# Business decisions — revised for the free bilingual launch **Revision date:** 2026-08-04. **Audited app:** `the app repository` at `03a176e72ef0075eec86b8915cbe6e93042a3b9d` (`0.4.12+18`). The app repository was read-only throughout. This revision records the project owner's four overrides instead of silently replacing the earlier reasoning. | Earlier recommendation | Status on 2026-08-04 | Reason for supersession | |---|---|---| | Ship as **Toque** | **SUPERSEDED** | the project owner rejected the name and required the product word in the name. | | Form a jointly owned French company before publishing | **SUPERSEDED** | the project owner and Serge do not want to create a company for the free launch. | | Launch in France first and add English later | **SUPERSEDED** | the project owner directed a simultaneous French and English-market launch, including India. | | Charge **9,99 EUR/month** | **SUPERSEDED** | the project owner directed a free launch. The old price research remains useful only for a later monetisation decision (`research/_raw_03_pricing.md`; retrieved evidence dated 2026-08-04). | The decisions now are: choose a descriptive compound name after human review; publish as an individual; launch in France and the selected English-speaking storefronts together; and charge nothing at launch. --- ## Decision 1 — Name: a distinctive word plus the product word ### Recommendation **Do not adopt `ChronoCook`; reopen naming for a new distinctive root paired with `Kitchen Timer`. REQUIRES SERGE / HUMAN REVIEW.** `PassPilot Kitchen Timer` was rejected by the owner on taste on 2026-08-04. `ChronoCook` has no exact published-app match and no exact mark in the three registers that returned usable results, but `chronocook.com` is an active exact-name cooking-software product, Google Play has a close `ChronoChef` kitchen timer, the `CHRONO` root has material software conflicts in France and the United States, and UKIPO returned HTTP `403`. Full evidence and analysis: `research/05_name_chronocook.md` and its captures, retrieved 2026-08-04. | Candidate | Store availability | Trademark risk | Domain | Search-discovery value | Market fit | Decision | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | **ChronoCook** | No exact requested-name match in the checked App Store or Google Play storefronts; close `ChronoChef` kitchen timer exists on Google Play. | No exact full-word hit in EUIPO, INPI or USPTO; material exact-root software rights in INPI and USPTO; UKIPO unresolved after HTTP `403`. | `.dev` and `.app` appeared unregistered; `.com` is registered and runs an exact-name cooking app. | Weak-to-moderate alone; `Kitchen Timer` subtitle recovers the strongest English category phrase, while French still needs `minuteur cuisine`. | Linguistically strong in France and intelligible in Indian English, but exact same-field use is unacceptable. | **DO NOT ADOPT.** Evidence: `research/05_name_chronocook.md`, retrieved 2026-08-04. | | **KitchenCue** | No exact match in the prior checked storefronts. | Exact live United States `KITCHENCUE` registration `3309406` in class `9` for culinary educational media. | Short `.dev` and compound `.com` appeared unregistered. | Strong because it contains `kitchen`. | Clear product association, but the exact culinary mark is too close. | **REJECT.** Prior captures cited in this decision, retrieved 2026-08-04. | | **Cadence Kitchen Timer** | No exact compound match; bare `Cadence` exists on the App Store. | High: EUTM `019227648` covers downloadable software and software services in classes `9` and `42`. | Full compound `.dev` and `.com` appeared unregistered. | Strong because it contains `kitchen timer`. | Professional but legally exposed through its dominant word. | **REJECT.** Prior captures cited in this decision, retrieved 2026-08-04. | | **PassPilot Kitchen Timer** | No exact match in the prior checked storefronts. | No exact/root hit in the three working registers; UKIPO unresolved after HTTP `403`. | Short `.dev` and compound `.com` appeared unregistered. | Strong because it contains `kitchen timer`. | Distinctive, but owner taste controls the branding decision. | **OWNER-REJECTED on 2026-08-04.** Existing captures cited below, retrieved 2026-08-04. | Prior shortlist evidence remains in `proof/03_market/captures/rev_name_{apple,play}_*`, `rev_tm_*`, and `rev_domain_*`, retrieved 2026-08-04. The detailed ChronoCook paths and the current recommendation are in `research/05_name_chronocook.md`. **Residual risk:** the next leading option will still require a direct UKIPO search, professional similarity and unregistered-rights review, App Store Connect reservation, and immediate domain registration before branding. --- ## Decision 2 — Seller entity: publish as an individual first ### Recommendation **Do not form a company for the free launch. Use an individual account on each store, with the founders recording privately who owns the app and who controls the accounts.** If a company becomes necessary later, the recommended fallback is a UK private limited company, provided the founders accept the UK registered-office and ongoing filing obligations. ### What a free individual launch actually costs and publishes | Store | Unavoidable programme cost | What the public sees for a free individual app | Other launch gate | |---|---|---|---| | Google Play | **US$25 once** | Under Google's general personal-account rule: legal name, country derived from the legal address, and developer email. **Monetisation triggers publication of the full legal address.