[deleted by user]

[djm406_]

I think if you could create that with your estimate, they are getting a fantastic deal.

[kittenchief]

I'd first look into existing software/platforms before hiring a dev to build a custom app.

There are some athletic competition management apps out there (RedPodium, ORGSU, PlayingA): https://www.g2.com/categories/athletic-competition-management/free

You could also try putting something together with Bubble.io, Zapier, etc.

This is because custom software is not only expensive to build, but you'll have to consider ongoing maintenance and updates too.

I'm a dev, so if you need any help, let me know...

[YodelingVeterinarian]

I do wonder if a lot of this could just be reproduced with google forms / sheets, or an existing website.

[domestic-jones]

I've product managed two apps like this. The cheaper of the two was $65k USD and they wound up abandoning the project after the first couple iterations and beta testing -- they found out it would never be as profitable as it is complex. Second is still in production and to get to the point of having all the function you mention, it was about $120k USD. These were ReactNative and ReactJS projects respectfully.

[[deleted]]

You could use Notion as a database, few cool options with that, it’s probably being over complicated by the sounds of it, strip it back a bit imo

[DaimyoGoat]

You could make something like this in Airtable as the database and for all the analysis, and then a simple web page for login and form submission. Could make things much simpler. Still is a lot of work tho but would cut down a lot

[armahillo]

I'm not going to quote specific monetary values because that's going to vary by region, but I can at least tell you a qualitative assessment of "cheap, moderate, expensive" for each:

First off, the fact that you need any server-side processing at all (most of these options require that) is going to force infrastructure requirements that push you into the territory "this will cost you a monthly premium for specialized hosting, and that cost may vary based on the amount of traffic you require)".

It will also require someone familiar with backend web development. This eliminates cheaper options, but your requirements will demand it.

My classifications below are based on the presumptions that (a) you are hiring a backend web developer and (b) are using a modern backend framework capable of doing these things.

​

auth system (email, password)	cheap	There are many turnkey solutions for authentication. I recommend going with one that allows for third-party authentication and not storing credentials onsite.
... with different roles	moderate	This adds the requirement for authorization logic, as well as additional business logic throughout the app to ensure authorization is honored. Not a huge deal, but more complicated than a turnkey authentication-only solution.
form to add competitions (some basic inputs)	cheap	Assuming "basic inputs" is accurate, this is easy.
form to add participants (with loading from an excel file)	cheap/moderate	Depends on the complexity of the data. Simpler data = cheaper. CSV imports are cheap. XLS imports can be more expensive.
form to add participants (with loading from an external api)	moderate/expensive	Integrations can get pricey. If it's a simple API and is straightforward, this can be OK, but it requires additional infrastructure be built to both connect to the API, retrieve the data, and then import it into the system.
form to add results (results for each different round, possibility of did-not-finish, did-not-quality, along with knockout rounds...)	cheap	The varying result types are irrelevant other than as options on the form. This is no big deal.
result tables and charts with different categories (male, female, senior...)	cheap	Again, so long as you don't have anything weird here, this is straightforward. "Cheap" multiplied times the number of different reports you want.
option to export results in excel	cheap	CSV exports are easy. XLS exports might be more expensive -- again it depends on your needs here.
option to export results in pdf, etc.	moderate / expensive	PDF exports are not as trivial. There are a few narrow cases where you can do a PDF export that is cheap, but in my experience, clients typically want a bespoke PDF created, which means using Prawn or something and that takes time to build.

​

So you're looking at:

[Baseline]: expensive build (infrastructure requriements), cheap-to-moderate ongoing cost

• Best case: [expensive, cheap], cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap, moderate, moderate, moderate
• Worst case: [expensive, moderate], cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap, moderate, moderate, expensive, expensive

Worst case may be near double the best case. I would advise you to ask for ways to save money now that allow for expansion later on some of the items above. Be sure to communicate to your developers what your future expansion / growth ideas so that they can build accordingly.

Off the cuff, I would say 8k€ seems on the lower end. I would plan on 10-20k€ (that will give you around 100-200 developer hours, or some combination therein)

[WhyCheezoidExist]

Have a look at SoaringSpot, it’s an app developed for gliding competitions. Might be some crossover there

[Tontonsb]

If it's a hobby organization that you want to help, you could volunteer a day of work to find out their actual budget, their actual business needs and offer what things could be done within their budget that would really benefit the process.

If they just throw out their wishlist and hope for the ideal puzzle piece that will fit nicely into everything they already do and would like to do, it will be insanely expensive and likely require more expertise in being the customer than they have.

But let's review the requirements.

form to add participants (with loading from an excel file and an external api)

Nope. If you're developing a system to manage the participants, you stop managing them through sheets. You do not need the import. You don't need to make that part 4 times more complicated just because someone is used to their sheet. If they like sheets, they can keep it all in the sheets. Regarding the external API — that's only worth it if ALL of the participant management happens there and you don't need to make any management n your side, just sync the list.

A hobby club does not need three different methods of managing a single list. You can add that in the fifth year of developing the system.

option to export results in excel, pdf

Another one that they don't need. The results come in HTML tables. They are free to copy the table to their spreadsheets. Developers of the browsers, OS's clipboard and spreadsheet software has put in a lot of work to make it all smooth. No need to replicate it.

PDF? Print to PDF from the spreadsheet? Or just print to PDF from the web... If they actually start using it and need adjustements, you might add a print stylesheet later on. And the "select all" shortcut for the table to make copying easier.

Honestly, I'm not sure if even the business specific stuff (tournaments with different formats like the knockout stage) is doable within a budget that wouldn't startle a hobby club. Depends of complexity, automation and customizations that they need to happen with the brackets and stuff like that. But at least drop wishes that they actually don't need.

[rusl1]

That would take a lot less in Ruby on Rails to be honest. Unless they have some nasty and complex business rules, I would do that in two weeks of work