How We Work: Process, Pricing, and Ownership
Hiring a software team means trusting people with your money and your deadline, so you should know how the work goes before you sign anything. Here's how a Centric Byte project runs, how we price it, and who owns what when we're done.
Step one: a discovery call and a written proposal
Every project starts with a call about your product, your goals, and your constraints. Within 48 hours you get a written proposal with a scope, a timeline, and a recommended set of tools.
To get a useful proposal fast, tell us what you're building, who it's for, and any deadline you're working against. Rough is fine. On the call we sketch your idea on a shared online scratchpad, so you can see what we've understood and correct us while it's still a drawing.
When the scope is clear, the proposal is a statement of work (SOW): what will be built, what won't, the timeline, and the tools. When you're still working out what you need, we work in sprints, which are short, fixed stretches of work, and agree the next few weeks together. Either way, you approve the SOW or the sprint plan in writing before we start building.
Three ways to work together
We agree on the engagement model during the first call. Each one fits a different situation.
- Fixed-price: best for well-scoped projects with clear requirements. You know the cost up front.
- Time and materials: you pay for the time and work actually used. Best for evolving products and builds where the scope will shift as you learn.
- Monthly retainer: best for ongoing development, extending your engineering team with specialist engineers, and maintenance after launch.
What decides the price
We don't quote before we understand the project, because the number depends on a few things you can't see from the outside. The biggest are the number of user roles, how many third-party systems we integrate with, how much of the product is custom versus standard, and how much design work is involved.
Once those are clear, you get a proposal you can plan around. If you need a budget range earlier, ask on the call and we'll tell you what we can.
Design, build, and regular demos
Before we write code, we plan how the system fits together, how its parts will talk to each other, and sketch the screens where it matters. Then we build in short stretches of work and show you the progress on a video call: every week on a full-time engagement, every two weeks on part-time work. Our founder joins the call, walks you through what has changed, answers your questions, and takes your feedback there and then.
Between calls we stay in touch on a message channel you agree with us, so the work doesn't stall waiting for an answer. If something is blocking the work, we ask for a quick call instead of waiting for the next one. That rhythm means no long blackout and no surprises at delivery. If something is off, you'll see it while it's cheap to change.
If your requirements change
It happens on most projects, because you learn what you need as you see it working. We map the new request against the work already done, see what has to be redone, and adjust the timeline, the budget, or both. You hear about that before we go ahead, not afterwards.
Launch, handoff, and support
We put the product on your own hosting, or set it up for you. You get the logins, a walkthrough and a training call for your team, and the technical documentation for whoever looks after it later. Automated releases (CI/CD) are in place so you can publish updates on your own.
Every project includes a post-launch support window, 15 days as standard, and we're open to extending it. After that, most clients choose a monthly maintenance retainer for bug fixes, dependency updates, security patches, and small features. You're never locked into a contract just to keep your own product running.
Who owns what
You do. All code, assets, and intellectual property belong to you on project completion and final payment. The cloud accounts and infrastructure are yours from day one, because we don't build on anything only we can access. NDAs and IP assignment agreements are standard.
How quickly can we start?
Typically within one to two weeks of a signed agreement, depending on project complexity and team availability. For urgent work, we can sometimes begin within days.
Who you work with
Our founding team leads every project from discovery to delivery and stays your point of accountability. Specialist contract engineers join for the parts of the project that need them. We work remotely across India, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and Australia, so there is almost always overlap with your working day. You can meet the team on our About page.
Frequently asked questions
Do you sign NDAs?
Yes. NDAs and IP assignment agreements are standard practice, and we are happy to sign yours before you share details.
What do you need from me to send a proposal?
A short description of what you're building, who it's for, and any deadline or budget constraints. A discovery call fills in the rest.
What happens after the project launches?
Every project includes a post-launch support window, 15 days as standard, and we're open to extending it. Afterward you can move to a monthly maintenance retainer or take the codebase fully in-house.
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