Quick answer
The cheapest and most expensive proposals may be describing different products. Put them side by side against the same brief. Check what each includes for discovery, design, development, migration, testing, launch and support. Mark every feature as included, optional or excluded.
Practical scope
Ask how changes will be approved and charged. Review the milestone plan and what you will receive at each stage. Clarify ownership and access to the domain, hosting, code, design files and data. Request a demonstration of comparable work, plus the names or roles of the people who will deliver your project.
Pay attention to assumptions: “content supplied by client” and “third-party integration excluded” can materially change the final cost. Choose a proposal you understand and can verify, rather than relying on a headline price or a long list of technologies.
What to define before requesting proposals
- Included, optional and excluded requirements
- Assumptions, dependencies and client responsibilities
- Milestones, acceptance tests and payment points
- Ownership, warranty, support and recurring cost
Questions to ask service providers
- Who will deliver the work and what comparable work exists?
- How are changes approved, estimated and charged?
- What access and files are handed over at completion?
How to assess the answers
Normalise proposals against one scope before comparing price. The best proposal is understandable, testable and explicit about assumptions and ownership.
Compare one complete scenario
Use a fictional booking-and-payment journey or another scenario relevant to your project. Ask each vendor to explain customer steps, staff steps, failed payments, changed bookings and support responsibilities. A tick beside “payment” or “booking” is not enough to show equivalent scope.
Require a written comparison
- Deliverable and acceptance check for each essential feature.
- Assumptions, client responsibilities and exclusions.
- One-off costs, recurring charges and change approval.
- Handover access, training and post-launch support.
What if a proposal is unclear?
Request a clarification against the same brief before accepting it. Record the answer in the agreed scope rather than relying on a verbal promise or a feature list.
Development quotation comparison grid
Copy these items into your brief, adapt the requirements and assign an owner and status. Examples illustrate planning decisions, not customer case studies. Fill cost fields with HKD quotations you obtain and state the billing period.
| Decision / item | Information to provide | Acceptance / comparison check |
|---|---|---|
| Essential deliverable | Write the same requirement for every provider | Record included, optional or excluded for each quote |
| Price and assumptions | One-off HKD, recurring HKD, billing periods and dependencies | Separate estimates from fixed prices and clarify exclusions |
| Ownership and acceptance | Files, accounts, data, milestones and checks | Each provider supplies written acceptance and handover terms |
| Fictional booking scenario | Last place, late payment and staff cancellation | Ask all providers to explain the same exception journeys |
Download the editable worksheet (CSV)