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Bespoke software development to replace your spreadsheets

An internal tool built around the way you work, one process to begin with: production tracking, quoting, planning, quality records or stock. One database that reads your ERP, instead of files passed around by email.

Updated

From

£13,000 ex VAT

Timeline
8 to 14 weeks
Pricing
Fixed price per stage
Request an auditEstimate my project
A sample screen, for illustration. The companies and data are made up.
SpreadsheetsE-mailsBusiness appDashboardSpreadsheetsE-mailsBusiness appDashboard

You need this if

  • One Excel workbook runs the shop floor, and only one person knows how to maintain it.
  • A Microsoft Access database from 2008 still holds your costings or quality records, and nobody dares touch it.
  • The same information is keyed in three times: in the ERP, in a spreadsheet, then in an email.
  • Two versions of the production plan are going round, and nobody knows which one is right.
  • Your ERP handles one specific job badly, and the vendor’s module costs too much for what it does.

What the application includes

  • Screens for each role

    One screen per job: production manager, sales office, quality, stores. Each person sees what they need, with their own permissions, on a desktop, a shop-floor tablet or a phone.

  • A single database

    Your data in a structured PostgreSQL database instead of workbooks. Every change is logged: who, what, when.

  • Your business rules

    Your calculations, statuses and approvals: cost price, works order status, stock thresholds, sign-off steps.

  • Data migration

    Existing spreadsheets and Microsoft Access databases are imported, once duplicates are removed and part numbers checked.

  • ERP connection

    Reading through an API, file exchange or a connector: Sage 200, Access Dimensions, Pegasus Opera, Odoo, SAP Business One or an in-house system. Writing to the ERP is an optional module.

  • Exports and documents

    PDFs, Excel exports, labels, dashboards. Figures come out of the tool, not out of copy and paste.

Example: tracking jobs through a sheet-metal shop

A typical flow with the module that writes to the ERP, by way of illustration. The company and the data are fictional.

  1. 1

    The sales office confirms an order in the ERP: the application raises the works order, with its routing and drawings.

  2. 2

    The production manager drops the works order onto a machine in the plan; the week’s load recalculates.

  3. 3

    The operator clocks the start and end of each operation on the tablet at the workstation.

  4. 4

    Inspection enters its measurements; a non-conformance holds the dispatch and alerts the quality manager.

  5. 5

    The sales office follows progress without ringing the shop floor, and the delivery note goes back into the ERP.

How the project runs

  1. Audit

    We follow one order from end to end, open your files and list what the ERP can already do.

    1 to 2 weeks

  2. Specification

    Screen mock-ups, data schema, a list of what is included and excluded. The firm price is fixed.

    1 to 2 weeks

  3. Build

    A delivery every two weeks on a test environment. Your teams try it with real situations.

    5 to 9 weeks

  4. Launch

    Data migration, training role by role, go-live. One month of fixes against the specification is included, then maintenance by the month.

    1 week, then a month of fixes

Durations to scale, using the longest stated

What the price covers

The starting price is for an application covering one process (production tracking, for example): about ten screens, data migration and reading from the ERP. It includes the specification; the audit is priced separately. The final price is fixed after the specification, before the build.

Estimate my projectSee pricing

Application for one process, linked to the ERP
from £13,000 ex VAT
Additional process: quoting, planning, quality, stock
from £4,400 ex VAT
Writing to the ERP: orders, stock movements
from £2,600 ex VAT
Audit and roadmap, deducted from the first project we build for you
£1,650 ex VAT
Maintenance
from £390 ex VAT a month

Payment, for each stage

30%
on order
70%
on accepted delivery

Bespoke business software, a management system or a custom ERP?

The three terms overlap. What changes is how much the tool replaces.

TermWhat it coversExample
Bespoke business applicationOne specific process, for one team.Production tracking, quote costing, shop-floor planning, quality records.
Bespoke management systemSeveral linked processes in one database.Quotes, orders, stock and dispatch for an activity the ERP handles badly.
Custom ERPThe whole back office, accounts included.Rarely sensible for an SME: the bespoke software guide gives the figures.

