A software partner vs a project agency
A project agency is built to deliver a defined scope and move on. It is good at launches and bad at everything after one, because maintenance was never the deal. A software partner works the other way round: launch begins the responsibility, and the price stays predictable for as long as the software lives. If you need a one-off build and have a team to keep it alive, an agency fits. If you need the software owned over time, you need a partner.
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Side by side.
| tsukumo | A project agency | |
|---|---|---|
| What the deal covers | Building the software and keeping it healthy, month after month | Delivering a fixed scope, then handing it over |
| After launch | We still own the result — bugs, updates, operations | Out of scope; maintenance becomes your problem or a new contract |
| Pricing | One predictable monthly price, from CHF 2,500 | Fixed project fee, then change requests billed one by one |
| Incentive | To keep your software working, because we are still on it | To ship the scope and start the next project |
| What you own | Code, IP and infrastructure, yours from day one | Varies by contract; sometimes gated behind a final payment |
When a project agency is the right call
If you genuinely need a one-off build — a marketing site, a fixed campaign, a prototype — and you have a team ready to maintain whatever ships, a project agency is the leaner choice. You are paying for a deliverable, not a relationship, and that is exactly what an agency is organised to provide.
Straight answers.
- Isn't an agency cheaper for a one-off build?
- For a true one-off with no life after launch, often yes. The cost comparison changes the moment the software has to keep running, because maintenance that was 'out of scope' becomes a recurring bill you did not plan for.
- Can't we just hire the agency again when something breaks?
- You can, but each time starts cold: they relearn the code and quote the change. A partner already knows your software and is responsible for it continuously, so there is no cold start and no per-fix negotiation.
- Do you do launches too?
- Yes — building and launching new software is core to what we do. The difference is that we stay responsible for it afterwards rather than handing it off.
Your software. Our responsibility.
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