Custom Software Development
Custom Software Development for Small Businesses
Custom software for the jobs that have outgrown a spreadsheet but don't justify an enterprise system. Booking systems, customer portals, internal tools: built by the same two Lancashire-based people from first call to handover.
We build small, write down how it works, and hand over the code. From £5,000, typically ten to sixteen weeks.
What we build
Custom software for small businesses
Not platforms. Not apps with investor decks. Working software that does one job your business actually has:
Booking and scheduling systems
The replacement for the paper diary, the shared inbox and the four-email back-and-forth to agree a time.
Customers book, the system handles the rules (availability, reminders, payments if you take them), and your staff stop being a switchboard.
Customer portals
A place your customers log in to see their own information: documents, job status, invoices, whatever they currently ring you to ask about.
Every 'just checking where we're up to' call is a feature request for one of these.
Internal tools
Somewhere in your business there's a spreadsheet that everything secretly depends on: quoting, job tracking, stock. It works until the day someone sorts a column wrong.
We turn it into proper software: logins, history, validation, and no formula anyone can delete by accident.
Fit
When custom software makes sense, and when it doesn't
Most business problems are already solved by software you can rent for £30 a month, and if yours is one of them, we'll tell you and send you the link. That's not us being noble: recommending things we don't build is literally a service we sell.
Custom software earns its keep in three situations: the off-the-shelf options force you to work their way and the friction costs you daily; you're paying monthly for ten features and using two; or the spreadsheet holding things together has become load-bearing and everyone's quietly afraid of it.
If you're not sure which camp you're in, that's what the free call is for.
Approach
Bespoke software, built small on purpose
Version one does one job well. No eighteen-month roadmap, no features built on the off-chance: the smallest version that genuinely helps, in your hands quickly, extended later if it earns it. It's far cheaper to grow working software than to rescue ambitious software.
And we build nothing you can't take away from us. The code is yours, the documentation is written for the next developer as much as for you, and we use boring, well-understood tools on purpose. We're not building ourselves in.
Bespoke software development only earns its place when off-the-shelf cannot do the job, which is exactly when we recommend it.
Process
How it works
Ten to sixteen weeks for most projects, in four stages.
A free call
You describe the job, usually by describing the spreadsheet. We tell you whether custom software is the right answer, and roughly what it would cost. Sometimes the answer is 'buy this instead,' and the call is where that costs you nothing.
The spec
We write down what we're going to build, in plain English, with a fixed quote attached. No surprises later, because the surprises happen here, on paper, where they're cheap.
The build
Built in stages you can actually try, not a reveal at the end. You'll use the half-built version and change our minds about things while changing them is easy.
Test, train, hand over
We test it with your real work, train your team, and hand over the code and the documentation. Then it's yours.
Pricing
What custom software development costs
Projects start at £5,000. That's a small, focused tool, specced and built properly. Booking systems and portals typically land higher depending on what they need to do; our day rate is £600 and the spec stage tells you exactly how many days you're buying before you commit to them.
The quote is fixed once the spec is agreed. If we estimated wrong, we eat the difference. You don't.
For context: most UK firms quote £25,000+ for custom work, because most UK firms are built for bigger clients. Building small is the whole point of how we work.
£5,000
from, fixed quote
£600
day rate
10-16
weeks, typical project
Afterwards
After launch
The software is yours: code, documentation, intellectual property, all of it. From there, three options: self-host it with your own people, take our optional care plan for changes and updates, or let us run it on managed hosting from £50 a month, where we keep it monitored, backed up and patched.
Most clients pick the hosting. None of them have to.
Why us
Why choose us to build it?
The two people who scope your software, Brad and Nicole, are the two people who build it. There's no sales-to-delivery handover where the understanding falls down a gap, because there's no gap.
A spec you can read
Plain English, fixed quote, agreed before building starts.
Software you can leave with
Documented, standard tools, no lock-in.
Built in stages you can try
You steer while steering is cheap.
Real example
A UK medical association was losing a week every month to expenses spreadsheets. We built them an internal tool that runs the whole flow. The finance team got that week back, every month, when they process their expenses.
Things we get asked
Frequently asked questions
Scale
Built small on purpose, and built for bigger clients
Most UK firms quote £25,000 and upwards for custom work, because most UK firms are built for bigger clients than you.
How we build
- From £5,000, fixed once the written spec is agreed
- Version one does one job well, extended later if it earns it
- Boring, well-understood tools, chosen so anyone can maintain it
- Code, documentation and intellectual property handed over
- You use the half-built version and change our minds early
The enterprise quote
- £25,000 and upwards, before the change requests
- An eighteen-month roadmap and features built on the off-chance
- A stack only they can maintain
- A licence to use what you paid for
- A reveal at the end, when changing anything is expensive
Reviews
Rated 5/5 on Google
Every review below is from a real client we have worked with. They live on our Google profile, so you can read them in full and check they are genuine.
Brad and Nicole did a very good job helping me set up my Italian takeaway website and helping me get online.
I've noticed a steady flow of traffic on the website and believe it has made a big difference with the success of my takeaway. Very fair price and worked with me and my budget with honest recommendations and guidance.
Really great service from Brad and Nicole. Lovely collaborative effort where I felt understood and my vision was brought to life through their services! Thankyou guys
Working with Brad and Nicole on all of our business IT and website work has made a huge difference.
Our website consistently ranks in the top search results as a result of the thorough approach to SEO and keyword research.
Over 5 years working together we have had nothing but good service and honest conversations about how we manage our IT, reduce costs, and optimise. I highly recommend.
I've worked with Brad for several years, and he remains one of the most valuable business connections I've ever made. Thanks to his exceptional advice, skills, and expertise, IT is no longer a burden or concern. His support has truly been second to none!
Working with Brad was an absolute dream. From our very first conversation, he made the whole website process feel easy, clear, and totally stress-free. He translated my ideas into a site that not only looks stunning but also performs flawlessly. The design is sleek, modern, and genuinely top-of-the-range which is exactly what I was hoping for and more.
He handled everything from build to hosting seamlessly, with great communication throughout. I couldn't recommend him more highly if you're looking for a professional, high-end web presence without the usual hassle.
Start with a conversation
Describe the job, usually by describing the spreadsheet, and we'll tell you whether custom software is the right answer and roughly what it would cost. Sometimes the answer is 'buy this instead', and that costs you nothing to find out.