Custom software has been out of reach for most small businesses for a simple reason: agency pricing assumes a project of a size you do not have.
The two things that make it worth it
Almost every worthwhile small business app does one of two things.
It removes hours. Somebody is spending four hours a week on something a system should do. Annualised, that is around 200 hours.
It removes fees. Platform commission, per-seat licences, marketplace cuts. These scale with your success, which means they get worse as you get better.
Put a number on whichever applies, annualise it, and compare it to a one-off cost you own outright. Most of the time the comparison is not close.
What we build for small businesses
- Customer-facing appsOrdering, booking, loyalty, accounts.
- Internal toolsJobs, stock, timesheets, inspections. Replacing the spreadsheet.
- Booking and remindersWhich is usually the fastest payback of anything on this list.
- Customer portalsFor businesses whose clients keep phoning to ask for an update.
Pick your sector for the specifics: restaurants, construction, retail, logistics, healthcare, or all industries.
When not to
Common questions
Is custom software realistic for a small business?
At £2,999 for a launched app, yes. The reason it has not been historically is that agency pricing assumes a project of a size small businesses do not have.
How do I know it will pay for itself?
Count either the hours it saves or the fees it removes, annualise them, and compare to a one-off cost. If the annual figure is bigger than the build, the decision is arithmetic.
What if I do not know what I need?
You need the problem, not the solution. Come with what is going wrong and what it costs you, and day one works out the rest.