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An app quote is one number. The bill that follows is several. A quote for mobile app development in Ireland usually covers designing and building the app. Then the developer hands it over and moves on to the next job, and nobody has priced year two.

That matters most to small businesses, where a surprise recurring cost comes out of the same pot as wages and stock. Here is what keeps costing money once an app is live.

What mobile app development in Ireland costs after launch

Start with the store accounts. Apple charges $99 a year (or the local-currency equivalent) for a developer membership, and your app lives under it. If it lapses, new customers can't download the app until you renew. Google Play charges a one-off $25 to register. They are small sums, but someone has to remember them, and the accounts should be in your name, not your developer's.

Then the updates. Apple and Google release new versions of iOS and Android every year, and each one can break something that worked fine: a login, a payment screen, a camera feature. Somebody has to test it and fix it, usually in a hurry, because customers update their phones before you know there's a problem. An app left alone for a year or two tends to start misbehaving.

The server and the support behind it

Most apps with accounts, bookings or notifications need a server and a database behind the screen. That means hosting, backups and security, billed monthly or yearly for as long as the app runs.

Then there are the people using it. Customers leave a one-star review when an app crashes, and they don't send a message first. Fixing bugs, replying to reviews and refreshing the store listing take hours every month. Supporting two platforms, iPhone and Android, can double some of that.

How a website compares

A website has one version, it runs on every phone, and an update goes live the moment you publish it. There's no store review and no yearly membership. That doesn't make a website better at everything, but for most local businesses the running costs are a fraction of an app's. Solid web development in Ireland first, and an app later if customers ask for one, is a sensible order.

Five questions to ask before you sign

• Who owns the Apple and Google accounts?
• What does year two cost, in writing?
• Who fixes the app when a new iOS or Android version breaks something?
• Where is the data stored, and what does that cost each month?
• What happens to the app if we part ways?

A developer who answers those plainly is worth listening to. If you're comparing quotes for mobile app development in Dublin, send these questions to each of the mobile app developers in Dublin on your list and line up the replies side by side.

Weighing an app against a website for your business? We are happy to talk through the website side. Get in touch any time.