Pricing
One fixed number. Then you own it.
We build custom software for BC and Canadian organizations and hand over the source code. Most builds land between $15,000 and $60,000 CAD, and larger systems are quoted on scope. Every one is quoted as a single fixed number, agreed before any code is written and billed by milestone. No timesheet billing. No subscription. No retainer you forget to cancel.
- $15K to $60K
- Most builds, by scope
- $0
- Subscription fees
- 2 yr
- Financing option
- 100%
- Code and IP to you
What you hold at the end.
- Source code
- Yours
- Data
- Yours
- Hosting accounts
- Yours
- Per-seat fees
- $0
- Renewal cycle
- None
- Mandatory retainer
- None
Handover includes the full codebase, the hosting credentials, and documentation written so any competent engineer can pick it up without calling us.
Inside the range
Six things decide where your quote lands.
A single automation that removes a recurring manual job sits at the bottom of the range. A system that replaces four subscriptions and runs your operation sits in the middle. Multi-department and enterprise work goes to the top. These are the variables that decide which one you are.
How many people touch it
A tool for three dispatchers is a different build than one for sixty field staff across four roles with different permissions.
How many systems it talks to
Every integration is real work. Accounting, payments, payroll, mapping, a supplier feed. One or two is routine. Eight is a project of its own.
What has to come across
Moving ten years of records out of a tool that does not want to let go of them costs more than starting clean. We look at the export before we quote.
What it has to comply with
Public bodies and regulated work carry accessibility, records, and residency requirements. We build to WCAG 2.1 AA as standard, and the rest is scoped explicitly.
What happens when it is down
A reporting dashboard and a system your crews cannot dispatch without are priced differently, because they are engineered differently.
How settled the process is
If you can describe how the work runs today, we can build it. If it is still being invented, we scope a smaller first piece rather than quote a guess.
How you pay
Two ways to fund the same build.
The engineering does not change. Only the way the cost is carried does.
Buy it outright
Milestone billed, fixed quote
One number agreed before kickoff, billed against milestones you sign off as they land. Nothing is due for work that has not shipped. At final payment the code, the data, and the accounts are in your name.
- Fixed quote, not a range and not an estimate
- Work outside the agreed scope quoted separately, in writing, before it starts
- Full source and IP transfer at handover
- Nothing invoiced for work that has not shipped
Finance it over two years
Then the payments stop
We size the monthly payment to roughly match what you already spend on the subscriptions the build replaces. Your software cost stays flat for two years instead of climbing. Then it goes to zero, and you own the thing.
- Monthly cost roughly matches today's SaaS bill
- Two-year term, then ownership transfers
- No renewal, no price increase at the end of it
- Same build, same handover, same documentation
After handover
There is no monthly retainer.
A support subscription is just a smaller version of the thing you are trying to get out of. So we do not sell one. Here is the whole model.
Take the code and owe us nothing
You have the source, the accounts, and the documentation. Run it in house, hand it to your own developer, or hire anyone you like. This is a genuine option, not a line we put here to look confident. If you never call us again, the system keeps running.
Keep us on, quoted per request, triaged by severity
No hourly rate. Each piece of work after handover is quoted as its own fixed price, in writing, before it starts, with the response terms agreed before handover rather than invented after something breaks. Work is triaged:
- Critical. The business cannot operate.
- Now
- Degraded. It works, but badly.
- Same week
- Simple change or new feature.
- Next available week
We publish the model rather than a price, because a price quoted before we know what we are supporting is a number neither of us should trust.
Switching cost
The switch is scoped into the build.
The real reason businesses stay on software they dislike is not price. It is the fear of the switch. So we take that side of it.
Migration of your existing data is scoped and priced as part of the build, not discovered later, and the time we need from your team is agreed up front. We move the data, we check it against the old system, and we plan the cutover around your calendar rather than ours.
How a build actually runsThe number on the proposal is the number you pay. If we got the estimate wrong, that is our problem, not your next invoice.
Before you commit money
Check that we are a real company first.
Every figure below is a bound policy or a registry number you can look up without asking us for anything.
