Isn't custom software always more expensive than buying?

Usually, and we'll say so when it's true: the first thing we do is check whether something off the shelf fits. Building wins in two situations. When the per-seat cost of a platform that fits badly exceeds the build cost within a couple of years, and when the thing you need genuinely doesn't exist. If neither applies, we'll tell you which product to buy instead.

What happens when you're not around?

You own the repository, the database, and the hosting accounts from day one. We work in your accounts where possible rather than ours. Standard stack, documented decisions, no proprietary framework. Any competent developer can pick it up, which is the point.

Can you work with our existing developer?

Yes, and it's often the right shape: we build the first version and set the patterns, your developer maintains and extends it. We'll write for that handover rather than for ourselves.

How is this different from your workflow automation service?

Workflow automation moves data between systems that already exist. This builds the system that doesn't. In practice they arrive together, a warehouse needs pipelines feeding it, and a portal needs the workflows behind it, so plenty of engagements span both.

Do you do mobile apps?

No. We build web applications, which on a phone means a responsive site rather than something from an app store. If you need native iOS or Android, we're the wrong shop and we'll say so on the call.

All services

Service · 05

The software your operation needs, when nobody sells it.

Some problems don't have a SaaS answer. The tool that fits your process costs more per seat than the process is worth, or fits eighty percent and forces a spreadsheet for the rest. We build the missing twenty percent as real software, and hand you the keys.

Request a call Try the ROI calculator

$6,000 – $50,000+4–14 weeks

How the work runs

01Decide the smallest useful version
02Model the data first
03Ship it narrow, then widen
04Hand over properly

Typical range

$6,000 – $50,000+

Timeline

4–14 weeks

Example outcome

Now runs: Our own billing
Test coverage: 467 assertions
Platform subscription: Retired

Built against

Next.js
Postgres
Neon
Supabase
Stripe
Cloudflare Workers
Vercel
Airtable

The problem we solve

You've outgrown the spreadsheet and undergrown the platform.

This engagement usually starts with one of these sentences:

The spreadsheet is now load-bearing

Something critical runs on a workbook only one person understands, with formulas nobody dares touch and no history of who changed what. It works until they're on holiday.

Nobody can answer a simple question

How profitable was that client? Which projects are over budget right now? The data exists, split across four systems that disagree, and answering takes a person half a day.

You're paying per seat for a bad fit

A platform that costs five figures a year and still needs manual workarounds, because it was built for a business that runs differently from yours.

What we build

Small software, built properly.

Not enterprise projects. Focused applications that do one job well, ship in weeks rather than quarters, and don't need a development team to keep running:

Reporting warehouses and dashboards

A Postgres warehouse fed by scheduled pipelines from your CRM, billing, and delivery systems, with a change ledger so you can see what moved and when. Then the dashboards leadership actually opens.

OutcomeNightly ETL into Neon, with back-office dashboards over the top

Internal tools that replace a subscription

Time tracking, invoicing, approvals, ops admin. When the per-seat cost of a platform exceeds the cost of building exactly what you need, building wins, and keeps winning every year after.

OutcomeWe did this to ourselves: our billing runs on software we built

Client and partner portals

Authenticated spaces where your customers see their own data, project status, deliverables, invoices, without emailing someone to ask.

Billing and invoicing systems

Rate cards, retainer balances with overage carry-forward, approval gates before anything reaches a client, and Stripe underneath. The logic your accounting package can't express.

Database modernisation

Legacy data out of a plugin, an Access file, or a decade-old CMS, validated and into something queryable, with the record count reconciled before anything is switched off.

Real example

We got tired of our own time-tracking tool, so we replaced it.

The setup

We were paying for a project-management platform to do time tracking and invoicing, and fighting it on the parts that mattered: retainer overages needed manual carry-forward every month, the client-facing view didn't exist, and reconciling logged time against what we'd actually invoiced meant exporting to a spreadsheet. Rather than accept it, we built the replacement, and migrated every historical entry across.

What we did

1Time logged against tasks, with rate cards per client and per role
2Retainer balances that carry overage forward automatically each month
3A client portal showing exactly what was worked on and what it cost
4Invoice drafts generated from approved time, reviewed before they send
5Restorable backups and an alerting path, because it bills real money

Outcome

Now runs: Our own billing
Test coverage: 467 assertions
Platform subscription: Retired

How we deliver

How we build it.

