Software development proposal
Software development proposal example: fixed price with change requests
A fixed price software proposal works when the scope is pinned to a signed specification and changes have their own price, so neither side argues about what was included. This example from a small studio to a pool service company fixes the build at $87,000 plus GST, reserves 30 hours of changes at $165 an hour, and asks both companies to sign.
The proposal, page by page
Every page as the client sees it and as it prints, pricing table included.
The pricing, line by line
- Discovery and specification
- 1 × $6,500.00
- Design
- 1 × $9,800.00
- Technician mobile app
- 1 × $38,000.00
- Office dashboard
- 1 × $22,500.00
- Accounting integration
- 1 × $5,400.00
- Testing and launch
- 1 × $4,800.00
- Change request allowance (optional)
- 30 × $165.00
- Support and hosting (optional)
- 12 × $690.00
- Tax
- $9,195.00
- Total
- $101,145.00
- Deposit due on acceptance
- $20,229.00
Section by section
- Cover
- The title, the client, fixed price with a change allowance, a May 2027 launch and a reference.
- About us
- Two sentences on the studio and why it works on fixed prices.
- Understanding your needs
- Whiteboard scheduling, paper readings and slow invoicing, with 1,900 pools, 14 technicians and up to 7 days to invoice.
- Our approach
- Specify, design and test early, then build, pilot and launch.
- Deliverables
- The specification, the offline technician app, the office dashboard, the accounting integration and the code in the client's name.
- Timeline
- Five stages from November 2026 to a launch to all technicians in late May 2027.
- Investment
- Six fixed price lines, a change allowance selected at 30 hours, and optional support for 12 months.
- Terms
- Staged payments, change requests, cancellation, intellectual property, a 60 day defect warranty, data handling and validity.
- Next steps and acceptance
- E-sign in order: the client first with an email code, then the studio countersigns.
Fixed price or time and materials
Clients prefer a fixed price because it caps their risk. Studios prefer time and materials because software scope moves. This proposal gets both by fixing the price against a specification the client signs in the first stage, and putting everything outside that specification into a separate, priced allowance. Discovery is priced first and on its own line for a reason: it is the work that turns a vague brief into a scope precise enough to fix a price against. If the client walks away after discovery, they leave with a specification they paid for and can take to anyone. A proposal that fixes the build price before discovery is either padded for unknowns or headed for an argument.
How the numbers work
The six fixed lines add to $87,000. The change allowance of 30 hours at $165 is optional but selected by default, so the default subtotal is $91,950 and the total with GST is $101,145. The 20% deposit is calculated on that total. The client can lower the allowance to 20 hours or raise it to 60 before accepting, and can add support and hosting at $690 a month for 12 months, which adds $8,280 before GST. Clause 1 states the payment schedule in words, since the product invoices the deposit on acceptance and drafts the balance for the studio to bill in stages.
How to adapt this proposal
Keep discovery as its own priced stage, even on a small job. Write the client's current process in the needs section in their own terms, as here with the whiteboard and the paper readings, because the people approving the budget will recognise it. Size the change allowance from experience: ten to twenty percent of the build hours is a common starting point. If the client will handle personal information in the app, as a pool company does with customer addresses, add a data clause and check your obligations under the Australian Privacy Principles. Make sure the ownership clause matches what you can actually hand over: if you build on your own licensed framework, say what the client receives and what stays yours.
What makes this proposal work
Changes have a price before they happen
The change request allowance is its own line: 30 hours at $165, selected by default and adjustable from 20 to 60. Clause 2 says every change is estimated and approved before work starts. The fixed price stays fixed, and the client can see what flexibility costs.
Payment follows proof
After the 20% deposit, clause 1 splits the rest into three equal payments at design sign off, end of build and launch. Each payment matches something the client can see, which suits a buyer spending $87,000 on software for the first time.
The client ends up owning it
Deliverables list the source code, documentation and store listings in the client's name, and clause 4 passes the intellectual property on final payment. For a business whose operations will run on the app, that line matters more than any feature.
Questions people ask
What should a software development proposal include?
The client's current process and the problem it causes, how you will specify, design, build and test, the deliverables including code ownership, a timeline, the price with what is fixed and what is variable, how changes are handled, payment stages, warranty, data and cancellation terms. This example covers each in six pages after a cover.
How do you handle change requests in a fixed price project?
Fix the price against a signed specification, then price changes separately. This example reserves a change allowance of 30 hours at $165 an hour, adjustable from 20 to 60, and clause 2 says each change is estimated and approved in writing before the work starts. Only hours used are billed, so the allowance does not inflate the fixed price.
How should a software project be paid for?
In stages tied to things the client can see. This example takes a 20% deposit on acceptance, then three equal payments at design sign off, at the end of the build and at launch. Staged payments protect the studio's cash flow and give the client a natural point to raise concerns before paying more.
Who owns the code after a software project?
Whoever the contract says. Under Australian copyright law the creator usually owns it unless there is an agreement otherwise, so a proposal should state it. This one passes the source code, designs and app store listings to the client on final payment, and lists them in the deliverables so there is no doubt about what is handed over.
Should both parties sign a software proposal?
For a project of this size, yes. This proposal uses e-sign acceptance with countersigning: the client signs first after confirming a code sent to their email, then the studio signs, and only then is the deposit invoice issued. The signed PDF is kept with the acceptance as the record of what both sides agreed.
What is a defect warranty in a software proposal?
A promise to fix, at no charge, anything that does not work as the specification describes, for a set time after launch. This example gives 60 days. It is different from support, which covers new questions, small changes and hosting, and which this proposal offers separately at $690 a month.
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