Scopedbefore it starts
A signed statement of work, with the price agreed before any code is written.
Every engagement runs against a signed SOW that names the deliverables, the timeline and the price in GBP. You know what you are buying before you commit to it, and the number you agreed is the number you pay unless you ask for something that was not in the document.
In practice
What this means
At a glance
What the SOW actually contains
A deliverable list specific enough to argue with — screens, endpoints, integrations, platforms, and what 'done' means for each. A timeline with the milestones we will be measured against. A fixed price in GBP. What you are responsible for providing, such as App Store accounts, API credentials, brand assets or content. And an explicit list of what is out of scope, which is usually the more useful half of the document.
Why not time and materials
Hourly billing puts the risk of a bad estimate entirely on you and gives the supplier no reason to be efficient. Fixed price moves that risk to us, which is the correct place for it: we are the ones who can control it. It also forces the scoping conversation to happen properly at the start, when changing your mind is free, rather than in week seven when it is expensive.
What happens when the scope changes
Scope changes on most projects, and that is not a problem as long as it is visible. When you ask for something outside the SOW we quote it as a variation — a short written amendment with its own price and its own effect on the timeline — and you decide whether to take it. Nothing gets added silently and then invoiced. If a change is small enough that quoting it would cost more than doing it, we absorb it and say so.
Where a fixed price does not fit
Some work genuinely cannot be scoped up front: open-ended research, a system whose behaviour nobody can describe yet, or a rescue job on a codebase we have not read. For those we scope a short paid discovery phase first, deliver the findings as something you own and can take elsewhere, and only then quote the build. We would rather sell you a small piece of honest work than a large piece of guesswork.
Payment and company details
Prices are quoted in GBP. Simnetiq Ltd is registered in England and Wales, company number 16861177, at 2 Frederick Street, Kings Cross, London WC1X 0ND. The company is not currently VAT-registered, so quotes do not carry VAT.
Questions
Common questions
What does a typical project cost?
It depends on the scope, which is the point of the SOW. As a starting reference, web platform work begins around £800, mobile and desktop work around £1,000, and AI or automation pilots around £1,500. Larger builds are quoted individually. Every figure is confirmed in writing before you commit.
How long does a project take?
Most engagements run between two and ten weeks. The SOW names the milestones, so you are not tracking progress by asking how it is going.
What if the project takes longer than you estimated?
The price does not change. A fixed price means the estimating risk is ours. What can move the timeline is a change you requested, or a dependency on your side — credentials, content, an App Store account — that arrives late.
Can I change my mind about a feature partway through?
Yes. We quote it as a written variation with its own price and timeline effect, and you decide. Changes are never added silently and invoiced later.
Do you work on a retainer?
Only against a defined deliverable. We do not sell open-ended monthly retainers with no stated output — ongoing work is scoped the same way project work is.
Do you charge VAT?
No. Simnetiq Ltd is under the VAT threshold and is not currently VAT-registered, so quotes are the amount you pay.
Contact Us
Still have a question?
Ask it before you commit to anything. Briefs and questions are answered within one working day, by the engineer who would do the work.