** Google also warns that regional rules can require extra public details, including a full address; an EU trader must therefore expect the DSA contact-information rule to override the free-app baseline. | A personal account created after 2023-11-13 must run a closed test with at least 12 opted-in testers for 14 continuous days before applying for production access. The rule depends on account type and creation date, not price. | | Apple App Store | **US$99 per membership year**, shown in local currency where available | The individual's personal legal name is the seller. | App Store Connect requires a DSA trader-status declaration even outside the EU. Free does not automatically mean non-trader: Apple says business purpose and intention to commercialise are relevant. If declared a trader for an EU app, Apple publishes an address or P.O. Box, phone and email and requests payment-account details. | Sources, all retrieved 2026-08-04: Google registration fee, [evidence archive — not published]; Google personal-account public fields and monetisation trigger, `policy_google_play_verify_identity.txt`, source ; Google test gate, `policy_google_personal_testing_reqs.txt`, source ; Apple fee, seller name and conversion route, `policy_apple_enrollment.txt`, source ; Apple DSA requirements, `policy_apple_asc_dsa_trader.txt`, source . This corrects the earlier incorporation argument. For a free Google personal listing, the baseline is legal name, country and email—not a full address. That removes the earlier claim that free publication by itself exposes the home address. It does not remove the separate EU trader issue: the DSA requires a trader's name, address, phone and email to be public, and Google's own identity page warns that regional rules can add a full address. Free price is only one fact in the trader assessment, so the founders must resolve the trader declaration before treating either store as an address-free route. DSA source: Article 30 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, `proof/03_market/captures/policy_eurlex_dsa_2022_2065.txt`, retrieved 2026-08-04, . ### Company fallback comparison Only use this table if payment, liability, joint ownership, contracting or a store-name requirement later makes an entity worthwhile. | Structure | Fully online and timing | Formation cost | Stripe | Fit for the project owner and Serge | |---|---|---|---|---| | **UK private limited company** | Online; Companies House says registration is usually completed within 24 hours | **£100** | United Kingdom is supported | Supports multiple shareholders and directors, including a two-founder cap table. It needs a UK registered office, identity verification, accounts and tax filings. **Recommended fallback** because it is the fastest, cheapest jointly owned company in this comparison. | | **Estonian OÜ through e-Residency** | Company registration is online and takes about 15 minutes to 1 hour once the e-Residency card exists; obtaining and collecting the physical card means the full journey is not entirely online | **€150** per e-Residency application, **€265** company registration, normally **€200–€400/year** for an Estonian contact person, with accounting extra | Estonia is supported | Can hold two founders, gives an EU company and remote administration, but each active founder needs the digital-ID route and cross-border tax still follows where people actually work and manage it. | | **Stripe Atlas** | Online; Atlas says the Delaware company can accept payments within 2 business days | **US$500 once**, including the first registered-agent year, then **US$100/year** | A Stripe account is part of the route | Handles co-founders cleanly, but creates a U.S. company, federal and state filings, and cross-border founder tax work that is excessive for a free kitchen timer. | | **French micro-entreprise / auto-entrepreneur** | French creation formalities are online through the single portal; the official page gives no guaranteed processing time | Cost depends on activity; the structure avoids company statutes and capital | France is supported | One natural person only; no shared equity and Apple treats a sole proprietor as an individual seller. Simple for one founder, wrong for jointly owned publishing. | | **French EI** | Online through the same portal; the official page gives no guaranteed processing time | The official comparison states **€21.74** for a commercial EI | France is supported | One natural person only and no separate legal person. It does not solve joint ownership or Apple's individual seller name. | | **French SASU** | Online through the same portal, with no official guaranteed processing time; statutes, capital, beneficial-owner filing and a legal notice are required | Official filing components shown in the comparison are **€33.83** registration plus **€19.33** beneficial-owner filing, plus the variable legal-notice cost | France is supported | One shareholder only. To put both founders in the equity, use a SAS rather than a SASU, with more drafting and administration than the UK fallback. | Sources, retrieved 2026-08-04: UK online incorporation, timing and cost, `proof/03_market/captures/rev_entity_uk_incorporation.txt`, source ; Estonian process, time and service costs, `rev_entity_estonia_start.txt`, source ; e-Residency and registration