Quick summary for busy business owners.
- Bugs in my delivered work are covered by a three-month warranty.
- New features and changes are quoted before work begins; you choose whether to proceed.
- There is no monthly support retainer, although hosting and other third-party services have their own recurring costs.
A prospective client recently asked me a series of questions before hiring me to develop a CRM. That is normal. Before you hire someone to build a website, mobile app or management system, you should clear up any doubts you have.
One question was:
“Do you have a monthly or yearly retainer fee for technical support?”
As we talked, I realised what he had in mind. I would charge a fixed amount each month. Whenever he asked for a bug fix, a new feature or another change, I would do it. Some months he might ask for nothing; other months, something major. Deal?
My answer was no. Let me explain why.
Why an “everything included” retainer can get messy
There was a time when I charged a retainer fee. I also knew other service providers who used similar arrangements. One problem I noticed was how an open-ended promise could create the wrong incentives when the scope was not clearly defined.
Imagine a client pays a fixed amount each month. In month one, there are only minor tasks. The client may feel they have paid for very little work. In month two, a major request arrives. If the work is worth far more than one month’s fee, the provider may be tempted to stretch its delivery over several billing periods or argue that it falls outside the agreement.
That is a hypothetical example, not a claim that every provider behaves this way. A clearly scoped retainer with defined response times and services can be useful for a business that needs ongoing, reserved support. But I do not want an ambiguous “anything, big or small” promise to become a source of arguments about what is included or when it will be done.
I would rather agree on the work and its price openly.
How I support a CRM after launch
After the main project is completed and the final project payment is made, I do not charge a standing monthly support fee. Here is how the arrangement works in practice:
- Quiet month: The system runs smoothly and you do not ask me to work. You do not pay me a support retainer.
- Bug within the warranty: If a defect in the work I delivered is found during my three-month bug warranty, you tell me and I fix it without an additional development charge.
- New feature or change: You send me the list of changes you want. I review it and quote the cost. You decide whether to approve it. I proceed only after we agree.
This is how I have supported Singapore SMEs and companies for many years. Some clients still get in touch long after their original project to discuss an add-on or a change. They are welcome to ask technical questions and talk through ideas without signing up to a monthly support plan.
The principle is simple: if you do not ask me to do development work, you do not pay me a development support fee. If you do need work, we agree on what it involves and what it costs first. There is no reason for me to make a one-week job take two months merely to fit a recurring payment arrangement.
What about hosting and later repairs?
A CRM still needs a server or hosting service, and those third-party costs are separate from my development fees. Some external services may also have their own subscriptions.
A request made after the warranty period may need investigation before we can tell whether it is an original defect, a change in the environment or a new requirement. We discuss the issue and any chargeable work before proceeding. A new feature is not the same thing as fixing a bug in work I delivered.
When you are comparing proposals, ask every developer what their warranty covers, what counts as a change request, who handles hosting and what response time they can commit to. I cover related questions in my guide to hiring a software developer in Singapore.
Why I choose ad-hoc support
To me, this is a practical way to keep the relationship fair. The client is free to decide when a change is worth paying for. I am paid for clearly agreed work. Neither of us has to maintain a monthly arrangement just in case something comes up.
As I often tell clients: “You don’t ask me to work, you don’t pay.”
If you are considering a custom system, see how I built a CRM for a Singapore curtains and blinds business, or explore my custom CRM development service. If you would like to discuss how support would work for your project, get in touch.
