You contact three development studios. You tell them you want to build an app. Two respond with "let's jump on a call to discuss." One responds with a number that's wildly wrong. Nobody gives you what you actually need: a realistic price for what you're actually building.
The problem isn't the studios. It's the brief. A vague brief gets vague quotes. A specific brief gets a number you can put in a budget spreadsheet and plan around.
We've scoped hundreds of projects at LSD Dev Studio. The difference between a client who gets an accurate quote in 48 hours and one who goes through three weeks of discovery calls? The quality of their brief. Every time.
Here's the exact template we give our clients. Use it with us or with any other studio — a good brief works everywhere.
The Project Brief Template
Copy this structure. Fill it in. Send it to any studio or freelancer. You'll get better quotes, faster.
1. One-Sentence Summary
What are you building, in one sentence?
Example: "A mobile app that lets personal trainers manage client workout plans and track progress."
Example: "A web dashboard that aggregates data from 3 marketing platforms into one view."
Example: "A landing page for our SaaS product launch in June."
If you can't describe it in one sentence, your scope isn't clear enough yet. That's OK — but know that any studio will charge you for the discovery time to figure it out.
2. Problem You're Solving
What pain does this product eliminate? Who has the pain?
Example: "Personal trainers currently manage clients through WhatsApp messages and Excel spreadsheets. They lose track of progress, forget to update plans, and can't scale past 15 clients. Our app gives them a structured system to manage 50+ clients without drowning in admin."
This isn't marketing copy. It's context. A developer who understands the problem builds a better product — and gives you a more accurate quote because they know what matters and what doesn't.
3. Target Users
Who uses this? Be specific.
| Question | Your Answer |
|---|---|
| Who is the primary user? | e.g., Personal trainers (freelance, 5–50 clients) |
| Who else uses it? | e.g., Their clients (view-only access to plans) |
| How technical are they? | e.g., Comfortable with apps, not technical |
| What devices do they use? | e.g., iPhone primarily, some Android |
| How many users at launch? | e.g., 20–50 trainers in beta |
| How many users in 12 months? | e.g., 500–1,000 trainers |
4. Features — Prioritised
This is the most important section. List features in three tiers:
Must-Have (MVP — without these, the product doesn't work):
- User authentication (trainers log in, clients get invite links)
- Create and assign workout plans
- Track client progress (weight, reps, sets logged by client)
- Push notifications for upcoming workouts
- Trainer dashboard showing all clients
Should-Have (v1.1 — important but can wait 2–4 weeks after launch):
- Payment collection (trainer charges clients via app)
- In-app messaging between trainer and client
- Progress photos with before/after comparison
- PDF export of workout plans
Nice-to-Have (v2 — defer until product-market fit is confirmed):
- AI-generated workout suggestions
- Wearable integration (Apple Watch, Fitbit)
- Video exercise library
- White-label for gym chains
Why this matters: Studios will quote your Must-Have list. If you dump 30 features into one list with no priority, you'll get a quote for all 30 — and it'll be 3x your budget. Separating tiers shows you've thought about scope and lets the studio give you a realistic MVP number.
5. Design Expectations
| Question | Your Answer |
|---|---|
| Do you have existing designs (Figma, sketches)? | Yes / No / Partial |
| Do you have a brand guide (colours, fonts, logo)? | Yes / No |
| Design level expected? | Template-based / Custom / Premium custom with animations |
| Any apps you like the look of? | e.g., "Clean like Linear, sporty like Nike Training Club" |
Sharing 2–3 reference apps saves hours of back-and-forth. Not for copying — for understanding the level of polish you expect.
6. Technical Constraints
Things you've already decided (or need to be decided):
| Question | Your Answer |
|---|---|
| Platform? | Web / iOS / Android / All |
| Preferred tech stack? | e.g., "No preference" or "Must be React Native" |
| Existing systems to integrate? | e.g., "Stripe for payments, Google Calendar for scheduling" |
| Hosting requirements? | e.g., "No preference" or "Must be AWS for compliance" |
| Data/compliance requirements? | e.g., "HIPAA required" or "GDPR for EU users" or "None" |
If you don't have preferences, say so. A good studio will recommend the right tools for your project. If you do have constraints (your CTO insists on Go, your industry requires HIPAA), state them upfront so the quote reflects reality.
