Originally Posted by ClidaroTransport Although we are a new company and are very strapped for funds, what would be a realistic economical price for what is required?

A realistic price for a design on this forum would be anything between $150-$400.
There won't be many that can code a backend but with your specifications I'd say anything between $400-$800 is reasonable.

If you would hire a professional webdesign company you'd probably pay far more and probably not be any better off.

I would also suggest not asking the coding (backend) as part of a contest. It just wouldn't work out.