Informal estimate for Nick Casagrande · October 19, 2026

Customer notification app for a Texas city waste contract

Residents register their account number in a mobile app. Your staff open a portal on the Windows VM, pick customers from the ERP with your SQL queries, write a message and send it as a push notification.

70 hrsEstimated effort, including design and testing
$4,200Fixed price estimate at $60 per hour
4–5 wksFrom kickoff to store release

What residents see

Four screens cover the whole app. Artwork, wording and the account number shown here are placeholders until you send the final content.

Your artwork
Get service alerts
Register your account to hear about late or missed pickups.
Register

SplashAsks the resident to register

Enter your account number
100482
Please confirm this is your account Account 100482
Save

RegisterAccount number, then confirm

Menu
Pickup daysPDF
Recycling guidePDF
City waste websiteLINK
Recycling educationLINK

MenuTwo PDFs, two web links

10:42
Tuesday

The alertTitle and message typed by your staff

How an alert reaches a resident

Everything runs on your Windows VM. The only door into the ERP is one read-only ODBC link.

WINDOWS VM ON AWS Residents' phones iOS and Android about 10,000 App API registration Device database account no. and device ID Staff portal one user, remote desktop ODBC driver read-only login IBM i ERP customer accounts Firebase Cloud Messaging 1 Register 2 Verify account read-only SQL 3 Save link device IDs 4 Run query 5 Send push alert
Steps 1 to 3 happen once, when a resident registers. Steps 4 and 5 happen each time your staff send an alert. The teal link is the only connection to the ERP, and it can only read.

What we will build

Mobile app (iOS and Android)

  • Branded splash screen asking residents to register
  • Account number entry with a confirm-your-account screen
  • Menu with two links that open in the phone's browser
  • One or two PDFs for pickup days and recycling
  • One codebase for both stores

Back end on your Windows VM

  • API the app calls to register an account
  • Small database linking each account number to its Firebase device ID
  • Read-only ODBC connection to the IBM i to confirm the account exists

Staff portal

  • Opens in the browser on the VM for one user over remote desktop
  • Runs your two SQL queries and shows how many customers matched
  • Title and message fields, then Send
  • Log of what was sent and when

Push delivery

  • Firebase Cloud Messaging for iOS and Android
  • Sends in batches so 10,000 devices are handled reliably
  • Removes devices that have uninstalled the app
  • All sends are on demand, with no scheduled or automated alerts

Timeline from kickoff

Work overlaps, so the build lands in 4 to 5 weeks. Hours are shown on each bar.

The city decision is expected January 3, so no work starts before then. Final dates are agreed at kickoff.

Hours and cost

WorkShareHoursCost
Wireframes and screen designSplash, registration, menu
6$360
Mobile appiOS and Android, PDFs, links
20$1,200
API and databaseRegistration, account-to-device link
10$600
ERP connectionODBC, read-only, your queries wired in
7$420
Staff portalQuery, message, send, log
10$600
Push notificationsFirebase setup and batch sending
5$300
TestingDevices, push delivery, load test at 10,000
7$420
Store release and handoverApp Store, Google Play, written notes
5$300
Total70$4,200

Based on $60 per hour. This is an estimate for planning your bid to the city. We confirm a fixed price at kickoff once the city's requirements are final.

What we need from you

Access and content

  • Your two SQL queries and the ERP field names they return
  • Read-only ODBC login, with the IBM i reachable from the VM
  • Remote desktop access to the Windows VM
  • Splash artwork, the PDFs and the two website URLs

Accounts and running costs

  • Apple Developer account ($99 per year) and Google Play account ($25 once)
  • Hosting of the Windows VM stays on your AWS bill
  • Firebase push messaging is free at this volume

Assumptions and exclusions

  • One staff user in the portal, two queries, English only
  • Account number is the only identifier, with no resident login or phone verification
  • About 10,000 registered devices
  • Not included: scheduled or automatic alerts, delivery and open reports, route or pickup lookups, and changes after the city's final specification. We can price any of these as a second phase.
  • Support after launch, such as VM patching and monitoring, is available on a monthly plan priced once the contract is awarded.

Next steps

Use these figures in your submission to the city. If the contract is awarded on January 3, we hold a short kickoff call, confirm the fixed price and send a formal proposal on Upwork.

Prepared byAbuBakar ButtCo-founder and Client Success Manager, CodingPixel