What should be optional in a software development proposal?

In this template: Support plan ($900.00 USD per month), Team training session ($400.00 USD). Optional lines sit next to the base price with a switch, so clients choose them without a follow-up email.

How much to charge for software development

Updated September 19, 2026. Example prices in US dollars from the software development proposal template.

Short answer: Price software development as one fixed line (phase one build at $18,000.00 USD) with a starting total of $23,400.00 USD, then 2 optional lines (support plan, team training session) the client can switch on, and a quantity the client sets within your limits. Set your own numbers; the structure is what gets accepted.

A worked example for developers and small software shops: the pricing lines from our software development proposal, what is fixed, what the client can switch on, and how to present it so the total gets accepted rather than negotiated.

The example pricing

Line	Example price	How it is sold
Phase one buildThree milestones over eight weeks	$18,000.00 USD	Included
Support planAfter launch: monitoring, updates, four hours of changes a month	$900.00 USD per month	Optional, on by defaultClient picks 3 to 12
Team training sessionTwo hours, recorded	$400.00 USD	Optional, off by default

Starting total with the defaults on: $23,400.00 USD, before the client chooses among 2 optional lines, with 1 quantity the client sets within your limits. Example prices in US dollars; the template works in 16 currencies and every number is yours to change.

How to present it

The core templates cover the projects most freelancers sell: a fixed-scope build, a retainer, a shoot, a consulting engagement. Each one prices the defined work as one line and everything negotiable as an option the client can switch on.

Fixed price for the thing you can define, recurring for the thing that continues, and countable options for whatever clients tend to add. That structure survives almost any trade.

Whatever you charge, the client should be able to see the total change as they choose. A total that responds is a total that gets accepted.

Questions people ask

How much should I charge for software development?: Price software development as one fixed line (phase one build at $18,000.00 USD) with a starting total of $23,400.00 USD, then 2 optional lines (support plan, team training session) the client can switch on, and a quantity the client sets within your limits. Set your own numbers; the structure is what gets accepted.
What should be optional in a software development proposal?: In this template: Support plan ($900.00 USD per month), Team training session ($400.00 USD). Optional lines sit next to the base price with a switch, so clients choose them without a follow-up email.
How do I present software development pricing so it gets accepted?: The core templates cover the projects most freelancers sell: a fixed-scope build, a retainer, a shoot, a consulting engagement. Each one prices the defined work as one line and everything negotiable as an option the client can switch on.

Why this structure gets accepted

One fixed line the client can say yes to. Phase one build is priced as a whole, so the conversation is about the result, not the hours.
Options on the page, not in follow-up emails. Support plan, Team training session sit next to the base price with a switch. People choose what they can see.
The total moves as they choose. On a Quote and Sign page the client toggles lines and sets quantities, watches the total update, and signs with their name. What they chose becomes part of the signed record.

Put it in front of a client

Open this pricing as a real proposal, change the words and numbers, and send the link. Your client reads it on their phone, adjusts the options, and accepts with one tap. Both of you get the signed PDF.

Try it in the editor, no account See the software development proposal template