How we will work together

From first discussion to ongoing development

1. Initial discussion: free. Start with a written discussion in English, or a 30-⁠40 minute call in Russian. We discuss your situation and the result you need. I clarify the details, suggest an approach and give an initial cost estimate. If custom development is not worthwhile or the task falls outside my expertise, I say so.

2. Discovery: 5-⁠10 business days, from $2,500. I review your processes, data and existing systems, and gather input from the people who will use the software. You receive a written preliminary plan covering the problem and constraints, first-version scope, next steps, estimated timeline and cost, and main risks. Where useful, I add a high-level diagram or test a technical assumption with an illustrative prototype using your data. This helps you decide whether to proceed; it is not a detailed specification or a finished prototype. Detailed design is agreed separately. If development starts within one month after discovery is completed, I credit the discovery fee toward the first working version.

If the task is already clear enough, we can agree on the first version without a separate discovery phase.

3. First working version: 3-⁠6 weeks, from $10,000. I build and launch a system that employees or customers can use in their daily work. Each week, I share completed work and a written progress update so you can see results and adjust priorities.

4. Support and ongoing development: from $3,000 per month. I improve the live system, add features and integrations, and help resolve technical problems. The contract defines the tasks, scope or hours package, availability and incident response arrangements. Larger additions are quoted separately.

These starting prices apply to general automation and web services. For larger projects, we agree on phases of 3-⁠6 weeks, each with its own deliverable, deadline and budget. You can stop after any phase. Cost depends on scope, integrations, data quality, load and system requirements. I quote complex projects in separate phases after reviewing the task.

Payment terms

• Discovery is paid in full before work starts.
• The first working version has two payments: 50% before work starts and 50% before final handover.
• Each phase of a larger project is paid separately on the same 50/50 basis. For longer engagements, we can agree on monthly advance payments.
• Support and ongoing development are paid monthly in advance.

The contract sets out either the deliverable and price for a phase or an agreed scope of hourly work. Hours packages and billing for actual work within a preliminary estimate are also possible. We agree on the format and budget in advance.

Contracts and documentation

Work starts after we sign a contract. It describes the task, users, data and systems, scope boundaries, timeline, cost and acceptance process. If needed, we sign an NDA before you share data or give me access to it.

Before work begins, we agree on the documents and formats your accounting and procurement teams need. We can handle this in writing in English; live calls are in Russian.

Acceptance and bug fixes

We check the completed work against the criteria in the contract. After handover:

• You have 5 business days to review and accept the work.
• We spend two weeks jointly debugging the system. I remain available and promptly fix problems that prevent you from using it.
• For up to 30 days, I fix reproducible bugs in the agreed functionality at no extra charge.

The warranty does not cover new features, changes to external APIs, issues caused by third-party code changes or increased load. That work requires a separate estimate.

Code ownership and access

• From day one, I keep the code in your repository. Services and accounts are registered to you.
• You grant access to your systems and revoke it when the work is complete.
• If data must stay inside your company, I work within your infrastructure. I choose tools, including language models, to respect that constraint.
• At handover, I provide documentation and instructions for running and restoring the system so another team can continue the work.

What I handle personally

I analyze the task, design the architecture and write the core code myself. I take on no more than two projects at a time, including ongoing technical partnerships, so I can stay attentive to details and respond promptly. If the project needs a designer, I can bring in colleagues I have worked with before and take responsibility for their work. I remain your point of contact.

Native mobile app development, formal information security audits and legal opinions are outside my expertise. A formal security audit or certification calls for an appropriately qualified specialist organization, with applicable authorization where required. Legal documents and the legal basis for data processing require legal expertise. My role is to design and implement the technical requirements.

What to send to get started

Send a task description, specification and any materials you already have: sample documents, data exports, links to systems or a prototype. If none of these exist yet, a few sentences about your current situation, the problem and the result you want are enough. I will respond within one business day. We can clarify the details in writing in English, or on a call in Russian, and decide what needs further investigation.