i have been recently contracted a job of developing an e-permit system for a government system.
the system automates the issuance of clearing permits for for certain goods that periodically come through the apapa and wharf ports.
it is web based php/mysql and can have its database backed up remotely.
i havent discussed price with the clients as i was given the use case and other documemts last xmas and i guess i got carried away and just started coding (i know thats unproffessional ).

considerring that this is a system that will save them hundreds of thousand /millions how much is a good price tagg !!
also considering that the development time cones to 4-6 weeks.
i would realy appreciate you opinions.

Very Interesting. I am suspecting that you should be the best person to answer this question but below are few pointers


Multiply your cost by 10, 100, 1000 bearing in mind their might be some post implementation support
what is the value of the project.
What would a typical software development agency charge
The no of manpower required to implement the project

Hope this helps

@Poster, Are you sure PHP/MySQL can handle all the needs for such a system?

Kobojunkie:

@Poster, Are you sure PHP/MySQL can handle all the needs for such a system?

PHP/MySQL can handle any web project. The combination remains the most widely used development tools for web development in the whole world and comes with very reliable support.

mr.uwaifo:

i have been recently contracted a job of developing an e-permit system for a government system.
the system automates the issuance of clearing permits for for certain goods that periodically come through the apapa and wharf ports.
it is web based php/mysql and can have its database backed up remotely.
i havent discussed price with the clients as i was given the use case and other documemts last xmas and i guess i got carried away and just started coding (i know thats unproffessional  ).

considerring that this is a system that will save them hundreds of thousand /millions how much is a good price tagg !!
also considering that the development time cones to 4-6 weeks.
i would realy appreciate you opinions.

If you are the person handling the project then you should know what to charge.

Companies don't pay you because they like your face, they pay you because you are able to solve a problem they have with your solution and based on your skill set, experience, work rate and quality of work I believe you should charge what you are comfortable with.

If you want just N20,000.00 to handle the project, fine. If N3,000,000.00 makes sense to you, cool/

That makes sense Afam

@Poster, I still believe you need to research more reliable technologies for the project you are looking at working on. I am not familiar with what the project is all about but I would suggest you look into technologies that can better handle the necessary work needed for your application.

Kobojunkie:

@Poster, I still believe you need to research more reliable technologies for the project you are looking at working on. I am not familiar with what the project is all about but I would suggest you look into technologies that can better handle the necessary work needed for your application.

Why don't you advice the poster on the more reliable technologies instead of asking him to research more?

You must not advice people if you have nothing concrete to offer.

Stop discouraging or misleading people with vague advice especially when you don't have any reasonable thing to contribute.

Thanks guys i realy appreciate the responses so far.i s there any web site where cost quoates are being published for outsourcing jobs may be i can use it as a bench mark of comparing.

@Poster : Since it is a government based system, ask for like 30% of the main contractor's total amount on the project as the technical fee. But if u must name a price, 12 Million naira will be good to start with.

Kobojunkie:

@Poster, I still believe you need to research more reliable technologies for the project you are looking at working on. I am not familiar with what the project is all about but I would suggest you look into technologies that can better handle the necessary work needed for your application.

Hmmmmm ! , A word is enough for the wise !.

I once heard a phrase from a pilot in a cartoon, he said "Ladies and gentlemen, i have a good news and a badnews for you. The goodnews is that we will soon be landing but the bad news is that we shall be crash landing"

@Poster, let me refine what i got from that, Try researching more on how to do things properly in your language of choice or better still to avoid crash landing, find a more reliable technology. (The gist is that you can land with any technology but be careful so that u will not crash land.)

dammytosh:

@Poster : Since it is a government based system, ask for like 30% of the main contractor's total amount on the project as the technical fee. But if u must name a price, 12 Million naira will be good to start with.Hmmmmm ! , A word is enough for the wise !.

I once heard a phrase from a pilot in a cartoon, he said "Ladies and gentlemen, i have a good news and a badnews for you. The goodnews is that we will soon be landing but the bad news is that we shall be crash landing"

@Poster, let me refine what i got from that, Try researching more on [b]how to do things properly in your language of choice or better still to avoid crash landing, find a more reliable technology[/b]. (The gist is that you can land with any technology but be careful so that u will not crash land.)

I am glad you see my point. The project sounds like something that needs some heavy duty work to be sure you not only get it, but are held on to even maintain it long after it is "completed" @Poster. You ought to pull out the guns for this. I keep saying that QUALITY should be of great importance to any one in IT. The Higher the quality of your work, the better your chances of growing your business and career

PHP should probably get the job done if they just want a typical boring web app .

But if they want something a little bit more complex and challenging but with a web front end e.g some kind of complex back end processing  it might be better the guy researches into other technologies.

candylips:

PHP should probably get the job done if they just want a typical boring web app .

But if they want something a little bit more complex and challenging but with a web front end e.g some kind of complex back end processing  it might be better the guy researches into other technologies.

PHP is the world's most popular web programming language.

MySQL is the world's most popular web based database application.

PHP/MySQL combination is the world's most popular platform for web based applications.

Very popular applications like Facebook, Yahoo are based on these technologies and they are very busy websites.

If you know of better technologies why don't you state them or point the poster to them?

Talking about researching other technologies (that are unpopular on the web when compared to PHP/MySQL) is not only vague but can only be promoted by people who are not sure of the technologies they are even asking someone to research.

Let us know these technologies some of us want the poster to research more on.

I can't just say he should use .Net or J2EE because i don't have any requirements.

Please don't draw me into a PHP/MYSQL argument.

In setting your price, don't forget that you need the referrals that can come from this. Granted I am not saying you do the project for free, you might want to set the price such that you don't scare them so that if someone else sees it and asks, and you do a good job, they refer you to the person. I assume we are talking government money here so as capitalistic as I am, they probably have a lot to spare.

good luck!

candylips:

I can't just say he should use .Net or J2EE because i don't have any requirements.

Please don't draw me into a PHP/MYSQL argument.

The first statement addressed the issues I raised.

I don't know where the second is coming from neither do I know where it is going to.

Check your previous statement

Hey folks

I think we stressing what is needless here. @poster, please bear two things in mind. Seek professional advice before embarking so as to compare and contrast the price.

Secondly, please for the sake of development, what ever your output may be, make sure it's worth it. Our govt~mental departments get the worst website in the world.

http://nigeriapolice.org
http://www.nysc.gov.ng/
http://nigeria.gov.ng/

etc

My 2~cent