Frequently asked questions
If your question is not here, contact us and an engineer will answer it.
Working with us
- Where are you based and who do you work with?
- We are headquartered in Islamabad, Pakistan and work with companies in Europe, the Middle East and North America. All work is done in English, in your time zone, with weekly demos.
- Who will actually do the work?
- Senior engineers. The founder scopes, quotes and reviews every project and does the hardware, firmware and embedded OS work in person; specialists are added per project under our management for apps, front ends, design and ML.
- Who owns the code and the design files?
- You do. Source code, KiCad or Altium projects, documentation and IP transfer to you on payment of each milestone. Apps are published under your own store accounts.
- Do you sign NDAs?
- Yes, before you share anything confidential. We can sign yours or provide ours.
- How fast do you reply, and how fast can you start?
- An engineer replies within one working day. Small jobs usually start within a day or two of agreeing scope; larger projects start on receipt of the deposit.
- Can you work inside our existing repo, tools and process?
- Yes. We follow your branching, review and ticketing process and hand back clean, documented changes.
- What happens after launch?
- Maintenance plans with an agreed response time cover bug fixes, security and OS updates and small changes. Fleets of devices can be managed through our remote device-management service.
- Can you ship hardware to us, or do we ship to you?
- Both. For board bring-up we usually work on a unit you ship to us, or over remote access to a unit on your bench. Prototype boards we design can be ordered from the fab directly to your address.
Pricing and payment
- Why are your prices lower than Western agencies?
- We are headquartered in Islamabad, where senior engineering costs a fraction of what it does in the US or EU, and we run a small senior team with no sales overhead. You get the same quality of work, the same ownership of code and files, and a written quote before anything starts.
- Why not publish a full price list?
- Because engineering work is quoted on scope, not on a menu. What we do publish is our hourly rate, fixed starter prices, and the budget brackets most projects fall into, so you can tell quickly whether we are a fit.
- What is included in a fixed price?
- Everything in the written scope, weekly demos, the source code and design files, documentation and a 30-day warranty after acceptance. Third-party costs such as PCB fabrication, components, cloud hosting and app-store accounts are paid by you directly.
- What happens if the scope changes?
- We quote the change before starting it. Nothing is added to an invoice that you did not approve in writing.
- Can we stop part-way?
- Yes, at any milestone. You pay for completed work and keep everything delivered so far. Unused deposit for work not started is refunded.
- How do we pay?
- Card via secure checkout, bank transfer in USD, EUR or GBP, Payoneer, or Upwork escrow if your procurement prefers a platform. Invoices are issued for every payment.
- Do you offer a discount for long engagements?
- Yes. Dedicated engineers booked for three months or longer are priced below the hourly rate. Ask on the scoping call.
Hardware & PCB Design
- Do I get the source files?
- Yes. You receive the full KiCad or Altium project, not just Gerbers. The design is yours once the final invoice is paid.
- Can you order the boards for us?
- We prepare everything for assembly and can place the order with the fab on your behalf if you prefer.
- Do you sign NDAs?
- Yes, before you send anything confidential.
Embedded Firmware
- Can you work on hardware someone else designed?
- Yes. Send the schematic and we will quote the firmware for your existing board.
- Do you need a physical device?
- Usually one or two units. We can start on a development kit while they ship.
Embedded Linux & Android
- Which chipsets do you work with?
- Qualcomm in production. We also take on Rockchip, MediaTek, NXP i.MX and Raspberry Pi based boards.
- Can you help with certification?
- Yes. We have fixed CTS, VTS and GTS failures and integrated GMS on shipping devices.
Software & Backend
- Can you take over an existing codebase?
- Yes. We start with a short paid review so we can quote the work accurately.
- Where does it get deployed?
- On your own accounts or servers, so you keep full control.
Web Apps
- Can you move my site off WordPress or WooCommerce?
- Yes. We have migrated a full WooCommerce catalogue to a headless store without losing data.
- Do you offer maintenance?
- Yes, on a monthly plan after launch. It is optional.
Android Apps
- Will the app be under my name on Google Play?
- Yes. It is published from your developer account, so the listing belongs to you.
- Do you support tablets and kiosks?
- Yes, including single-purpose devices locked to one app.
iOS Apps
- Do I need a Mac or an Apple developer account?
- You need an Apple developer account ($99 a year) so the app is published under your name. You don't need a Mac.
- How long does App Store review take?
- Usually one to three days. We prepare the listing to avoid common rejections.
Flutter Apps
- Flutter or native?
- Flutter costs less for two platforms. Native is better for heavy Bluetooth, AR or platform-specific UI. We will tell you which suits your app.
- Can Flutter apps run on the web too?
- Yes, for many apps. We will tell you if yours is a good candidate.
AI Chatbots & Voice Agents
- Do you build on hosted models or run our own?
- Either. Hosted APIs are fastest to launch; self-hosted open-weight models suit strict data-privacy needs. We recommend one after reviewing your requirements.
- What data do you need for fine-tuning?
- Real examples of good conversations, typically a few hundred to a few thousand. We help you collect, clean and label them.
- How do you keep the bot from making things up?
- Answers are grounded in your documents, we test against an evaluation set before launch, and the bot escalates to a person when it is unsure.
Machine Learning Projects
- How much data do we need?
- It depends on the task. We start with a feasibility study on the data you have and tell you honestly whether it is enough.
- Can the model run on our device instead of the cloud?
- Yes. We quantise and export models for edge hardware such as Jetson, Raspberry Pi, Android and microcontrollers, and we write the firmware side too.
- How do we know the model actually works?
- You get a report with results on a held-out test set that was never used in training, plus failure cases, not just a single accuracy number.
Engineering Support & Team Extension
- Is there a minimum job size?
- No. If it takes two hours, you pay for two hours.
- Can you work inside our existing repo and process?
- Yes. We follow your branching, review and ticketing process and hand back clean, documented changes.
- How fast can you start?
- Small jobs usually start within a day or two of agreeing the scope.
End-to-End Product Development
- Do I have to commit to the whole project up front?
- No. Each phase has its own fixed quote. You approve one phase at a time.
- What does maintenance include?
- Bug fixes, security and OS updates, small feature changes and monitoring, billed as a fixed monthly plan sized to your product.
- Who owns the result?
- You do. Source code, design files and documentation are handed over at each milestone.
Remote Device Management (MDM)
- Which devices are supported?
- Android phones, tablets and kiosks, and embedded Linux devices. For custom hardware we add a small agent to your firmware or OS image.
- How is it priced?
- A setup fee plus a monthly price per device. Self-hosted setups are quoted separately.
- Is it secure?
- Devices connect over encrypted channels, every command is logged, and access is restricted per user and role.