When to Stop Paying per Seat
How to run the break-even between per-seat software and a custom build.
The answers to these ten questions tell you more than any portfolio. Ask them of every firm you talk to, including us. For each one, here is what a good answer sounds like and how True Cedar answers it.
Updated September 2026 · Stephen Backholm, Founder
Good answer: named, experienced people, and a clear account of who is accountable from start to finish. Ours: all the work is done by the True Cedar team and completed by US-based resources. We do not outsource any of the work, and Stephen Backholm, the founder, is personally involved in every engagement and sees it through to completion and delivery.
Good answer: a clear basis for the price and a clear account of what happens if the work takes longer. Ours: a fixed price for each statement of work, so the risk of the work taking longer is ours rather than yours.
Good answer: specific inclusions and exclusions in writing, before you commit. Vague scope is where budgets go to die. Ours: the statement of work sets out what is being delivered, and the pricing page shows what each tier includes and excludes.
Good answer: a real date and a real consequence. Ours: every statement of work names a delivery date, and late delivery carries monetary penalties on terms set out in the statement of work.
Good answer: frequently, and working rather than described. Ours: typically twice a week, so you never have to ask where the project stands.
True Cedar figures and commitments here are examples to help you plan, not a quote, an offer, or a contract. Every engagement is governed by its own written statement of work and agreement.
Good answer: you do, stated plainly and in the contract. Ours: you own the source code, the data, and the infrastructure accounts, with the code in a repository you control. See who owns the code for what to check.
Good answer: changes are priced and approved before work starts, never discovered on an invoice. Ours: anything outside the statement of work is quoted as a fixed-fee change order and does not start until you approve it.
Good answer: a specific account of where AI speeds things up and who checks the result. Ours: AI compresses implementation work such as scaffolding, forms, and integration glue. Experienced engineers make the architecture, data modeling, and security decisions, and direct and review the work.
Good answer: specifics about sign-in, access control, and encryption, and compliance requirements scoped explicitly rather than assumed. Ours: security is designed in from the start, and compliance scope such as HIPAA or GLBA is scoped in the statement of work before anything is built.
Good answer: a realistic annual figure, not silence. Ours: budget roughly 5 to 20 percent of the build cost each year for maintenance, plus hosting.
True Cedar figures and commitments here are examples to help you plan, not a quote, an offer, or a contract. Every engagement is governed by its own written statement of work and agreement.
None of these automatically disqualifies a firm, but each one is worth a follow-up question before you sign anything.
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Book a thirty-minute call and ask every question on this page. We will answer each one plainly.