fees, ; Stripe Atlas timing and fees, `rev_entity_stripe_atlas.txt`, source ; Stripe country support, `rev_entity_stripe_global.txt`, source ; French online portal, `rev_entity_fr_guichet.txt`, source ; French structure and filing-cost comparison, `rev_entity_fr_ei.txt`, source ; SASU structure, `rev_entity_fr_sasu.txt`, source . ### Cost of incorporating later - **Apple:** first ask Apple Developer Support to convert the individual membership to an organisation; Apple's enrolment page explicitly directs existing individuals to contact support. If Apple requires a transfer instead, create and verify the organisation membership, meet the app-transfer criteria, and transfer the app. The app stays downloadable and retains ratings, reviews and updates, but its bundle identifier stays permanent. Source: `proof/03_market/captures/policy_apple_enrollment.txt` and `policy_apple_asc_transfer_app.txt`, retrieved 2026-08-04; . - **Google:** the DSA account-type selection cannot be changed later, so create and verify an organisation account and submit an app transfer. Users, statistics, comments, ratings and subscriptions transfer; historical earnings reports and test groups do not, so the closed-test group must be rebuilt. Google says support reviews transfer requests within 2 business days. Source: `proof/03_market/captures/policy_google_play_dsa_trader.txt` and `policy_google_app_transfer.txt`, retrieved 2026-08-04; . Starting free makes both migrations simpler because there are no products, subscriptions, receipts or entitlement servers to move. --- ## Decision 3 — Markets: French and English storefronts together ### Recommendation **Launch in France, the United Kingdom, the United States, India, Canada, Australia and Ireland from day one: seven storefronts, with French and English metadata.** Start the Google closed-test clock first, prepare both store submissions in parallel, and do not hold the Android release for a later English phase. The product already contains complete `fr` and `en` application string tables in `lib/i18n.dart`, chooses a matching voice locale, and lets the operator switch language. Expanding the market therefore adds listing copy, keywords and screenshots, not new translated product features. The platform-localisation omission below is an existing global-readiness defect that should be fixed once, not a separate engineering project for each country. Evidence: read-only source at `lib/i18n.dart`, `lib/engine/store.dart` and `lib/ui/modals.dart` in the audited app. ### Why these storefronts | Storefront | Launch reason | Tablet-platform evidence | |---|---|---| | France | Existing pilot relationships, a complete French interface and the strongest route to first kitchen feedback | Android leads tablet web usage at **56.19%**, versus iOS at **43.76%**. | | United Kingdom | Native English listing and a nearby market with the same core professional vocabulary | iOS leads at **54.12%**; Android has **45.83%**. | | United States | Native English listing and the deepest existing English keyword/result pool in this audit | iOS leads at **57.84%**; Android has **42.05%**. | | India | English can launch immediately and Android is overwhelmingly the relevant tablet store | Android leads at **78.99%**, versus iOS at **20.89%**. This makes Google Play the first operational priority for India. | | Canada | English listing works immediately; the French listing can also support a later French-Canadian metadata pass | iOS leads at **67.58%**; Android has **32.31%**. | | Australia | Native English listing with no new in-app language | iOS leads at **74.68%**; Android has **25.22%**. | | Ireland | Native English listing and an EU storefront that exercises the same DSA declaration as France | iOS leads at **56.24%**; Android has **43.40%**. | Tablet shares are Statcounter web-usage estimates for July 2026, not device shipments or restaurant-only installations. Source pages and captures were retrieved 2026-08-04: `proof/03_market/captures/rev_market_tablet_{fr,gb,us,in,ca,au,ie}.txt`, source pattern . The audit checked for a comparable restaurant-density ranking and did not find one that covers all seven countries with the same definition. National sources variously count enterprises, establishments, licences or survey respondents; treating those as a league table would invent precision. Density therefore does **not** justify sequencing one of these stores ahead of another. The evidence that does separate them is tablet platform mix: Android clearly favours India and, more narrowly, France; the other five storefronts lean iOS in the cited capture set. The commercial reason to open all seven is that the same two listing-language packs cover them while the stores collect market-specific evidence at negligible extra engineering cost. ### Keyword conclusion for the wider footprint The original French negative result remains decisive: Apple returned no apps for `minuteur professionnel` or `minuteur tablette`, and Google Play offered no completion for `minuteur pro`. Keep those phrases out of scarce title and keyword fields. Evidence: `aso/02_keywords.md` sections `3.1–3.2`, with `proof/03_market/captures/aso_itunes_search_fr_minuteur_professionnel.json`, `aso_itunes_search_fr_minuteur_tablette.json` and `aso_play_autocomplete_fr_FR_minuteur_pro.json`, retrieved 2026-08-04. For the six English-language storefronts, fresh Apple and rendered Google Play searches were captured for `kitchen timer`, `chef timer` and `multi timer`. All three are populated terms in every storefront. The same pattern seen in the earlier U.S. analysis holds across them: - **`kitchen timer` is the head term** and belongs in the product name; it tells a chef exactly what the app is. - **`chef timer` is the best professional long-tail phrase** for subtitle and description testing; it is kitchen-specific without the dead French “professional” wording. - **`multi timer` describes the key capability but is category-neutral**, so use it in subtitle/description rather than as the brand by itself. Evidence: `proof/03_market/captures/rev_kw_apple_{kitchen_timer,chef_timer,multi_timer}_{gb,us,in,ca,au,ie}.