Bespoke Estimates

The purpose of this document is to help you to define what your requirements are, so we can quickly and efficiently supply an accurate quotation of the cost of developing a computer system that meets your specific needs. The majority of potential clients requiring a quotation do not supply sufficient information to allow accurate pricing, the following list of topics should be considered when requesting an estimate-

DATA STORAGE INFORMATION:
Describe in as much detail as possible what information you want the new system to store, for example if you want to store information about your customers, you might want details such as Name, Address, Unique customer number, contact numbers. Describe how you will want to manipulate this data, you might want to print a list of entries associated with a project, or print a list of customers showing their turnover within a given date range, or showing one customers turnover as a percentage of your total turnover. If you have any table definitions from your existing system, please provide these with an explanation of any shortcomings.


GENERAL SYSTEM INFORMATION:
Tell us about yourself and your contact details, where you are located etc.
Describe your existing system (database, spreadsheet, pen and paper)
What are the main problems with your current system.
Describe you PC specification. For example a Pentium 266 with 32 megabytes of RAM.
Your PC's operating system. For example Windows 98, 2000 or XP.
Will the new system be for a stand alone PC or networked, if networked then how many people will use it in total, and how many are likely to use it at any one time.
How many records are likely to be added on a daily or weekly basis.
What security arrangements would you like. Do you require that some users are restricted from viewing certain information, or perhaps restrict who can alter existing records.
Will you require a context sensitive help file or documentation for the new system.
Will you require any training or support for the new system.
What are your plans for future maintenance of the system.
Describe your backup system (tape streamer, floppy disks, CD writer etc)
What in-house expertise or user experience is available.

Please don't be tempted to ask for everything, for example a context sensitive help file can be a time consuming and therefore expensive part of the system to develop. If you have several members of staff using the system or a high turnover of inexperienced users, a help file might be essential. However if only one person uses the system and understands all the features, you probably won't require a help file.