Thread: How much to charge for a customized software application

Hello guys, I wonder how much does it cost an application.I did an application for my car engineer to store his clients in mysql database.I don't know how much to charge him.

I did the application using Netbeans and jframe.I have 3 jframes,welcome screen which the user must enter username and password to continue, the second contains textfields to store the customers personal info like name,surname etc.Also i have show all customers button which shows the third jframe which i have a table with all the customers in database and each time the user select a customer the data is inserted in textfields so the user can make update to the existing data or delete a customers (I hope you understand how it works).It took me 2 months but i wasn't stressed to finish it.My engineer told me that he was not in a hurry to use it.I believe is good enough because it's working like a charm.I have Bsc Computer Science degree and i am familiar with java.Also i used pallete to drag n drop textfields,buttons and then i programmed them to store or update or delete info from database using queries,result set and prepared statement.Also i am closing the connection,prepared stm and result set when each function ends.

It's hard because we are great friends.I think 500-600 euros is good price tag but i don't know if it sounds high a bit.

Good friends? A case of beer and a reference you can stick in your CV to demonstrate practical experience.

In my experience there are three ways to earn money coding:

1. Product or service development. Users will try out your program and if it doesn't sell it either sucks or it's too expensive (or strangely enough too cheap).
2. Employment. Your boss pays you a wage and if you suck you get the sack.
3. Freelancing. You negotiate a price with the client and receive payment on deliverables.

In every case the client knows how much they are paying and what they are getting for it (much the same you would do if you hired a tradie). Demanding an arbitrary figure after completion, especially from a mate is a bit of a d**k move and it's almost always a bad idea to do business with friends / family. You should have come to some sort of agreement before hand and I think you should write this off as a learning exercise.

Originally Posted by ChristopherLowe

Good friends? A case of beer and a reference you can stick in your CV to demonstrate practical experience.

In my experience there are three ways to earn money coding:

1. Product or service development. Users will try out your program and if it doesn't sell it either sucks or it's too expensive (or strangely enough too cheap).
2. Employment. Your boss pays you a wage and if you suck you get the sack.
3. Freelancing. You negotiate a price with the client and receive payment on deliverables.

In every case the client knows how much they are paying and what they are getting for it (much the same you would do if you hired a tradie). Demanding an arbitrary figure after completion, especially from a mate is a bit of a d**k move and it's almost always a bad idea to do business with friends / family. You should have come to some sort of agreement before hand and I think you should write this off as a learning exercise.

Thanks for the advice.I will give it to him, test it and if he thinks it worths the money then i will ask for a payment(not much).You mentioned employment, in my country the situation is very bad.The local companies struggle to survive and to pay their employees, they are firing everyday.Foreign companies have the advantage to hire the best of best with previous experience.When someone has just finished college how he will have previous experience.(Sorry for bad english)

Originally Posted by Mugambbo

In my country, those who demand such kind of softwares as you've described above wouldn't even want to pay more than 10% of that figure you mentioned. Pricing varies widely just as @copeg mentioned. Anyway, kudos for a job well done! All the best.

Where are you from?So in your country that kind of programs cost no more than 50 euros and also if you can to describe me a program that worths the money i have mentioned above.

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Thanks guys for the advice.I have uploaded images to judge better(i think).

Originally Posted by KevinWorkman

I'm not trying to offend you, but this program looks more like a school assignment than something that somebody would pay for. Like I said, you should have negotiated a price before starting work- asking for money after the fact just seems a bit strange. Especially because programs for modifying database instances already exist, for free.

The situation with employers requiring experience isn't unique to your location. Computer science is a pretty competitive field, and you have to prove that you have enough of an interest to stay updated on whatever changes in technology occur. You might focus on putting together a portfolio of personal projects- maybe you could modify this program to be generic for anybody's use and then release it as an open source project? That might go further from an employer's perspective than charging somebody for a one-off project.

Ok,i wonder if you can guide me to develop a worthy for money application.If there is a link with open source large scale projects.


--- Update ---

I can do more,he asked me develop a simple app to store his clients in db and remind him the MOT date.Can you describe a worth for the money app?

Originally Posted by KevinWorkman

You're really going about this the wrong way. How can we possibly know how much your time is worth?

Let me put it to you this way: if this guy went to a local programming school and put up a flyer saying he would pay somebody a *small* fee to build this application for him, he'd probably get 5 different offers. You're lucky in that he hasn't considered this option yet, but charging him more than a small fee will probably get him thinking about alternatives.

Instead of asking strangers on the internet how much to charge, how about you have an honest conversation with the guy instead of trying to make money? If you have to ask how to create an application worth any money, chances are you aren't quite ready to build an application that's worth money.

Ok mate, lets leave the payment at side i will handle it.Can you suggest me a book or an online tutorial or something else to become better?
I have already the Head First Java 2nd edition and i am studing it.