1. Who uses it, and where
Are these office staff on company phones, engineers on site with gloves on, customers on their own devices, or a mix? The answers change almost everything: screen size, offline support, login method, even the colour contrast.
2. The one thing it must do well
Every good Android app has a primary job it does better than a mobile web site. Booking, scanning, logging, signing, ordering, reporting. Name yours in a sentence. If it needs two sentences, split it into two apps or cut scope.
3. Offline or online
Offline support is expensive. It is also essential for some jobs and pointless for others. A field engineer in a basement needs it. A customer loyalty app does not. Decide early and you will save thousands.
4. The server side
Almost every Android app talks to a server. Where does the data live, who manages it, and does it already exist? An app on top of a clean API is half the work of an app plus a new back end. Be honest about which you have.
5. Login and identity
- Email and password, with or without two-factor
- Google or Apple sign-in
- Magic link through email or SMS
- Single sign-on through your company identity provider
Pick one, or let the developer recommend. Do not collect more personal data than the job needs.
6. Integrations, named
List the systems the app must talk to: HubSpot, Xero, Stripe, your own database, a third-party booking system. An API reference link for each one is gold. "It has to work with our CRM" is not.
7. Play Store account
Google Play charges a one-time $25 developer fee. The account should be in your business name, not the developer's. Ask any developer you speak to whether they are happy with that arrangement. The answer should be yes.
8. Budget and timeline, honestly
A realistic UK Android app with a server component lands somewhere between five and twenty-five thousand pounds for a first release, depending on scope. Quoting a third of that usually means a developer who plans to cut corners you will feel later.