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.

Pricing guide for developers and small software shops

How much to charge for software development

Updated October 23, 2026. Example prices in US dollars from the software development template.

Example starting total$18,900.00 USD

Short answer: Price software development as one fixed line (phase one build at $18,000.00 USD) with a starting total of $18,900.00 USD, then 2 optional lines (support plan, team training session) the client can switch on. Set your own numbers; the structure is what gets accepted.

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Below: the price lines from our software development quote, what is fixed, what the client can switch on, and how to show it so the client accepts instead of haggling.

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 default
Team training sessionTwo hours, recorded	$400.00 USD	Optional, off by default

Starting total with the defaults on: $18,900.00 USD, before the client chooses among 2 optional lines. 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.

Four ways to price software work

Model	How it works	Use it when
Fixed price	One price for a written scope, paid in stages	You can describe every screen and integration before you start
Fixed price per milestone	A price for each stage; the client approves one before the next begins	The later stages depend on what the first one finds
Time and materials with a cap	Your hourly or daily rate, with a ceiling you will not pass without asking	The work is exploratory: an audit, a rescue, an unknown codebase
Monthly retainer	A set number of hours or a set service each month	After launch: maintenance, small features, being on call

Most software consultants combine two: a fixed price or milestones for the build, then a retainer for everything after launch. The build wins the client; the retainer keeps them.

Turning an hourly rate into a project price

Estimate the hours for each part of the scope, multiply by your rate, then add a contingency for what you cannot see yet, and a larger one on a codebase you have not worked in. Quote the result as one number per milestone, not as hours: a client compares outcomes, and an hourly breakdown invites them to cut the testing.

Write down what the price assumes: who supplies content and designs, which browsers and devices, how many rounds of changes, and who pays for hosting and third-party services. Each assumption you write is one argument you will not have later.

When the scope changes

It will. Put the rule in the proposal itself: changes are quoted in writing before they are built, at your stated rate or as a new fixed line. Because the proposal is signed, that rule is agreed before the first request arrives, not negotiated during it.

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 $18,900.00 USD, then 2 optional lines (support plan, team training session) the client can switch on. 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 quote, change the words and numbers, and send the link. Your client reads it on a phone or laptop, picks the extras, and taps Accept. You both get the signed PDF.