Custom software earns its reputation for overruns when scope is discovered rather than decided. We front-load the deciding.

Decide the smallest useful version

What has to exist for this to replace the spreadsheet? Everything else is a later phase, written down as such so it doesn't quietly become phase one.

Model the data first

Most custom-app pain is data-model pain discovered late. We agree the schema and the reporting questions it has to answer before any interface exists.

Ship it narrow, then widen

A working slice in front of real users early, so the feedback arrives while changing course is still cheap.

Hand over properly

Your repo, your database, your hosting account, documented, plus a maintenance retainer if you'd rather we kept running it.

Tools we work in

We build inside your stack, not on top of it.

Don't see a tool you use? Ask. We've worked with 100+ platforms; the list below is what comes up most often.

Next.js
Postgres
Neon
Supabase
Stripe
Cloudflare Workers
Vercel
Airtable
Retool
Metabase

Pricing snapshot

$6,000 – $50,000+

4–14 weeks

Internal tools and dashboards typically land in the $6,000–$20,000 range. Warehouses with pipelines, or portals with authentication and billing, run higher. Fixed fee against a written scope, phased where it makes sense.

Get a fixed quote Full pricing

Free 30-min scoping call
Written fixed-fee quote
Source code + workflows you own
30 days post-launch tuning
No hourly surprises

Questions

Common questions.

Isn't custom software always more expensive than buying?: Usually, and we'll say so when it's true: the first thing we do is check whether something off the shelf fits. Building wins in two situations. When the per-seat cost of a platform that fits badly exceeds the build cost within a couple of years, and when the thing you need genuinely doesn't exist. If neither applies, we'll tell you which product to buy instead.
What happens when you're not around?: You own the repository, the database, and the hosting accounts from day one. We work in your accounts where possible rather than ours. Standard stack, documented decisions, no proprietary framework. Any competent developer can pick it up, which is the point.
Can you work with our existing developer?: Yes, and it's often the right shape: we build the first version and set the patterns, your developer maintains and extends it. We'll write for that handover rather than for ourselves.
How is this different from your workflow automation service?: Workflow automation moves data between systems that already exist. This builds the system that doesn't. In practice they arrive together, a warehouse needs pipelines feeding it, and a portal needs the workflows behind it, so plenty of engagements span both.
Do you do mobile apps?: No. We build web applications, which on a phone means a responsive site rather than something from an app store. If you need native iOS or Android, we're the wrong shop and we'll say so on the call.

Explore more

Other services we offer.

Workflow Automation & Integrations

The core build: multi-step workflows that move data across your CRM, billing, project management, and comms. Automatically, reliably, and at scale.

Learn more

AI Automation & Agents

The judgment layer: AI for the unstructured steps rule-based workflows can't handle, with validation, human gates, and a real answer on where AI doesn't belong.

Learn more

Automation Strategy & Program Leadership

The engagement where we think and lead rather than build: audit, prioritization, and PMP-certified program leadership so the right things get automated in the right order.

Learn more

Platform Implementations

End-to-end configuration, data migration, go-live, and team enablement for the platforms your business runs on.

Learn more

Website Builds & SEO Programs

Marketing sites built like operations assets: fast, measured in Search Console, wired to your CRM, and QA-checked by an automated agent suite before launch.

Learn more

n8n Consulting & Development

The platform behind most of our builds: self-hosted deployments, Zapier and Make migrations, and managed hosting, plus n8n-native workflow development.

Learn more

RecruitCRM Consulting & Integration

Configuration, data cleanup, and the integrations RecruitCRM doesn't ship: bulk imports with governance, reporting that leaves the platform, and placement-to-invoice.

Learn more

Go deeper

Custom Apps & Data Platforms playbooks from the blog.

Build vs Buy vs Hire: A Decision Framework for Your Next Automation Project

Sometimes buying Zapier is the right call. Sometimes hiring an agency is. Sometimes building in-house wins. Here's the framework, and the math, for picking right.

Read the playbook

Automating Your RevOps Dashboard: Self-Updating KPIs Across Salesforce, HubSpot, and Slack

Companies with a RevOps function grow 36% faster. What separates them isn't the function: it's the dashboards. Here are the 12 KPIs that matter and the architecture that keeps them current without a human in the loop.

Read the playbook

Ready to scope your custom apps & data platforms project?

Request a call. We'll talk through your stack, your goals, and walk away with a scoped plan and a quote.

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