover when people are away.

Yes — it is a common problem, and usually fixable. We help you recover access to domains, repositories, hosting and third-party accounts, move them into your own name, and review the code so you know what you have. Then you get an honest view on whether to fix, extend or replace it.

Because the code sits in your repositories from the first commit, pausing or stopping never means losing what has been built. How work in progress is billed is set out in the contract before you sign, and the documentation and accounts are already in your hands.

No. Hosting is billed by the provider to your own account, and support is optional: a retainer, flexible hours, or nothing at all if your own team or another supplier takes over. We would recommend someone keeps security updates current, but it does not have to be us.