Proposal Check

Before you sign the next agency proposal.

An agency proposal for your app is on the table, and you have no technical reviewer in-house who can judge the effort and approach. The Second Opinion reviews the proposal line item by line item, before you sign.

For app owners without a technical reviewer in-house

You own the app budget, but development sits entirely with an agency. And a proposal for several tens of thousands of euros is on the table, one that feels expensive without you being able to say why. The Second Opinion is an independent technical review, not competition for your agency: the goal is a healthier collaboration with them, not a competing bid.

Step 1

Context call

I go through the proposal, the app's context, and the history of the collaboration with the agency, and clarify what you actually want to achieve.

Step 2

The proposal, item by item

I translate every line item into concrete work packages and check the person-day estimates against experience from numerous app projects.

Step 3 · Plus

Claims checked against the code

In the Plus tier, I check the justifications behind the big line items: does it really need to be rebuilt, is there really no other way? And conversely: are suspiciously low line items realistic, or will the agency recoup the money later through change requests?

Step 4

Red flags & alternative approaches

I flag padded estimates, vague line items, missing acceptance criteria, and vendor lock-in risks. And I sketch alternative approaches wherever the effort can be reduced.

Step 5

Review report & walkthrough

I deliberately phrase the negotiating points as questions for the agency, so you can raise them without escalating. Plus a walkthrough to prepare you for the conversation with the agency.

What you get

Review report: effort plausibility, item by item
Red flags and concrete negotiating points
Alternative approaches wherever effort can be reduced
Flagged in the Basic report: which findings only become negotiation-ready with code access
60-minute walkthrough to prepare for the agency conversation

The report is a technical assessment, not legal advice on contract clauses.

Basic or Plus: do I need the code access?

Often Basic is enough: it exposes padded estimates and vague line items without anyone needing to look at the code. The code access in the Plus tier pays off when the agency justifies big line items with claims about the code, like "needs to be rebuilt" or "there's no other way." Without code access, they can counter any criticism with "you don't know our codebase"; with code access, your judgment holds up. You don't need to decide upfront: the Basic report flags which findings only become negotiation-ready with code access. That's the trigger to upgrade to Plus for the price difference.

The details

Basic: €1,490 excl. VAT. Expert assessment of the proposal against experience, with concrete negotiating questions (proposal PDF + context call).
Plus: €2,490 excl. VAT. Additionally checked against the actual code: a negotiation-ready judgment that verifies the premises behind big line items and identifies suspiciously low line items as change-request traps.
Upgrade: +€1,000. Upgrading from Basic to Plus for the price difference, if the Basic report suggests code access is worthwhile.
Time investment: 1–2 days
What I need: The agency's proposal as a PDF, plus read-only access to the repository for the Plus tier.
Booking: Book a slot online — the first appointment is also the project start. A formal proposal is available in advance on request; payment by invoice.

Book the Second Opinion

Not sure it's a fit? Start with a free 15-minute call: Book an intro call ↗