Custom software

When the spreadsheet became the system.

Most businesses have one process that outgrew the tool holding it: a workbook nobody dares touch, a portal that does half the job, a routine that only one person knows. That is what we build replacements for.

Book a free consultSee what we have built
workbook.xlsxapproval queueDeal approvedTimesheet importedAwaiting reviewcommission£4,182.60

Built for one business

Three we can talk about.

Every figure below was reported by the client, not modelled. Names are withheld until each has signed off on being named.

UK education staffing agency

A referencing portal that chases for you

Before

Reference outreach and follow-up were handled by hand, with updates copied between email, the CRM and a separate submission form tool. Whether a reference got chased depended on whether someone remembered, and three systems held three versions of the truth.

What we built

A single portal that folds email, the CRM and the submission forms into one process. Requests go out, follow-ups fire on a schedule, and every reference is tracked to completion. Invalid and bounced addresses are detected at send rather than discovered later.

  • Around 80% of the process now runs without a person in it
  • Over 2,500 reference checks a month, up from roughly 700
  • No reference is missed, because chasing no longer depends on anyone remembering
  • Bounce detection keeps bad contact data out of the CRM

UK defence and technology staffing agency

Replacing the commission workbook end to end

Before

Two timesheet vendors produced two different formats, both normalised by hand into a spreadsheet every month. It took more than fifteen hours, and the errors it introduced were the kind that are only found when someone disputes their commission.

What we built

A web application that replaces the workbook entirely. Deals are entered once and move through an approval queue. Timesheets import directly from both source systems with the two billing models handled correctly. Commission is calculated by one tested engine rather than by formulas scattered across a sheet, with monetary values stored as integers in pence and the rules in one place under unit tests, so the logic is inspectable instead of buried.

  • More than 15 hours of manual work removed every month
  • Monthly, quarterly and annual views, per-person statements and Excel exports
  • Sales league, targets and KPIs in the same place as the numbers behind them
  • Absorbed holiday and sickness tracking: entitlement accruing with length of service, bank holidays, the Christmas shutdown, half days, an approval queue and an admin balances view

Hong Kong insurance technology company

Claims intake and review, with a human still in the loop

Before

Claims were processed manually from end to end. Submission was awkward for the customer and review was slow and expensive for the business.

What we built

A mobile app that makes submitting a claim straightforward, feeding automated processing pipelines behind it. Review stays human where judgement is required. The automation prepares and routes the work rather than deciding the outcome.

  • Claim review 60% faster
  • Processing cost down 25%
  • Submission moved to an app customers can actually use

How it is built

Yours to keep, and yours to change.

Business rules in one place

The logic that decides money or eligibility lives in one tested module, not scattered across a codebase or buried in spreadsheet formulas. When a rule changes, there is one place to change it.

Built to be inspected

You get the repository and the documentation. The point is that someone else could pick it up. Being hard to leave is not a business model we are interested in.

Alongside, not instead of

These builds sit next to the CRM and tools you already run, taking over the part being done by hand. Replacing a system of record is a separate and much larger decision.

Process

Four stages. No surprises.

You see a working prototype before money changes hands, and a demo at the end of every stage after that.

  1. 01

    Discovery

    We map how the work happens today, find the steps that cost you the most time, and agree what success looks like.

  2. 02

    Free Prototype

    You get an interactive prototype on your own device before any invoice, so you can judge the real thing, not a slide deck.

  3. 03

    Build & Demo

    We design, build and test in stages, demoing at the end of each one and folding your feedback straight back into the work.

  4. 04

    Launch & Support

    QA, deployment with minimal disruption, then ongoing support and maintenance as the business changes around it.

FAQ

Questions we get asked about custom builds.

When is custom software the right answer over an off-the-shelf tool?

When the process is the thing that makes you different, or when no product fits it without you changing how you work. If an existing tool covers it, we will tell you to buy that instead. It is cheaper for you and we would rather be right than booked.

What happens to the code?

It is yours. You get the repository, the documentation and the ability to hand it to anyone else. We build to be inspectable, with business rules in one place and under tests, precisely so you are not dependent on us to change them later.

How do we know it will work before we commit?

You see a working prototype against your own process first, at no cost. That settles more questions than a specification document does, and it is a great deal cheaper than finding out four months in.

Do you replace the systems we already have?

Usually not. Most of these builds sit alongside the CRM and the tools already in place, taking over the part that was being done in a spreadsheet or by hand. Replacing a system of record is a separate decision and a much larger one.

Get in touch

Tell us what is slowing you down.

Big or small, web or mobile, one workflow or a whole platform. Send us the shape of the problem and we will come back with how we would approach it.

  • A reply within one business day
  • A free interactive prototype before any invoice
  • No obligation and no sales sequence

Reply within one business day