Custom software

Custom software development that replaces the spreadsheets your business has outgrown

Order tracking in a spreadsheet, stock counted by hand, the same data typed into three systems. We build the internal software that replaces it, scoped in writing first and built in stages you can test.

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Why this option

When it's the right call.

Most growing businesses run on a patchwork: a spreadsheet for orders, WhatsApp for job updates, an accounting package that does not talk to anything, and one person who knows how it all fits together. It works until it doesn't, when orders get missed, stock runs out without warning, or that one person goes on holiday. Custom software replaces the patchwork with one system built around how your business actually runs. Not a generic tool you bend your process to fit, but the process itself, written down and automated.

Your team spends hours a week re-typing the same information
Off-the-shelf tools each do part of the job and none of them talk to each other
Growth is limited by admin, not by demand

Who it's for

A good fit if…

Businesses running operations on spreadsheets, paper or WhatsApp groups
Companies paying for several tools that each solve one part of the problem
Teams with a process that is genuinely specific to them, and a competitive edge in it
Owners who need reliable numbers without assembling them by hand every week

Probably not, if

Maybe look elsewhere if…

A well-known off-the-shelf tool already fits your process. Use it, it is cheaper
You need something customers log into, like a portal or dashboard. That is a custom web application
The process itself is not settled yet. Software makes a process faster, not clearer

What you get

What's included.

Discovery: we sit with the people who do the work and map the real process, not the official one
A written scope with user roles, screens, data and integrations, priced per stage
Clickable prototypes of the key screens, approved before development starts
Staged development, each stage released to a test environment your team uses
Integrations with your accounting, payments, email, SMS or WhatsApp tools
Data migration from your spreadsheets or old system, checked line by line
Role-based access, audit logs, automated backups and error monitoring
Training, documentation and full handover of code and credentials

Under the hood

How we actually build it.

The detail that separates a page that ranks and converts from one that just exists.

Discovery: why we will not quote a number on day one

Any fixed price for software nobody has scoped is a guess, and the guess is usually paid for later in arguments about what was "included". So every project starts with a short, paid discovery phase. We interview the people who actually do the work, follow a few real orders or jobs from start to finish, and write down what the system has to do.

The output is a scope you can read: who uses the system, what each screen does, what data it keeps and which other tools it connects to. Each stage has its own fixed price. If you decide not to go ahead, you keep the document, and it is useful to any developer.

Built in stages, so you see it working early

We do not disappear for four months and come back with a finished system. The first stage is the smallest version that does one important job end to end, for example taking an order and showing it on the warehouse screen. Your team uses it on a test environment, tells us what is wrong, and we fix it before moving on.

Staging the build protects your budget. If priorities change halfway through, which they usually do once people see the system working, the next stage changes with them instead of a finished feature being thrown away.

Integrations: the part that saves the most time

Most of the value in internal software is in what it stops people doing by hand. That usually means connecting to the tools you already pay for: your accounting software, payment gateway, courier, email and SMS providers, or your CRM. Where a tool has a proper API, we use it. Where it does not, we tell you, and suggest an export, a scheduled import or a different tool.

We also check the boring things that break integrations in practice: what happens when the other service is down, how duplicates are prevented, and who gets told when something fails.

Your data, and getting it in safely

Years of history sit in spreadsheets and old systems, often inconsistent. We clean and migrate it as a planned step, with a test import you check before the real one, so the new system starts with numbers your team trusts.

The database, the hosting account and the code repository are in your name. We build on mainstream technology, usually Laravel and MySQL or PostgreSQL, so you are never tied to us to keep it running.

Switching over

Migrating from something else?

Spreadsheets and shared drives An old system nobody wants to touch Several disconnected off-the-shelf tools

Most custom software replaces something. We plan the switch as carefully as the build: the old and new systems run side by side for a short period where needed, data is migrated with a test run first, and staff are trained on the stage they will use before it goes live. Nobody is asked to stop working while we change their tools. If the system needs to appear on your website too, such as live stock or bookings, your site can read from it directly.

Avoid these

Common mistakes we don't make.

Building software to match the official process rather than the one people actually follow
Trying to build everything in one go instead of the most important job first
Choosing obscure technology that only the original developer can maintain
Leaving data migration until the last week
Code and hosting registered in the developer's name, not the business's
No backups or monitoring until the first time something breaks

Pricing

What it costs.

Fixed and itemised. Remove anything you don't need, add anything you do.

Discovery

From $500

A written scope and staged price.

Process mapping with your team
User roles and screens
Integration review
Scope with a price per stage

Get a quote

Recommended

First release

Custom quote

The most important job, built properly.

Everything in Discovery
Prototype of key screens
Staged development
Data migration
Training and handover

Get a quote

Ongoing development

Custom quote

The next stages, at a steady pace.

Monthly development time
New features each month
Fixes and updates
Monitoring and backups

Get a quote

Add-ons

Extra integrationQuoted
Reporting dashboardQuoted
Hosting and maintenanceQuoted

Straight talk

When we'd point you elsewhere.

We'd rather lose the sale than sell you the wrong thing.

If the people using it are your customers rather than your staff, a customer-facing web application is the closer fit.

Custom web application development
If the real problem is leads and follow-ups falling through the cracks, a properly set-up CRM may solve it for less.

CRM development
If you are building a product to sell to other businesses, start with an MVP built for that.

SaaS & MVP development

Often paired with

What people usually add to this.

These are the pieces that most often go alongside custom software development, and the ones we'd raise on a call.

CRM development

Custom CRMs, or the one you have, set up properly.

Fix your pipeline

Custom web application development

Bespoke web apps, dashboards and portals.

Scope your app

UI/UX design

Product design, prototypes and usability.

See how we design

All software development services Pricing across all services How a project runs

Questions

Before you get in touch.

How much does custom software cost?

Discovery starts from $500 and produces a written scope with a fixed price for each stage. That scope prices the build stage by stage, so the total depends on how many stages you choose to build, and you decide one stage at a time.

Is custom software better than an off-the-shelf tool?

Only when no off-the-shelf tool fits your process well. If one does, it is usually cheaper and faster, and we will tell you so in discovery. Custom software earns its cost when your process is specific to you or the tools you use cannot be connected.

Who owns the software?

You do. The code repository, database, hosting and credentials are in your name, and you receive documentation at handover.

Can it connect to the tools we already use?

Usually, yes. Most accounting, payment, courier and messaging tools have APIs we can integrate with. We check each one during discovery and tell you plainly if one cannot be connected.

What happens after launch?

You can take the code and run it yourself, or keep us on an ongoing plan for fixes, updates, monitoring and new features. Either way, nothing is locked to us.

More general questions about working with us are answered on the FAQ page, or just ask us directly.

Thinking about custom software development?

Send us your site or your idea. We'll tell you honestly whether this is the right approach, what it would take, and roughly what it would cost. No pitch deck, no pressure.

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