How many weeks does it take to deliver a mobile app — is the agency's timeline normal?

Eight weeks only works if you're slapping a logo onto a ready-made template. Any team promising eight weeks for a scratch-built app with maps, courier tracking, push notifications, and payment gateways is either green or deliberately painting a rosy picture just to bag the contract.

The biggest blind spot is background services. Map location services and battery optimization eat up the most dev time on mobile. Having the UI ready means nothing without functional backend endpoints. Plus, iOS app review guidelines often reject courier and tracking apps on the first attempt due to location permissions, so you definitely need to budget a 1-week buffer for that.

We had a similar field tracking app built last year. The agency promised 10 weeks, but going live took a solid 21 weeks. Design took 4 weeks, coding took 12 weeks, bug fixing took 3 weeks, and store approvals plus security permissions took 2 weeks.

store review doesn't take 3 weeks btw and if the account is brand new google sometimes holds it for a week that's true, but ios usually gets back within 48 hours. sounds to me like the agency is blaming store policies for their own delays.

Before blaming the agency, you need to look at your own approval processes. How many days did it take you to sign off on designs? Did out-of-scope requests slip in like 'let's add this too, let's put photos on courier profiles'? Client-side revisions usually push a project back by at least 3 weeks.

Call an emergency meeting with the agency first thing tomorrow. Tell them, 'Fine if it takes 14 weeks, but you must send me a working test build by next Monday.' And do not pay the remaining balance until the app is live in the stores without issues and logs its first successful delivery.

What tech stack are they building the app with? Is it hybrid, or are they writing native code for each platform separately? Also, is the agency building the backend database and API services from scratch, or are they integrating with your existing accounting or ERP software?

Take these three steps to handle the delay: 1) Freeze the scope immediately and don't add any new features. 2) Require weekly written status reports and intermediate test builds. 3) Sign an addendum tying remaining milestone payments to app store approval.

Could you elaborate on that? If code ownership isn't in the contract you have no bargaining power when leaving.

The answer varies greatly by industry; there is no one-size-fits-all rule.

The most overlooked point about mobile app delivery time is this: Solutions that work at a small scale collapse when you grow; I learned this late.

If acceptance criteria aren't written, when the work is done is open to debate. Good luck with that.

I think differently. When we decide without measuring, we always end up in the same place.

If code ownership isn't in the contract, you have no bargaining power when leaving. Just leaving this note, it might be useful.

I agree with this. Taking notes for two weeks yields better results than a six-month estimate.

Good luck with that.

I think differently. The answer varies greatly by industry; there is no one-size-fits-all rule.

I went through the same thing two years ago. If you don't write this down from the start, it leads to arguments later.

Good luck with that.

Youre right Ive been down that road too. btw if you get three different answers on a topic, the question was asked wrong.

Yes, that's exactly how it is with mobile app delivery time. Mistakes made on the mobile app delivery time side are usually reversible but expensive.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

i've been down this road, let me tell you. access credentials should be opened in the company's name not personal accounts.

if you post the result here it will help others too.

I went through the same thing two years ago. Every "we'll look at it later" in a meeting means unbilled work.

Solutions that work at a small scale collapse when you grow; I learned this late. Good luck with that.