Delivery apps where the store, the rider and the customer see the same order.

How long does a delivery app take to build?

A first working version is typically 10–14 weeks after scope, and scope is about a week. That version runs one full order with real data: a customer orders, a store accepts, a rider picks it up and drops it off, and you see all of it in the console. Promotions, scheduled orders and more cities are later phases, each priced before it begins.

Should we use our own riders or a courier partner?

It depends on three things: how many orders you expect at peak, whether you can keep riders busy between peaks, and whether a courier partner operates in your city. Your own riders mean a rider app, onboarding and payouts. A partner means an integration and less control over timing. It is the second of our five questions before we quote, because it changes the build more than most decisions.

How are orders assigned to riders?

Automatically by rules, with a person able to override in the console. The rules usually weigh distance to the store, whether the rider is online and free, and how long the order has waited. If nobody accepts within a set time, the order goes back to a dispatcher. The rules are console settings, so you tune them as you learn your city instead of paying for code changes.

What happens when a grocery item is out of stock?

The store marks it in their panel and the customer's earlier choice decides what happens: take a replacement, let the store choose, or remove the item and get a partial refund. That choice is made at checkout, so the rider is not left waiting on a phone call. Stores can also keep stock current in their panel, so fewer items fail in the first place.

Can customers track the rider live?

Yes. The rider app shares location while an order is active, and the customer sees it on a map alongside the order status. Live tracking relies on maps and location services, which carry third-party fees that we set out before the phase is agreed. Location is shared only during an active order, which matters for rider privacy and for battery life.

How do stores and riders get paid?

From the same order record, after commission. Each order splits into what the store earns, what the rider earns and what the platform keeps, and the console shows all three. Where the payment rail supports payouts, they run automatically; where it does not, the console runs manual payout batches with a full record. We choose the gateway by country and by whether payouts are needed.

Can we start with one city or one type of store?

Yes, and usually you should. One city lets you get dispatch rules and delivery zones right before they multiply. One type of store, restaurants or groceries, keeps the first phase smaller, because substitutions and stock mostly matter for groceries. If zones, fees and stores are console settings from the start, adding a city later is setup rather than a rebuild.

Who owns the code?

You do, on full payment. Exclusive and perpetual.

What if you disappear?

Your repository, your accounts, your signing keys. Documented so another team can pick it up.

Can we move to another team later?

Yes. We write the handover documents that make that possible, whether you use them or not.

Do you take equity instead of cash?

No.

Who holds the app store accounts?

You, unless you ask otherwise. Decided at kickoff, not at launch.

What happens to our data?

It is yours. Exportable at any point, in a format another system can read.