Scope determines the useful price
A small internal tool and a multi-role business platform should not be compared as the same project. Start with users, the task they need to complete and the decisions the system must enforce.
List integrations, migrated records, reporting, security needs and deployment requirements. These explain a quotation more reliably than a generic per-screen estimate.
Choose a useful first release
A first release should complete a real workflow from start to finish. For example, capturing an enquiry, assigning it and recording the next action is more useful than several unfinished modules.
Separate essential requirements from a later backlog. Explain what will remain manual so the first release has a realistic operational boundary.
Budget for running and changing the system
Hosting, monitoring, backups, external APIs and support may create ongoing costs. Ask who owns the accounts and what happens when a third-party provider changes its service.
Clarify defect correction, new feature work, maintenance and data export in the agreement. These are separate conversations from the initial build fee.
Questions to take into discovery
Bring examples of your current records, the most time-consuming handoffs and the people who will use the system. Identify the work you want to stop repeating and the evidence that would show an improvement.
Ask for a proposed delivery sequence, acceptance criteria, payment milestones and explicit exclusions. Avoid treating an indicative starting price as a fixed quote for an undefined platform.
Check the quotation against the current scope
PCube publishes its own starting packages on the pricing page. These are indicative offers for defined starting scopes, not an average South African software price. Request a written quotation for your own workflow, user roles, imports and integrations.
Compare setup, hosting, external usage charges, migration, training, support and future changes over the same planning period. Confirm account ownership and data export arrangements in the agreement.
Useful questions
Can software be delivered in phases?
Yes. Define a useful first workflow, its acceptance criteria and a later backlog, then agree each phase’s cost and dependencies.