We build the first two. Your ERP or accounts package keeps the ledgers, invoicing and the item master; the application plugs into it and covers what it does badly. If the tool is for your customers or partners rather than your own staff, you are looking at a web application or a customer portal.

Custom software development, an ERP module or off-the-shelf: how to decide

Custom software development is worth it when the way you work is an advantage that standard tools would make you give up. In every other case there is something cheaper.

OptionThe right choice ifLimit
Keep the spreadsheetTwo or three users, a stable process, little at stake if a figure is wrong.Several versions, no record of changes, reliance on one person.
A module of your ERPThe need is a common one (stock, MRP, purchasing) and your vendor sells the module.A licence per user, set-up by the reseller, screens you cannot change much.
Off-the-shelf softwareThe job is well served by vendors: maintenance management, scheduling, quality management.A subscription for good, your rules bend to the tool, an ERP link still to build.
Bespoke applicationYour rules are unusual, several teams enter the same data, the ERP has to stay the reference.A higher cost up front, and maintenance to budget for.
If off-the-shelf software covers 80% of the need, buy it. The audit is also there to tell you so, and the bespoke software guide sets out the comparison in detail. If the starting point is a spreadsheet, the guide on moving from Excel to a web app covers the lighter options.

What drives the cost of bespoke business software

  • The number of processes and screens. Production tracking alone costs less than a tool that also covers quoting and stock. Each process is priced separately.
  • The links to the ERP. Reading orders or items is simple. Writing to the ERP (a stock movement, a delivery note) needs more checks and more testing.
  • The state of the data. Ten years of spreadsheets hold duplicates, part numbers typed three different ways and columns used for something else. Cleaning them is part of the project.
  • The calculation rules. A cost price with routings, hourly rates and subcontracting is specified line by line, with the person who works it out today.
  • Shop-floor use. Tablets, barcode scanners, patchy wifi: all manageable, provided they are planned for in the specification.

The specification settles the scope and the price before the build, as set out in how we work. A request that is not in it is priced and agreed in writing before any work is done.

After go-live

  • In your name from day one. The code repository and the hosting are opened in your name, and rights in the code pass to you as each stage is paid.
  • Hosted in the EU, easy to take over. The database is hosted in the European Union. The application is written with common tools (Next.js, React, TypeScript, PostgreSQL) that another supplier or an in-house developer can pick up.
  • One month of fixes, then maintenance. One month of fixes against the specification is included after go-live. After that, maintenance is paid by the month with no lock-in: updates, backups, monitoring, small changes.
  • Larger changes at a fixed price. A larger change (a new process, a new link to the ERP) goes through a short specification and a fixed price.

Some tasks are better automated than given another screen: reading orders that arrive by email, drafting a quote from an enquiry. In that case an automation feeds the application and your staff only check the result.

Frequently asked questions

How much does bespoke software development cost?

From £13,000 ex VAT for one process, about ten screens, data migration and reading from the ERP. Each additional process starts at £4,400 ex VAT. The final price is fixed after the specification.

How long does it take?

Allow 8 to 14 weeks from the start of the audit to go-live. The first delivery on the test environment comes about two weeks after the build begins.

Will it work with our ERP or accounts package?

Yes, if it offers an API, file exchange or a connector. That can be Sage 200, Access Dimensions, Pegasus Opera, Odoo, SAP Business One, your MRP system or an in-house tool. The audit checks this first.

Who owns the code?

The code repository, the hosting and the domain name are opened in your name from day one. Rights in the code pass to you as each stage is paid, and you can then hand the work to anyone you choose.

What happens to our Excel files and our Microsoft Access database?

Their data is migrated into the application once it has been cleaned. Excel stays useful for analysis: the application exports its data, but nobody types into a file any more.

What if the project goes badly?

You can stop after any stage and keep everything delivered and paid for. Each stage has a price fixed in advance: 30% on order, the balance on the accepted delivery. The stages already delivered and accepted remain due, nothing further is invoiced, and the code is already in your repository.

Read next

Start with a fixed-price audit

In one to two weeks you know what to build, in what order and in what price range. The audit fee is deducted from the first project we build for you.

£1,650 ex VAT 1 to 2 weeks See a sample report

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