Frequently asked questions

Websites start at $1,500 and are delivered within 48 hours. An optional care plan covering hosting, updates and small edits is $150 per month. If you also want customers booking and filling in forms online, a website wired to the scheduling tool you already use starts at $3,500, typically 1–2 weeks. Larger websites and web applications with features like accounts, booking or payments built from scratch are quoted after a discovery call, based on scope.

Custom software starts at $2,500 for a single automated workflow. Typical starting prices: payments and integrations from $5,000, portals and AI assistants from $10,000, booking systems from $15,000, CRMs from $20,000 and mobile apps from $25,000. After a discovery call you receive a written scope with a fixed price and timeline before any work starts.

Multi-tenant SaaS platforms are built on a retainer starting at $20,000 per month, with a 3-month minimum. Most platforms take 3–12 months depending on complexity and depth. This is a fully functioning, production-ready product, not an MVP or prototype. Infrastructure is billed at cost, and a care plan keeps the platform maintained after launch.

No. They're priced separately so the build price stays honest and you always know what your software costs to run. Hosting, databases, email, SMS, AI usage and payment processing are billed by each provider at cost, to accounts in your name. Expected costs are estimated in your written scope. Maintenance is an optional care plan: $150 per month for websites, including hosting, or from $250 per month for custom software, typically 15–20% of the build cost per year.

$12,000 a month for two days a week, which is about 9 days a month. One commitment rather than a range, so you are not left working out how many days you need before you can work out the price. There is a 3-month minimum, month to month after that. That is the full-cash figure. Cash retainer, equity, or a blend of the two all work. Equity buys down the retainer: the more of the upside I hold, the less you pay each month. We agree the split before the engagement starts. I want skin in the game. Taking equity means I'm measured by whether the product still works in three years, not by hours billed this month. The retainer covers technical leadership: strategy, architecture, vendor and team oversight, hiring and investor support. Build work is scoped and priced separately, or delivered by your own team under my direction.

Prices are reviewed periodically and may change without notice. The figures shown are starting points for new engagements; the price for your project is the one in your written scope, and it is fixed once we both agree to it. So a quote you have already received does not change underneath you. The starting prices published here may differ by the time you read them, and are confirmed on a discovery call.

Yes. There is a free 30-minute consultation you can book directly, with no commitment and no obligation to go further. Bring the problem, the process or the half-formed idea. You will leave with my honest read on what it would take, whether that is a project, an off-the-shelf tool or nothing at all. If you would rather write than talk, the contact form reaches me just as well and I reply within one business day.

You work it out before you spend anything, on a task you have timed. Fifteen minutes saved on one task done every working day is 65 hours a year, or 8.1 working days, worth about $3,048 at $46.89 an hour, which is the average US cost of an hour of work. Across five people doing four such tasks a day it is $60,957 a year. If the first year does not pay for the build and its care plan, I will tell you that rather than sell you the project. The full arithmetic and sources are in the guide on reclaiming your time.

A website is delivered within 48 hours. Custom software timelines depend on scope and are agreed before work starts. Multi-tenant SaaS platforms typically take 3–12 months.

Four steps: Discover (understand how your business runs and what success looks like), Design (a clear plan, scope, price and screens to review), Build (working software delivered in short cycles), and Launch & support (deployment, on-site setup where needed, training and ongoing support).

Yes. Integrating with existing tools is a core part of the work, whether that means CRMs, payment providers, calendars, email, accounting or custom systems, so you don't have to replace what already works.

Modern, widely supported technology: Next.js, React and TypeScript for web applications, PostgreSQL databases, Stripe for payments, and Vercel for fast, reliable hosting. Each is chosen per project so your software is maintainable long after launch.

Buy when an existing product fits the way you work. Accounting, payroll, email and standard sales tools are usually better bought than built. Build when the software is what sets your business apart, when your process doesn't fit off-the-shelf tools, or when per-seat subscription costs are growing faster than your business. Often the best answer is both: keep the products that work and build the custom piece that connects them. I'll tell you honestly on the discovery call if buying is the better option.

Changes are normal. Each one is written up as a change request showing its effect on price and timeline, and work on it only starts once you approve it. Nothing is added to your bill without your sign-off.

Yes. AI coding tools help me deliver faster, which keeps your costs down. Every line is still reviewed by me, covered by automated tests where it matters and checked for security issues before it ships. You get the speed of AI with the judgment of an engineer with over 14 years of experience.

The Monarch Rose is based in New York City and works with clients across the United States remotely. On-site work is available when a project requires it. Outside New York City, the client covers travel and accommodation.

Yes. Projects can be end-to-end, from installing and configuring the technology at your location to building the software that runs on it. On-site work is available when a project requires it. Outside New York City, the client covers travel and accommodation.

That's what a fractional CTO engagement is for. You get a senior engineer with over 14 years of experience owning the technical side of your startup: deciding what to build, choosing the architecture, overseeing agencies or your first engineers, and answering investors' technical questions, starting now rather than after a year of searching. I want skin in the game. Taking equity means I'm measured by whether the product still works in three years, not by hours billed this month. So if you want a co-founder rather than a contractor, an equity component is on the table from the first conversation, and it buys down the cash retainer. I'll also tell you when you don't need one yet.

You work directly with Theodore Rose, a software engineer with over 14 years of experience building enterprise-grade systems. There are no account managers or hand-offs. The person you talk to is the person building your software.

Yes. Every project includes launch support and training for your team. After that, a care plan (from $150 per month for websites, from $250 per month for custom software) covers updates, security patches, monitoring and fixes. Or you get a documented handoff to your own team.

Yes. Under US copyright law, paying for software doesn't automatically transfer ownership, so the contract assigns ownership of everything written for your project to you, in writing. General-purpose tools I bring from earlier work stay mine, and you get a permanent license to use them in your software.

Your software never depends on me being around. The code lives in a GitHub account you own, and hosting, database, payments and email run in accounts in your name, with me invited as a member. I use mainstream technology that any experienced developer can pick up, namely Next.js, TypeScript and PostgreSQL, and every project ships with documentation and a handoff plan.

Payments run through Stripe, a PCI Service Provider Level 1 processor. With Stripe Checkout or Elements, card details go straight to Stripe and never touch your servers, which usually qualifies your business for the simplest PCI self-assessment (SAQ A). Payment pages are also locked down against unauthorized third-party scripts.

As a one-person practice I don't hold a SOC 2 report myself. Your software runs on providers that do: Vercel holds SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 certifications, and Stripe is PCI Level 1. I'm happy to complete your security questionnaire, sign a data processing agreement and build in the access controls, audit logs and encryption you'll need if you pursue SOC 2 yourself.

Only when a feature you've approved uses AI, and only the data that feature needs. AI features use Anthropic's commercial API, whose terms don't allow your data to be used to train models. For sensitive data, I choose models and settings with the shortest data retention available and add human review where decisions matter.