Answers to the questions we hear most
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How much does a typical project cost?
Discovery sprints start at $7,500. Most fixed-bid builds land between $35,000 and $250,000 depending on scope. Embedded engagements start at $18,000 per month for a single senior engineer. We never quote without a discovery sprint — anything else would be a guess.
How long until my project is live?
The most common timeline is 8 to 16 weeks from kickoff to a production launch. Discovery typically adds two weeks on the front. We commit to a delivery date in writing as part of the fixed-bid proposal.
Who owns the source code?
You do — without exception. Code is committed to your GitHub or GitLab organization from the first commit. Our contract assigns all IP to you on delivery. We do not retain rights to anything we build for clients.
Will I work with the engineers, or with account managers?
You work directly with the senior engineer leading your project, every week. We do not have account managers, project managers, or salespeople relaying messages. The person who scopes your work is the person who writes the code.
Do you offshore any of the work?
No. Every engineer on staff is US-based, on US payroll, and works from a US office or home office. This is the single most common question we get from regulated-industry clients, and the answer has been no since day one.
What about ongoing support after launch?
Most clients sign a monthly care plan starting at 10 hours per month — covering monitoring, security patching, dependency updates, and minor enhancements. You can cancel with 30 days notice and we will hand over everything to your in-house team.
Are you HIPAA, PCI, or SOC 2 compliant?
We follow SOC 2 aligned policies internally and have engineered software in HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and SOX-regulated environments. We will sign a BAA for healthcare clients. We are not ourselves SOC 2 audited as a firm — most clients deploy our work into their own audited environment, which is the relevant scope.
Can you take over a project from another vendor?
Yes — we do this several times a year. The first step is always a code and infrastructure audit (typically 1 to 2 weeks) so we can give you an honest assessment before quoting any new work.
Where are you located?
Our headquarters is at 3613 Wakefield Street in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania — about 20 minutes from Philadelphia. We work with clients across the continental United States and travel for kickoffs and major milestones when it makes sense.
How do I get started?
Send a note to ceo@ascendantsoftworks.ai or call 215-394-2654. We will set up a 30-minute discovery call within a couple of business days — no commitment, no pressure.