The Next BeaconYou do not need a specification document to talk to a studio. But a little preparation makes the first call far more useful, and it is the difference between a vague range and an estimate you can plan with. Here is what we find helps most, in order of importance.
1. Who is it for, and what problem does it solve?
One or two sentences. "Parents who struggle to get the kids to help at home." "Salon owners who lose money on no-shows." Everything else follows from this, including what to leave out.
2. What should someone be able to do in the first version?
List the three to five things a user must be able to do for the product to be worth launching. Not every feature you can imagine: the ones without which it is pointless. A short list here is the single biggest lever on cost and time.
3. Who uses it, and how?
Customers, staff, admins? On a phone, on a computer, or both? Does someone need a back office to manage things? Each type of user is a part of the product.
4. Anything that has to connect to something else
Payments, a booking calendar, an existing website, a stock system, a CRM. Name them, even if you are not sure how they work.
5. Examples you like (and do not like)
Apps or sites that feel right to you, and why. This is worth more than a long description of the look you have in mind.
6. Timing and budget
Is there a date that matters, like a season, an event or a funding round? And a budget range, even a rough one. Sharing a budget does not mean we will spend all of it; it lets us suggest what fits inside it rather than designing something you cannot afford.
7. What already exists
Designs, an old app, a website, accounts with Apple or Google, a domain. Also what has been tried before and why it did not work.
Use the template
We turned this into a one-page app project brief template you can fill in. For a first sense of cost, try the estimator or read what an app costs in 2026.
Then just send it to us. A rough brief is fine; working it out together is part of the job.