App development proposal template

What's in the template.

Every section below exists to answer a question your client is silently asking. Use the example copy as a starting point and replace the specifics.

1. 1

   The problem, in their words

   Restate the business problem before mentioning technology. It proves you understood the brief and keeps the conversation off framework preferences.

   “Your dispatch team coordinates 40–60 jobs a day across WhatsApp, a shared spreadsheet, and phone calls. Nobody can answer 'where is job 412?' without three messages, and roughly 8% of jobs are double-booked or missed each week. You don't need an app because apps are good; you need one because the coordination cost now scales faster than your revenue.”

2. 2

   Scope: what's in, and what's explicitly out

   Two columns. The exclusions column prevents the majority of scope disputes, and stating it confidently reads as experience rather than hedging.

   “In: iOS and Android apps (React Native), job creation and assignment, live status updates, photo capture with offline queueing, and an admin web dashboard. Explicitly out of this phase: customer-facing tracking, invoicing or accounting integration, multi-language support, and Apple Watch. Each is a sensible phase two — listed here so we both know it isn't in this price.”

3. 3

   Technical approach and stack

   Name the stack and give one line of reasoning per choice. Enough to show rigour; not so much that a non-technical reader disengages.

   “React Native for one codebase across both platforms, since your feature set has no platform-specific requirements. Postgres for relational job data. Expo for over-the-air updates so field fixes don't wait on app-store review. Auth via a managed provider rather than hand-rolled — it's the last place a small team should be original.”

4. 4

   Phased delivery with review gates

   Break the build into phases with a demo at each boundary. A client who can stop after phase two is far more likely to start at all.

   “Phase 1 (weeks 1–2): technical discovery, data model, clickable prototype. Gate: you approve or we adjust before code. Phase 2 (weeks 3–7): core job flow shipped to TestFlight with your dispatchers using it live. Phase 3 (weeks 8–11): offline handling, photo capture, admin dashboard. Phase 4 (weeks 12–13): QA, store submission, launch. You may stop after any phase and keep everything built to that point.”

5. 5

   QA, acceptance, and known limits

   Define 'done' before you're arguing about it, and name the environmental limits you can't control.

   “Acceptance is the agreed test-case list passing on one recent iOS and one recent Android device, plus a two-week UAT window with your dispatch team. Included: bug fixes for anything failing the agreed cases, free for 30 days post-launch. Not bugs: new requirements discovered during UAT, OS releases that change platform behaviour, and store review policy changes — those are quoted separately.”

6. 6

   Handover, IP, and what happens after launch

   State that they own it, and price ongoing support as an option rather than an assumption.

   “On final payment, all source code and IP transfer to you, in your own repository, with a written handover document and a walkthrough recording. Optional maintenance: $1,400/month covering dependency and OS-version upkeep, monitoring, and up to eight hours of small changes. No lock-in — the code runs on infrastructure in your name from day one.”

7. 7

   Investment

   Price per phase so the number is legible and the client can pace their commitment.

   “Phase 1 $6,000 · Phase 2 $18,500 · Phase 3 $14,000 · Phase 4 $5,500. Total $44,000, invoiced at the start of each phase. Third-party costs (app store fees, hosting, managed auth) are billed to your accounts directly, estimated at $80/month at your volume.”

8. 8

   Next step + signature

   Make the commitment as small as the first phase, not the whole build.

   “Sign below to start with Phase 1 — $6,000 and two weeks, ending in a clickable prototype and a fixed-price quote for the rest. If the prototype changes your mind about the scope, that's the phase doing its job.”