{txt,html}` and corresponding `rev_kw_play_*.{txt,html,png}`, retrieved 2026-08-04 through `utilities/chrome.py`. This is directional availability evidence, not search-volume data. ### Localisation gap exposed by this launch The app's own French and English strings work, but Flutter and iOS do not formally advertise the same support: - `MaterialApp` in `lib/main.dart` declares neither localisation delegates nor supported locales. Flutter-provided widget labels, date/number conventions and accessibility text therefore remain on the default path instead of following the app's language selector. - `ios/Runner/Info.plist` has no `CFBundleLocalizations`, and the Xcode project has `developmentRegion = en`. The iOS bundle therefore advertises English only even though the app contains French. This costs French store/system presentation, correct framework-language behaviour, and accessibility consistency. It also means English-only India reaches only English-speaking kitchens; no Hindi or other Indian-language support exists. Canada has no French-Canadian metadata or locale variant. Close the framework/bundle declaration before submission, then produce one French and one English asset pack with region-appropriate store copy. --- ## Decision 4 — Pricing: free at launch ### Recommendation **Publish the complete launch app free, with no ads and no paywall.** This removes the largest unbuilt commercial feature set. The audited repository has no in-app purchase, StoreKit, Play Billing, subscription, entitlement, receipt-validation or paywall implementation; none now needs to be written for launch. Evidence: `pubspec.yaml` and the payment-code absence check recorded in the superseded pricing section of this document's prior revision, captured at audited commit `03a176e72ef0075eec86b8915cbe6e93042a3b9d`. Free launch also removes the need to: - create in-app products or accept paid-app agreements; - open store merchant accounts for sales; - complete bank and tax onboarding for store proceeds; or - publish a Google personal developer's full address under the monetisation rule. The ordinary developer memberships, identity verification, content declarations and Apple's DSA trader-status declaration still apply. Apple may request payment-account details if the founder truthfully declares trader status even for this free EU app; that is a DSA verification item, not sales onboarding. Sources: the Google and Apple policy captures in Decision 2, retrieved 2026-08-04. Free also resolves the strategic tension in the competitor evidence. Advertising and paywalls were the single most common complaint in the reviewed competitors, appearing in **100 of 358 negative Apple reviews**. A launch with neither sidesteps that complaint rather than trying to price around it. Evidence: `aso/01_competitors.md` section `4.1` and its cited review captures, retrieved 2026-08-04. ### Deferred monetisation path Reopen pricing only when real kitchen use shows all of the following: repeated weekly use through service, retention after the pilot period, direct requests for features worth paying for, and explicit willingness-to-pay evidence from restaurant decision-makers. The default later model should be one simple ad-free Pro entitlement per restaurant, sold through the stores; do not introduce ads. On the day charging is approved, build purchase and restore flows, entitlement persistence, receipt or purchase-token validation, a clear paywall and billing tests. Then configure products and prices, accept paid agreements, complete bank and tax onboarding, update store declarations, and expect Google's full-address publication rule to apply if the seller remains an individual. Until those gates are complete, the launch price remains free. --- ## Bundle identifier dependency The previous `com.toquekitchen.toque` recommendation is **SUPERSEDED on 2026-08-04** because the underlying name was rejected. Do not upload a build using that identifier or the current `dev.sergemio.cadence`. After Serge and the project owner choose the name, select a neutral reverse-domain identifier backed by a domain they control. Apple and Google both make that identifier effectively permanent after first upload; sources remain `proof/03_market/captures/policy_apple_asc_transfer_app.txt` and `play_help_package_name_113469.{html,txt,png}`, retrieved 2026-08-04. ## Ratification lines - Name: `PassPilot Kitchen Timer` is provisional and **REQUIRES SERGE / HUMAN REVIEW**. - Seller: individual accounts for the free launch; UK private limited company only if an entity becomes necessary later. - Markets: France, United Kingdom, United States, India, Canada, Australia and Ireland together. - Price: free, with no ads and no paywall.