- Commercial general liability
- $5,000,000
- Professional liability (E&O)
- $2,000,000
- Cyber liability
- $2,000,000
- WorkSafeBC account
- 201966367
Bound and in force.
Bound and in force.
Bound and in force.
Active. Clearance letter on request.
- Federal corporation (CBCA)
- 1730441-2
- BC extraprovincial registration
- A0142791
- Business number
- 771523834 RC0001
- Ownership
- Canadian
BlueStone AI Inc. Searchable on the Corporations Canada registry.
Registered to carry on business in British Columbia.
Canada Revenue Agency.
Canadian-owned small business.
Certificates of insurance and a WorkSafeBC clearance letter are issued on request, usually the same day.
The full supplier record — legal name, federal and BC registry numbers, government pre-qualifications, and the standards every build is held to — is on company facts. Public bodies pricing work on an existing system should start with a fixed-price condition assessment rather than from the ranges above, because the scope of a remediation is the thing the assessment exists to establish.
Pricing questions
The things people ask before they ask for a quote.
Why do you not publish a price list?
Because a price list for custom software is either fiction or a bait number. What we do publish is the honest range, most builds land between $15,000 and $60,000 CAD, the six things that move a quote within it, and the fact that every engagement is quoted as one fixed number before any code is written. Larger systems are quoted on scope. You get your number after a free teardown, in writing.
Why fixed price instead of hourly?
Hourly billing pays the builder to take longer. Fixed price pays the builder to ship the right thing. We do the scoping work up front, which is why every engagement starts with a free teardown, and then the number on the proposal is the number you pay. If we underestimated, that is our problem. Work outside the agreed scope is quoted separately, in writing, before it starts. Nothing inside the agreed scope is ever re-billed.
What does support cost after handover?
There is no flat monthly retainer and no hourly rate. You can take the code and owe nothing, which is a real option and not a threat. If you want us on call, each piece of work after handover is quoted as its own fixed price, in writing, before it starts, and the response terms are agreed before handover. Work is triaged by severity: something critical gets picked up immediately, and a simple change goes into the next available week.
Can I pay for it monthly instead of up front?
Yes. We can structure the build so the monthly payment roughly matches what you already spend on the subscriptions it replaces, spread over two years. Your software cost does not go up while you are paying it off. At the end of the two years you own it outright and the payments stop.
How disruptive is the switch for my team?
Migration of your existing data is scoped and priced as part of the build, not discovered later, and the time we need from your team is agreed up front. We move the data and check it against the old system. Cutover is planned around your calendar, not ours.
Do you take equity instead of cash?
No. We quote one fixed price per project and invoice it by milestone. That is the whole arrangement: you own the result and owe us nothing afterwards.
What happens if we stop working together?
Nothing breaks. You already hold the source code, the data, and the hosting accounts, and the documentation is written so another engineer can pick it up cold. That is the difference between owning software and renting it. Leaving is a decision, not an extraction project.
No pitch. Reply in one business day.
Get your actual number.
Tell us how your business runs and what you currently pay for, and you get a written breakdown back: what we would build, the fixed quote, the timeline, and which of your existing tools we think you should keep.
Before you ask for a quote
- EconomicsWhat Custom Software Actually Costs in Canada (2026)In Canada in 2026, most custom builds land between $15,000 and $60,000 CAD, as one fixed price agreed before work starts. A focused internal tool is roughly $15,000 to $30,000. A full custom build is roughly $30,000 to $60,000, and larger systems are quoted on scope. Four things move the number more than anything else: scope, integrations, who has to be able to use it, and how the price is structured.Read the note
- EconomicsWhat an Internal Tool Should Cost in 2026Honest cost ranges for custom internal tools in 2026, by complexity, with real timelines and no hand-waving. What you should expect to pay, and how to spot a quote that's wrong.Read the note
- OwnershipWhat Happens After Custom Software Launches, and What Maintenance Really CostsYou own the software, so you decide who maintains it: handle it in-house, or keep an optional support relationship with whoever built it, each piece of work quoted in writing before it starts. There is no monthly fee holding it hostage, because a build you own keeps running on your hosting either way. Five things need attention after launch, and only two of them are unpredictable.Read the note