It's extremely difficult to estimate the amount of work a software project is going to take. If you're working with an experienced developer, and have a good s

It's extremely difficult to estimate the amount of work a software project is going to take. If you're working with an experienced developer, and have a good specification of the software you're building, they will probably be able to give you a ballpark estimate. No matter how good the ballpark estimate is, it won't be right on, either in terms of time or money. Every piece of software you build is, by it's nature, unique. If it wasn't, you'd just license the existing software.