Do I really need a custom web app, or will an existing tool do?

Often an existing tool will do, and we will say so. Custom is worth it when the off-the-shelf options force you to change how you work, when you are paying for several tools that half-fit, or when the manual copying between them is eating real hours every week. If none of that is true yet, save your money.

How is this different from a website?

A website mostly shows information. An application does work — it stores data, enforces rules, has logins, and changes based on who is using it. Different job, different build, different price.

What happens if you disappear?

You own the code, the database, the servers and the documentation from day one. We write it so another developer can pick it up without calling us. That is the test we hold ourselves to.

Can it connect to the software we already use?

Usually yes. Accounting, CRM, payments, shipping, email — if it has an API, we can connect it. If it does not, we will tell you honestly what the workaround costs.

How long does a custom web app take?

A focused tool is four to eight weeks. A full system is two to four months. The honest bottleneck is decisions — every time we ask 'what should happen if...' and the answer takes a week, the project takes a week longer.

What if we need changes after launch?

Everyone does. Thirty days of changes are included. After that most clients take a monthly retainer, because an app you depend on needs someone watching it. No obligation though.

We are a small team. Is this overkill for us?

Not necessarily. Some of our best custom projects were for two or three people who were losing ten hours a week to manual work. The maths is simple — if the software saves more than it costs, build it. If not, do not.

Custom web apps built for how you actually work

Booking systems, dashboards, client portals, internal tools. The unglamorous apps you open every morning — built properly, documented, and yours to keep.

You are running your business on spreadsheets and hope

The spreadsheet works until it does not. Two people edit it at once, a formula breaks, and nobody notices for a week.

You are paying for five tools that almost fit. None of them talk to each other, so someone copies data between them by hand every day.

The off-the-shelf software makes you work its way. You bend your process around the tool instead of the other way round.

At some point it is cheaper to build the thing that actually fits.

What is actually included

Database designed first

We map your data before writing code. Get this wrong and everything after it is painful.

An API that makes sense

Clean REST endpoints, documented, so anything can talk to it later.

Roles and permissions

Who can see what, who can change what. Sorted properly, not bolted on.

Works on a phone

Your staff are not always at a desk. Neither is the software.

Real documentation

Not a README with three lines. Enough that another developer could take over tomorrow.

Full handover

Code, database, servers, docs. You own all of it.

Every kind of application we build

Marketplaces & multi-vendor platforms

More than one seller, one storefront. Vendor accounts, commission splits, payouts, and per-seller dashboards — the kind of custom ecommerce that Shopify and WooCommerce cannot do on their own.

Multi-vendorCommissionPayoutsVendor portals

Inventory & order management

Stock levels that are actually correct. Purchase orders, suppliers, low-stock alerts, and a record of what happened when. Connects to your store so the numbers match in both places.

Stock trackingSuppliersBarcodesReports

SaaS platforms

A web app you sell to your own customers, not just use yourself. Multi-tenant from the start — separate accounts, subscription billing, usage limits — so it grows from your first ten users to your first ten thousand without a rebuild.

Multi-tenantSubscriptionsStripe BillingDashboards

Learning platforms & LMS

Courses, lessons, quizzes, certificates, and student progress that actually tracks. Whether you are teaching ten students or running a paid course business, we build the platform around how you teach instead of forcing you into a template.

CoursesQuizzesCertificatesProgress tracking

Booking & scheduling systems

Appointments, classes, rooms, staff, equipment. Customers book themselves, you stop answering the phone to check a diary, and nobody gets double-booked. Payments and reminders wired in so you are not chasing anyone.

Calendar syncStripeRemindersMulti-staff

POS & point-of-sale systems

Sell in person and online from the same stock. A till that works on a tablet, syncs with your inventory, handles receipts and returns, and does not fall over when the internet drops for a minute.

Offline-readyInventory syncReceiptsCard readers

Admin dashboards & internal tools

The screen your team stares at all day. Orders, stock, customers, jobs, whatever your business actually runs on — in one place, searchable, and fast. Most of our custom work starts here, because this is where the spreadsheet finally breaks.

ReactNode.jsPostgreSQLCharts

Client & customer portals

A logged-in area where your clients see their own stuff — files, invoices, progress, messages. Cuts the emails asking 'where are we with this?' by most of the way.

AuthFile uploadsRolesNotifications

API development & integrations

Making your tools talk to each other. We build the API, or we connect the ones you already pay for — accounting, CRM, shipping, payments — so data stops being retyped by hand.

REST APIWebhooksThird-party APIsAutomation

Legacy software rebuilds

You have something that works but the developer vanished, the code is a mess, and every change is terrifying. We rebuild it on something modern, keep your data intact, and document it this time.

MigrationRefactorData transfer

The tools behind it

Node.jsExpressPostgreSQLPrismaREST APIMongoDBNode.jsExpressPostgreSQLPrismaREST APIMongoDBNode.jsExpressPostgreSQLPrismaREST APIMongoDB

ReactNext.jsTypeScriptRedisDockerAuthReactNext.jsTypeScriptRedisDockerAuthReactNext.jsTypeScriptRedisDockerAuth

How a custom web app gets built

Map it out

One call, then we write down what the software must do. This is the step people skip and regret.

Design

Figma screens for every important flow. You click through it before it exists.

Build

Weekly demos on a live link. You use it while it is being built, not after.

Launch

We migrate your data, train your team, and stay close for the first week.

Support

Thirty days free. Then a retainer if you want one — most people do for an app this important.

Things we have built

A sample of custom software we have shipped. Yours could be next.

Custom applications

Replacing a spreadsheet with a booking system for a physiotherapy clinic

Confidential client · United Kingdom

9 hrs/weekAdmin time saved

See all our work

What it costs

A custom web app is the one thing we cannot price from a template. These are real ranges from real projects — the exact number is fixed after we map the scope.

Small tool

$2,000 – $7,000

One clear job done well. A booking system, a simple dashboard, an internal tool replacing a spreadsheet. 4–8 weeks.

Custom database
Core features
User accounts
Mobile responsive
30 days support

Most common

Full application

$7,000 – $12,000

A proper system with several moving parts. Roles, integrations, reporting, and real complexity. 2–4 months.

Everything in Small tool
Multiple user roles
Third-party integrations
Reporting & exports
API
Training & docs

Platform

$12,000+

Multi-tenant software, complex logic, high traffic, or something you intend to sell to your own customers.

Everything in Full application
Multi-tenancy
Advanced permissions
Scalable infrastructure
Ongoing retainer

If you are not sure whether you need a custom app at all — ask us. Sometimes the honest answer is that an off-the-shelf tool will do, and we will tell you so.

Questions we get asked

Tell us what you are stuck with

A rough idea is enough to start. Send us a paragraph and we will come back within 24 hours with an honest read on scope, cost, and timeline.