Why the quotes differ by 4x
You send the same brief to four suppliers and receive quotes ranging from $40k to $160k. The difference is rarely greed. It is usually that each one read a different scope into an ambiguous brief.
The cheapest quote often assumes: no migration of existing data, no integrations, one language, no accessibility work, and that you will provide the content. Those assumptions are load-bearing, and they are what you will argue about in month three.
Ask every supplier the same three questions
"What did you assume that is not in the brief?" The most useful question in procurement. A good supplier has a list ready. A supplier who says "nothing" has not read it carefully.
"What is the riskiest part of this project?" Anyone who says there isn't one is either inexperienced or managing you.
"What happens to the code if we stop working together?" The answer should be immediate and boring: it is in your repository, under your account, and here is the handover document.
Contract terms that matter more than the rate
- IP ownership on payment, stated plainly.
- Your cloud accounts, not theirs. Vendors holding infrastructure is the most common form of lock-in we are asked to unwind.
- A change process that is written down, so scope changes are a decision rather than an argument.
- An exit clause with a defined handover deliverable.
A slightly higher rate with these terms is cheaper than a low rate without them. We have repeatedly been hired to extract companies from the second arrangement, and that extraction usually costs more than the original saving.
The strongest signal
Ask to speak to a client whose project went badly.
Every supplier with real history has one. How they describe it — and whether they will put you in touch — tells you more than any case study on their website, including ours.