When off-the-shelf does not fit
When off-the-shelf programs do not fit your business, we build to measure
Most companies bend the way they work to suit the software they bought. Custom software works the other way round — it is built around the process that already earns you money, instead of rearranging it. Sometimes that is the right call. Sometimes it is not, and we will tell you so.
When your own system is worth it — and when off-the-shelf is better
Off-the-shelf programs are cheap, quick to start and maintained by somebody else. If your process is the ordinary one for your trade, such a program almost certainly exists — and then building your own is an expensive way to get something worse.
Your own system earns its place when something about how you work is genuinely different, and that different thing is what brings in the money. Or when you are paying for five separate programs that do not talk to each other, and the gap between them is covered by hand.
- You work in a way no off-the-shelf program supports
- Your core process lives in a spreadsheet because nothing else fits it
- You pay for several subscriptions to cover one job
- Data is entered twice because the programs do not speak to each other
- Your growth is limited by a tool rather than by the market
What we build
We start from what the thing has to do, not from what it is called. The names below are only for orientation.
- An internal system that holds your whole process in one place instead of several files
- A web application reachable from any computer or phone, with nothing to install
- A portal where your clients or partners see their own information themselves
- A dashboard with the real numbers of the business, collected automatically
- Connections between the systems you already have, so they work as one
How we work — from a conversation to a first working version
Nobody can describe a whole system at the start, including you, and that is normal. So we do not try. We build in pieces, each one usable, and the next is decided after you have seen the last.
- A conversationwhat the process is and which part of it hurts
- Agreeing the shapewhat the thing will do, and what it will not
- A first working versionthe most important part, usable, not a demo
- Building it outbased on how it is actually being used
- Rollout and trainingwith the people who will work in it
The code and the data stay yours
This is the difference between your own system and a subscription. Whatever we build is yours — the source code, the data, and the ability to take both and carry on with somebody else if you decide to.
There is no monthly fee for the right to use it, and no price that rises because you grew. You pay for the build, and for support if you want it from us.
What drives the scope and the cost
Custom software is an investment rather than a purchase, and the cost depends entirely on scope. We do not publish a price, because any published price would be invented until we know what we are building. These are what move it:
- How many genuinely distinct things the system has to do
- How many people use it, and with what different permissions
- How many outside systems it connects to
- Whether existing data has to be brought across
- How much of the process has to be ready in the first version
What happens after it goes live
Software that gets used changes, because the business changes. We expect that: the system is built so it can be added to rather than rebuilt every time.
Support can sit with us or with your own team. Either way you get the documentation and the access needed so you do not depend on one particular person.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take?
It depends on scope, and we would not name a number before knowing it. We work in stages precisely so you do not wait for the whole project to get the first benefit.
Who owns the code?
You do. The code and the data are yours, including the right to take them and continue with another supplier.
Can it connect to the programs we already use?
Usually yes. Connecting to outside systems is a separate part of the work and we assess it up front, because it depends on what the other system allows.
What if we need changes later?
That is normal and it is planned for. It is why the system is built in pieces — adding something new does not mean touching everything else.
What happens if we stop working with you?
You get the code, the data and the access. That is also why we do not work on a licence-to-use subscription — we do not want to be your only option.
Describe the process that does not fit
Tell us how you work today. We will tell you whether something off-the-shelf will do, or whether your own is worth it.