Getting Started
How Sierra Scopes Custom Software Projects (Free)
Before you pay a dollar, the team walks through your problem, defines what actually needs building, and quotes a fixed price.
Short answer: Sierra's scoping process is a free conversation where the team maps your current setup, identifies the real problem you're solving, sketches what the software needs to do, and delivers a fixed price for the whole project. You don't pay anything until you're confident in the scope and the cost.
Why Most Teams Skip Scoping (and Regret It)
Many software projects explode in cost and timeline because nobody sat down and asked the hard questions first. A team rushes into building, discovers mid-project that the CRM needs to talk to the accounting system (oh, that requires an integration), or learns that the client portal needs to handle invoicing (which wasn't even mentioned). Each surprise becomes a change order, a delay, and a hit to trust.
Sierra starts with a written scope review precisely to avoid this. The goal isn't to win your business on charm—it's to make sure both sides understand the actual work, the actual cost, and the actual outcome before anyone's calendar gets blocked or credit card gets charged.
What Happens During a written scope review
A written scope review typically takes 45 minutes to an hour. The team will ask:
What's broken or slow right now? You walk through the actual pain—data lives in three spreadsheets, you're manually copying client info between systems, or your team is doing the same task five times in five different tools. The team listens for the real friction point.
Who uses it and how? Is this for your internal team, your clients, or both? Do 3 people use it or 300? Do they use it daily or once a month? This shapes the design and the complexity.
What systems exist already? Most mid-market teams have QuickBooks, Stripe, HubSpot, Slack, or a dozen other tools running in parallel. If the new software needs to sync data with these, that's a separate piece of work—and the team needs to know upfront.
What does "done" look like? You describe the outcome you want—clients can submit requests and see status, your team gets notifications in Slack, reporting rolls up into a dashboard. The team sketches the core features and screens.
What's off the table? Explicitly agreeing what *won't* happen prevents scope creep before the contract is signed.
From Call to Fixed Quote
After the call, Sierra's team spends a few days turning the conversation into a scope document. This includes:
A clear description of what the software does and for whom.
The core features and any integrations needed (e.g., "sync new customers from Stripe to the app" or "send form submissions to a Slack channel").
A rough visual sketch of the main screens or flows.
A fixed price, starting at $4,999 for a focused build and starting at $9,999 for connected systems.
A rough timeline (usually 3–6 weeks, depending on complexity).
You review it, ask clarifying questions, and decide whether to move forward. No surprises. No hidden line items. No "we'll figure it out as we go."
Why This Approach Protects You
A fixed price quote only works if the scope is crystal clear. Sierra insists on clarity upfront because it protects both sides. The price and payment terms in the signed agreement control the engagement.
The written scope review also filters bad fits. If you need something the team can't deliver well, they'll say so. If the project is too vague or too large to quote confidently, they'll recommend breaking it into phases. This honesty up front saves everyone time and frustration later.
What Happens If You Want to Change Scope?
Sometimes during the build, you realize you need one more feature or a slightly different flow. The team can discuss it and quote the additional work separately—keeping the original scope intact and the original price firm. You're not locked in; you're just protected from cost surprises.
Next Step
If you're ready to talk through your project, send a written project brief with the team. Bring a clear sense of the problem you're solving and how your team works today. The rest of the conversation will flow from there, and you'll walk away with either a quote or a clear reason why the project isn't the right fit. Either way, you'll know where you stand before anything costs you money.
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