Custom Software Development Cost in Bangladesh: Honest Breakdown
Ask five software companies what a Custom system costs in Bangladesh and you will get five wildly different numbers. Some of that is genuine complexity, but much of it is vague quoting. This article breaks down what custom Software actually costs here, line by line, so you can judge any quote you receive.
The Short Answer
| Project Type | Realistic Range (BDT) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Simple tool (one process, few users) | 50,000 to 150,000 | 3 to 6 weeks |
| Standard business system (billing, stock, reports, roles) | 150,000 to 500,000 | 2 to 4 months |
| Multi-branch or ERP-style system | 500,000 to 30 lakh+ | 4 to 12 months |
| Mobile app with backend | 200,000 to 8 lakh | 2 to 5 months |
Anything quoted far below these ranges will cut corners somewhere: skipped testing, no documentation, or a developer who disappears before handover. Anything far above needs itemised justification.
What Actually Drives the Price
Software cost is mostly people-hours. The hours depend on four things:
- Number of screens and modules. Ten screens cost roughly half of twenty. This is the biggest lever; every screen you delete from scope saves real money.
- User roles and permissions. A system where everyone sees everything is cheap. One with owner, manager, counter, and auditor views takes meaningfully longer.
- Integrations. Connecting to payment gateways, SMS providers, Tally, or hardware like barcode printers adds days each. A Tally Prime integration, for example, typically adds BDT 20,000 to 60,000.
- Reports. Simple lists are quick. Complex management dashboards with filters are not. List exactly which reports you need; owners routinely pay for ten reports they never open.
The Full Cost Breakdown Nobody Shows You
A fair quote should account for all of this:
| Component | Share of Budget |
|---|---|
| Design (screens, workflow mapping) | 10 to 15 percent |
| Core development (the actual coding) | 45 to 55 percent |
| Testing and bug fixing | 10 to 15 percent |
| Data migration from your old records | 5 to 15 percent |
| Training your staff | 5 percent |
| Deployment and first-month support | Usually bundled |
If a quote only mentions “development”, ask where the other lines went. Skipping testing and training is the classic way low quotes stay low until problems arrive after go-live.
The Costs That Come After
Budget honesty means planning for year two onward:
- Annual maintenance (AMC): commonly 15 to 25 percent of development cost per year, covering bug fixes, small changes, and support. Our guide explains exactly what an AMC should include: software-support-contract.
- Hosting: BDT 15,000 to 100,000 per year depending on whether the system runs on a local office PC or cloud servers.
- New features: expect change requests once staff use the real system. Keep a yearly budget of roughly 10 percent for improvements.
- Licenses: some technology components carry their own fees. Ask which parts of your stack are free and open source.
How Payment Should Be Structured
Milestone payments protect both sides. A healthy pattern:
- 30 percent on signing and scope approval
- 40 percent on demo of working modules
- 30 percent at final delivery, when you receive source code, database access, and documentation
Never pay large sums against promises. And hold the final payment until you have personally tested the system against the agreed scope document. More detail on vetting the company itself is in our partner-selection guide: choose-it-partner-bd.
Ways to Reduce Cost Without Regretting It
There is smart saving and foolish saving. Smart looks like this:
- Phase the project. Build the painful module first, add the rest next year. You also spread cash flow.
- Buy where standard works. Accounting does not need custom code; Tally already exists. Spend custom budget only on workflows unique to your business. Our business automation overview helps separate these: business-automation-software-bd.
- Trim screens ruthlessly. Most systems live happily with fewer pages than the first wishlist claims.
Foolish saving looks like hiring the cheapest quote with no contract, no testing phase, and no support terms. That path costs double when the rewrite comes.
FAQ
Why do quotes vary so much for the same project?
Different assumptions about scope, quality, and hidden extras. Force each bidder to price the same written scope document, then compare apples to apples.
Is a fixed-price contract better than hourly?
For well-defined scopes, fixed price protects you. For evolving projects, milestone-based pricing per phase works better. Avoid pure open-ended hourly billing unless you control the scope tightly.
Do I own the software I pay for?
You should. On full payment you should receive source code, database credentials, and deployment rights. Put ownership in writing before starting.
How much should data migration cost?
Depends entirely on how clean your old records are. Migrating tidy Excel files is cheap; reconstructing from paper registers is expensive. Ask bidders to inspect samples before quoting this line.
What happens if I skip maintenance?
The software keeps running but bugs go unfixed, security updates stop, and small changes pile up until the system no longer fits your business. Then you pay far more for a rebuild.
Want a transparent, itemised quote for your project? Contact Proper Way Solution for a free consultation and honest cost breakdown.
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