How a project works
We design, build and run software in one continuous loop. You agree each stage and its price before it starts, you see working software early, and once it's live we stay to host it, look after it and improve it.
This page sets out the whole of it: the stages, how quotes work, what you own, what happens if you want to leave, and who you deal with.
The short version
- A written scope before anything is built
- A fixed price for each stage up to go-live
- A monthly fee for hosting and looking after it
- You own the code and the data
- You deal with Phil, the founder
Six stages, then round again
1. Design
We start with how the work happens now: who does what, in which systems, and where the time goes. Then we write down what the software will do, step by step and screen by screen, and agree it with you. That written scope is what every price is based on.
2. Build
We build in stages, each with a fixed price agreed before it starts. Each stage ends with working software you can try, on a test version with realistic data, so a wrong turn shows up early and costs little to put right.
3. Launch
We move your data across, set up the accounts, show your team round and switch it on. When it replaces something you already use, we plan the switch-over with you so the work doesn't stop.
4. Host
We run what we build on servers we look after, with monitoring, backups and security updates. You don't need a server, an IT team or a hosting contract of your own.
5. Look after
A monthly fee covers hosting, updates, fixes when something breaks and small changes. Software that connects to other systems needs this most: when one of them changes, we change yours to match.
6. Improve
As the business changes, the software changes with it. Anything beyond a small change is scoped and quoted first, as a fixed price, so you always know what you're agreeing to.
How quotes work
Every project starts with a written scope. From it, we quote a fixed price for each stage up to go-live, and a monthly fee for hosting and looking after it once it's live.
You agree each stage before it starts, so you can stop after any of them and keep what has been built. Changes beyond small fixes are quoted before we start them.
You own it, and you can leave
The code and the data are yours from the start. We host and look after what we build by default, because that's what keeps it working, but nothing ties you to us.
If you want to move on, to your own developers or another company, we hand over the code, the data and the documentation, and help move the hosting. There's no lock-in.
Who you deal with
You deal with Phil McParlane, who founded Sellframe in 2014. There are no account managers in between: the person you explain your business to is the person responsible for the software. Phil replies within one working day.
We have built and still run products of our own, from a job board to a data API, so we know what it takes to keep software working after launch. See our work.
What we need from you
- Someone who knows the work well enough to explain it, and the exceptions to it.
- Time at the end of each stage to try what has been built and say what is wrong with it.
- Access to the systems we connect to, and a sample of real documents or data to build and test with.
Questions
How big a project do you take on?
Anything from a single automation that saves a few hours a week to a system a whole business runs on. Large projects are split into stages, so even a big build starts with a small, fixed-price first step.
Do you work on software someone else built?
Sometimes. We look at the code first and tell you honestly whether it's better to build on it or replace it, and why.
Where is the software hosted?
On servers we run and look after, with monitoring and backups. If your business needs it hosted somewhere particular, we can set that up instead.
What does looking after it include?
Hosting, security updates, monitoring, fixes when something breaks, and small changes. Bigger changes are quoted separately before we start.
Tell us what you want to build
A few lines is enough to start. Phil replies within one working day.
Start a project