Trusted by teams already running our tools
The jobs off-the-shelf software doesn't fit get done by hand, by the people you can least afford. We build the custom software that does them instead.
Trusted by teams already running our tools
Different businesses, same four problems. Almost every project we take on starts as one of these.
The weekly or monthly pack that gets assembled by hand — exports pulled, tabs stitched together, formulas patched where last month's broke. It is the same work every time, which is exactly what software is for. We build it once, connected to live data, so it is ready when you open it.
More on dashboards and reportingQuotes, tender documents and the packs that go out under your name. These are the ones that hurt twice: slow to produce, and expensive to get wrong in front of a client. We turn the pricing logic into software, so the document comes out right, on brand, in minutes.
More on document generationChasing enquiries that went quiet. Chasing timesheets. Logging what was quoted, what was won and what actually got done. None of it is difficult and all of it is relentless, so it slips — and the cost of it slipping is invisible until something is missed.
See what we automateA board pack, a director's view, a report that goes out to clients. The difference with a built system is that it does not just show you last month — you can filter it live and answer the follow-up question in the meeting, instead of promising to look into it.
Try a live demoBespoke software development, also called custom software development, means building software for one business's way of working instead of buying a product made for everyone. Off-the-shelf software asks you to change the process to suit the product. Bespoke software starts from the process: your pricing rules, your reports, your systems and the steps your team actually takes.
For a small or mid-sized business it rarely means replacing everything. Most of what we build sits on top of Xero, Microsoft 365, the CRM or the job system you already pay for, and does the work in between them that people currently do by hand.
Common examples are quoting and estimating tools, client portals, booking systems, management dashboards, CRMs shaped around one sales process, and stock or order systems. Some we have built:
Neither is better in general. The honest test is whether a product already does the job the way you do it.
| Off-the-shelf | Bespoke | |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Fits the common case; you change your process to match | Built around your process, exceptions included |
| Up-front cost | Low: a monthly subscription | Higher: a fixed price for the build |
| Ongoing cost | Per user, per month, for as long as you use it | Hosting and support, with no per-user fees |
| Time to start | Today | Weeks, with a working version early |
| Ownership | You rent it; the vendor decides what changes | You own the code and decide what changes |
| Connecting your systems | Whatever integrations the vendor offers | Whatever your process needs, where the systems allow it |
The full market picture, with typical UK prices, is in how much bespoke software costs. Our own fixed prices are on the pricing page. In Greater Manchester? See software development in Manchester.
Including the bits that only live in one person's head. Most of the value is in getting this part right, which is why we do not bill it separately.
A working version with your real process in it, not a slide deck. If it is not going to help, that is the point at which we would rather find out.
Each stage is quoted and agreed on its own, so you can stop whenever the remaining work stops being worth it. Nothing is built that you have not asked for.
“Now I can pick my kids up from school on a Friday rather than working late on our business reports.”
GS Foam Concrete — a specialist supplier where every job is priced differently. Quoting moved out of one estimator's workbook and into a tool the whole team can use.
Reporting built across a network of franchisees — so head office can see the whole picture and each franchise can see its own, from the same live numbers.
Off-the-shelf software asks you to change how you work to suit the product. Bespoke software is built the other way round — around the process your team already follows, including the parts that make your business different. For most SMEs the honest answer is a mix: keep the off-the-shelf tools that fit, and build custom software only for the work that does not.
No, and we would usually advise against it. We connect to the accounting, CRM and project systems you already pay for and build on top of them. Ripping out working software is expensive and rarely the reason the admin is slow.
We work in stages and aim to get something usable in front of your team early rather than disappearing for months. A single well-understood workflow is typically weeks, not quarters, and you see it working before the next stage is agreed.
It depends on how much time the manual version costs you. If one person loses an afternoon a week to a report, that is roughly six working weeks a year on one task. Custom software stops being a luxury at the point where the admin is cheaper to automate than to keep doing.
You do. There are no per-user licence fees and no lock-in — if you ever want to take it elsewhere, the code is yours. See pricing for what a project costs and what drives the number.
Our builds are fixed price, agreed before work starts, and start at £3,000. A single workflow such as a quoting tool typically runs £3,000–£6,000 (ex VAT). The price moves with the number of workflows, the systems it connects to, the people and roles it serves, data migration and how settled the process is.
It costs more up front than a subscription, it takes weeks rather than minutes to get started, and it needs someone to look after it once it is live. It is also only as good as the understanding of the process behind it. That is why we start small, show a working version early, and offer care plans rather than leaving you with code nobody maintains.
Tell us the job that eats the most time. We will tell you whether software would fix it, roughly what it would cost, and if it is not worth doing we will say so.