7. Budget Range
Be honest. Even a rough range helps enormously.
"Our budget is $10,000–$15,000 for the MVP."
"We have $5,000 and need the most impactful version possible within that."
"Budget is flexible if the right scope is defined — but we need to know what we're committing to."
Why share this? A studio that knows your budget can scope the right solution. Without a budget, they'll either quote the maximum (hoping you can afford it) or the minimum (cutting corners you'll regret). Giving a range gets you the best version of your product within your means.
8. Timeline
| Question | Your Answer |
|---|---|
| Ideal launch date? | e.g., "August 2026" |
| Hard deadline? | e.g., "Funding demo on Sept 15" or "No hard deadline" |
| Flexible on scope to hit timeline? | Yes / No |
| Rush premium acceptable? | Yes / No |
If you have a hard deadline (demo day, funding milestone, conference), say so. Studios can often hit aggressive timelines by increasing team size or reducing scope — but only if they know about the deadline before they quote.
9. Success Criteria
How do you know this project succeeded?
"50 paying trainers within 3 months of launch."
"Reduce our team's data aggregation time from 4 hours/week to 20 minutes."
"Convert 5% of landing page visitors to waitlist signups."
This tells the studio what to optimise for. A product that needs to convert visitors will be designed differently than one that needs to reduce internal process time.
10. Anything Else
- Links to competitors or similar products
- Previous attempts (what was tried, why it failed)
- Team context (do you have a CTO, designer, or is the studio doing everything?)
- Post-launch expectations (ongoing maintenance, feature additions, support)
What Happens When You Send a Good Brief
| With a vague brief | With this template |
|---|---|
| "Let's schedule a discovery call" | "Here's a quote: $12,000 for the MVP" |
| 2–4 weeks of back-and-forth | 48-hour turnaround on estimate |
| Quotes that range from $5K to $80K | Quotes within 20% of each other |
| Scope creep starts on day 1 | Clear boundaries from the start |
| You have no leverage to negotiate | You can compare quotes apples-to-apples |
Red Flags in Responses
After you send your brief, watch for these in studio responses:
Good signs:
- They ask 2–3 clarifying questions (shows they read it carefully)
- They suggest removing features from your MVP (shows they're protecting your budget)
- They provide a fixed price or tight range (shows confidence in their scoping)
- They share a timeline with phases (shows they have a process)
Bad signs:
- "We need a 2-hour discovery call before we can say anything" (your brief was specific enough — they should be able to estimate)
- They quote every feature including your Nice-to-Have list (they're inflating scope)
- Wildly low quote with no explanation of what's cut (they're buying the deal, not delivering quality)
- No mention of post-launch support (what happens when something breaks?)
Use This Template With LSD Dev Studio
Send your completed brief to hello@launchsupportdevelop.com or fill out our contact form. Here's what happens:
- Within 24 hours — we confirm receipt and ask any clarifying questions
- Within 48 hours — you get a scoped estimate with timeline, price, and what's included
- No obligation — if the numbers don't work, no hard feelings. The brief is yours to send to other studios too.
We give fixed-price quotes tied to defined deliverables. No hourly billing, no "it depends," no surprises mid-project. Your brief is what makes that possible.
More Resources
- How much does a website cost in 2026? — pricing by website type
- How much does a mobile app cost? — pricing by app complexity
- How much does an MVP cost? — full MVP pricing breakdown
- Agency vs Freelancer vs In-House — choosing who to work with
- How to hire a web developer — complete hiring guide
LSD Dev Studio — Launch Support Develop. We build web apps, mobile apps, animated videos, and digital products. Fixed price, defined scope, no surprises. Get in touch.