Questions businesses ask about building software

It depends on scope, but most custom apps fall into ranges, not a single number. A focused first version — one clear job, done well, on one or two platforms — is a smaller project than a full multi-feature product with accounts, payments and a backend. I quote per project or work month to month, and the first call is free. Rather than guess, tell me what the app needs to do and I’ll give you a clear, itemised price before any work starts.

Judge them on five things, none of which need you to read code. Do you own the code and the accounts from day one? Is the work written down well enough that someone else could pick it up? Who runs it after launch, including on a Sunday? Can you leave without starting over? And will they tell you something true that costs them the sale? The longer version is here.

A first, genuinely useful version usually takes weeks, not days or years — the exact number depends on how much it has to do. A single-purpose app with a clean backend is faster than one with accounts, payments, notifications and an admin panel. I’d rather ship a small, solid version you can put in front of real users than spend months on a big launch nobody has tested. I give you a timeline with milestones before we start, not a vague ‘it’ll be ready when it’s ready’.

You do. When the project is paid for, the code, the accounts and the infrastructure are yours — I hand over the repository and access, and you’re never locked to me to keep it running. I build on standard, well-known tools precisely so another developer could pick it up later. You’re hiring me because you want to, not because you’re trapped.

Yes, and I think that’s the part most people underestimate. Software isn’t finished at launch — it needs updates, security patches, server care and fixes when something breaks. I run production for Givore myself, so I offer the same: ongoing maintenance month to month, or a clean handover with documentation if you’d rather run it in-house. Either way, launch isn’t where I disappear.

An app is what people see and tap — the screens on a phone or in a browser. An API is the plumbing behind it: the service that stores data, enforces rules and lets the app (and other systems) talk to each other. Most real products need both. If you already have an app and it’s slow, buggy or can’t connect to your other tools, the fix is often in the API and backend, not the screens.

Usually, yes. I take over existing apps, sites and backends often — first I review what’s there, tell you honestly what’s solid and what’s risky, and give you options. Sometimes the right move is to continue it, sometimes to fix a specific part, and occasionally to rebuild a piece that’s holding everything back. You’ll get a straight assessment before you commit to anything, not a reflexive ‘we have to start over’.

AI helps when it removes a specific, repetitive chunk of work — not as a buzzword bolted on for show. The useful cases I see most are drafting and triaging support replies, summarising or extracting data from documents, and speeding up internal tasks your team does by hand. I add AI where it genuinely saves time and I keep your data sane while doing it. If AI won’t actually help your case, I’ll tell you that too.

An automation is a small system that does repetitive work for you — moving information between your tools, sending follow-ups, updating records — so a person doesn’t have to. For example: a new order automatically creates an invoice, updates your CRM and notifies the right person. I build these with tools like n8n so they’re reliable and you can see what they’re doing. They pay for themselves in the hours they give back.

Yes. I’m based in Valencia and work remotely with businesses across Europe. Most work happens over WhatsApp, email and calls, in English or Spanish. You always talk to the person doing the work, wherever you are.

Ask that before you sign, and judge the answer on structure rather than promises. The repository and the accounts should be yours from day one, the work written down, and production run by whoever built it. We build and run: Givore is live today and we still operate it. If a project genuinely needs more hands than we have, we say so rather than overstretch.

Message me on WhatsApp and tell me a bit about your business and what you’re trying to solve. The first conversation is free and with no obligation. From there I’ll tell you honestly whether I’m the right fit, roughly what it involves, and what it would cost — before you commit to anything.