Custom Software Development
When spreadsheets or off-the-shelf software no longer fit: business systems built around how you work, connected to Xero or MYOB
Plenty of businesses run important work on spreadsheets: quoting, job tracking, stock, rosters, commissions. It works until it doesn't. Several people edit the same file, one person is the only one who understands it, mistakes slip through, and someone retypes the results into Xero or MYOB.
We build business software around how you already work, bring your data across from the spreadsheets or old system (cleaned and checked), and connect the new system to Xero or MYOB so information is only entered once.
What you get: fewer mistakes, less retyping, one set of records your team can trust, and a system that doesn't depend on one person. If a product you can buy already does the job, we'll tell you, and help you set it up instead.
When to Build, and When to Buy
Important Work Runs on Spreadsheets
If a spreadsheet has become the system that quotes, schedules or tracks money, you have outgrown Excel. A proper system lets several people work at once, keeps a history of changes, checks entries as they go in, and doesn't break when someone sorts the wrong column.
Products You've Tried Only Fit Part of the Way
You have looked at the products on the market, and each one does most of what you need but forces your team to work around the rest. Often the workarounds end up in another spreadsheet. A system built for you does the whole job, the way you do it.
Your Systems Don't Talk to Each Other
The job system, the stock list and Xero or MYOB each hold part of the picture, and someone copies information between them. Sometimes the answer is a new system. Sometimes it is simply connecting the ones you have.
How You Work Is Part of What Makes You Good
If the way you quote, schedule or check quality is what sets you apart, forcing it into a standard product can cost you that edge. Software built around your process keeps it.
When NOT to Build Custom Software
Don't build custom software if:
- A product already does exactly what you need (use Xero or MYOB, not custom accounting software)
- The real fix is changing how you work, not putting a messy process into software
- There is no budget to look after the software once it is built
- Nobody can yet say clearly what it needs to do (sort that out first, or you pay to build the wrong thing)
- A ready-made tool or a simple connection between your current systems would do the same job
What We Build
| Project Type | What You Get | Good Fit When |
|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet Replacement | The spreadsheet rebuilt as a proper system several people can use at once, with your data brought across and checked | A spreadsheet has become the system |
| Old Database Replacement | An Access or FileMaker database rebuilt as a supported, web-based system, with the history kept | Nobody can safely change the old one |
| Business System | A system for one core part of the business, such as quotes, jobs, stock or purchasing, connected to Xero or MYOB | Products only fit part of the way |
| Larger Business Platform | Several parts (for example jobs, stock and purchasing) working together, delivered in stages | Several teams work from the same information |
| Connecting Your Current Systems | Your existing software linked so information passes between them automatically, with problems flagged to a person | The systems are fine; the retyping isn't |
What Drives the Cost
The main things are how many people use it, how many steps it handles, which systems it connects to and how much data comes across. We work out what you need first, then give you a fixed quote after a free initial chat.
A fixed quote needs a clear picture of what is being built, so we spend time on that up front. If part of the job is still uncertain, we say so and price that part separately, rather than leaving you with an open-ended bill.
Ongoing Costs
Plan for:
- Hosting: the cost of running the system online, which depends on its size
- Support: a yearly cost to keep it running and fix problems — plan for it from the start
- Other services: things like payments, SMS or email, if the system uses them
- Security updates: keeping the system and the tools it is built on up to date
- Changes: new features as the business changes
How It Works
1. Understand How You Work
We sit with the people who do the work, look at the spreadsheets and systems you use now, and agree what the new system must do and what it connects to. You get a plain-English description of it and a fixed quote.
2. Design
We show you what the screens will look like and how information moves through the system, so you can change things before anything is built.
3. Build in Stages
We build a piece at a time and show you working software regularly. If something isn't right, it is fixed early, not discovered at the end.
4. Test With Your Team
Your people use it with real examples before go-live. We check the data brought across from your spreadsheets or old system against the original.
5. Go Live
We switch over on a date that suits you, train your team and hand over clear instructions. We stay close in the first weeks to fix anything that comes up.
6. Support After Go-Live
The people who built it handle fixes, security updates and small changes. Software needs looking after, and we plan for that from the start.
Spreadsheets vs a System Built for You
| Question | Spreadsheets | A System Built for You |
|---|---|---|
| Several people at once | Copies multiply, or people wait for the file | Everyone works in the same place at the same time |
| Mistakes | A typo or broken formula can go unnoticed | Entries are checked as they go in |
| History | Hard to tell who changed what, and when | Every change is recorded |
| Xero or MYOB | Someone retypes or imports the results | Information passes across automatically |
| When the expert leaves | Often only one person understands how it works | Documented and supported |
| Cost to start | Little or nothing | A fixed quote, plus ongoing support |
| Best for | Working things out, one-off analysis, small teams | Everyday work the business depends on |
You Don't Have to Give Up Excel
Most people still like Excel for working things out, and that's fine. The new system keeps the everyday records safe and shared, and you can still pull the data into Excel when you want to dig into it.
Common Questions
Outgrown Your Spreadsheets?
Tell us what you're running on today (spreadsheets, an old database or a product that doesn't fit) and what it needs to do. We'll tell you whether to buy, configure or build, and what it involves.
Free initial chat. No sales pressure - if we're not the right fit, we'll say so.
Prefer to talk? Call 1300 470 091
Got a spec or files? Email [email protected]