Web apps & custom software
The tool your business actually needs, not the one you settled for.
A spreadsheet that started as a convenience and quietly became the thing the business runs on is a common story, and a risky one. So is an off-the-shelf system that does eighty per cent of the job and forces a workaround for the rest.
Custom software earns its cost when the process is genuinely yours and the workaround is adding up in hours every week. What does not earn its cost is a twelve-month project that tries to replace everything at once. I build a small, sharp first version that handles the part that hurts most, put it in front of the people who will actually use it, and extend it from there once real use has shown what matters. It connects to the tools you already run rather than asking you to abandon them.
What’s included
- A working first version you can put in front of real users
- Secure logins and role-based access
- Integration with tools you already use
- Documentation written for humans
- Ongoing changes as your process evolves
Starting from
£1,500
for a focused first version
Best for
Businesses running a critical process on spreadsheets, paper, or sheer memory.
How it runs
Working out what actually hurts
A session mapping how the process runs today, including the parts done from memory. The goal is the smallest change that removes the most pain.
A scoped first version
What the first version will and will not do, in writing, with a price. Ruthlessly small, on purpose.
Build, with you watching
You get access as it comes together, so the thing being built stays the thing the business needs.
Real use, then extend
Real users and real data first, then a decision about what to build next based on what that taught you rather than what either of us guessed.
Common questions
- Why not just buy something off the shelf?
- Usually you should, and you will hear that from me if it is the answer. Custom is worth it when the process is particular to your business, or when the off-the-shelf option needs a workaround that costs hours every week.
- What happens to the data already in the spreadsheet?
- It gets migrated in. A tool that starts empty gets abandoned. A tool that already knows your customers gets used from the first day.
- What if I need changes after it is live?
- Expected, and priced as they come rather than bundled into a retainer you may not need. Most first versions get a round of changes within a month of real use.
Got something in mind?
Tell me what you are trying to do and I will tell you honestly whether I can help, what it would cost, and how long it would take. I reply within one working day.