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Apps · from $7,500

An app that does one job well.

I build custom apps for Canadian small businesses. A first version from $7,500 CAD, quoted fixed, and people can open it on day one. After launch I host it and keep it running for a monthly subscription I quote with the build.

LiftLabb progress chartsLiftLabb workout session with exercise sets
LiftLabbMy own app, live on the web and in iOS beta.
$7,500CAD, where it starts
200built-in exercises in liftlabb
2ways in · web and ios beta
3payments · 50 / 25 / 25

A lot of people who ask me about an app have been through this once already. They paid for designs and have nothing that runs. So the first thing worth checking is whether I've finished one. LiftLabb is mine, it's live on the web with an iOS beta, and you can open it now.

Proof

LiftLabb is mine and it's live.

I built it because every tracker I tried made logging a set take longer than the set. In LiftLabb you say the set out loud and it writes it down. There are 200+ built-in exercises, it catches a personal record on its own, and it charts your estimated one rep max per muscle group over time. It keeps working offline, because gym wifi is bad everywhere. It runs on the web with an iOS beta.

Liveliftlabb.caReal screens out of the app. Pick one.
LiftLabb workout home screen listing an Upper session with its exercises, duration, volume and set count

LiftLabb, live on web plus iOS beta

LiftLabb200+ exercises, offline logging, web live and iOS in beta.Open LiftLabb →

A first version of your app is the same job. Pick the one thing it has to do better than a spreadsheet, build that properly, and put it in people's hands. Version two gets decided by what real users do with it. There's more at liftlabb.ca, and the LiftLabb case study goes through how it got built.

What's included

What the from-price buys.

  1. A scoped first version.

    01 / 04

    We agree on the shortest list of things your app has to do to be worth opening, and that list is the quote. Whatever we cut gets written down as version two, so it's there when you want it.

  2. Web plus iOS.

    02 / 04

    Built as a web app first so anyone can open it on anything, then wrapped for iPhone when people need it on their phone. LiftLabb runs both ways off one codebase, web live and iOS in beta.

  3. Accounts, database, offline sync.

    03 / 04

    Sign in, roles, a real database, and offline sync when people use it away from wifi. That half is most of the work and it's in the price.

  4. Hosting, upkeep and support.

    04 / 04

    I run the app after launch and the monthly subscription covers hosting, upkeep and support. I quote that number with the build so you see it before you say yes, and your data is yours the whole time.

Money

What it costs.

Apps start at $7,500 CAD to build. After the call I send one fixed quote in writing with the scope attached, and that number doesn't move unless you ask for something that isn't on the list. You pay 50% to start, 25% at the halfway build, and 25% at launch, so by the time you've paid half you've already clicked around a working version.

you have an ideaYOUR APPfrom $7,500people open itandroid buildpayments · subscriptionsadmin dashboardtalks to your software
  1. you have an idea
  2. YOUR APPfrom $7,500
  3. people open it
$7,500, where it startsone fixed quote in writing
50%to start
25%at the halfway build
25%at launch
Monthlyhosting, upkeep and support

After launch I host the app and keep it running, and you pay a monthly subscription for that. It covers hosting, upkeep and support. I quote it with the build, so it lands on the same piece of paper as the fixed price. If you ever want to move the app in-house or to another developer there's a one-time moving fee, and I hand over the code, the data and the accounts. The whole model is on the pricing page.

Straight answers

What people ask me before they book.

  • 01

    $7,500 sounds too cheap for an app.

    It's a real price for a first version that does one job properly, and that's on purpose. The from-price covers your core screens, accounts, a database, hosting set up, and launch. It doesn't cover a separate Android build, payments and subscriptions, an admin dashboard, or anything that has to talk to software you already run. Those are all fine to add. They get quoted on top and you see the number before I start.

    "a first version that does one job properly"

    the short answer
  • 02

    If you stop working on it, nobody else can touch the app.

    The build is documented so another developer could pick it up. Your data is yours the whole time and you can ask for an export any time. If you ever want to take the app in-house or to another developer, there's a one-time moving fee and I hand over the code, the data and the accounts. LiftLabb runs on the same setup and I still fix things on it every week.

    "your data is yours the whole time"

    the short answer
  • 03

    I only have an idea, not a spec.

    Almost nobody has a spec, and the call is where one comes from. You tell me what people do today and what you want them doing instead, and I ask a lot of questions about the edge cases. You leave with a written scope for version one and a fixed number. That part is free and it's yours either way.

    "Almost nobody has a spec, and the call is where one comes from"

    the short answer

Start here

What should your app do?

Free, 30 minutes. You leave with a written scope for version one and a fixed price whether you hire me or not.

Book a call

Or email cole@flxw.ca and describe the idea in a paragraph.