The spreadsheet is breaking, and the software you tried does not fit.
If a process in your business runs on a shared spreadsheet, a shared login or an inbox nobody can audit, you may recognise the signs. Two people edit the same row at once, nobody can say who changed what, and a subscription product does things you do not need but not the one you do. That is the point at which a custom web app is worth pricing: one bespoke internal tool, booking system or customer portal, built around how your team works and handed over on accounts you own.
Sound familiar?
Three situations where the tools you have no longer fit the way you work.
The clinic diary in a shared sheet. Bookings arrive by phone, email and the website form, and all three end up in one spreadsheet. Two people edit it at the same time, a slot is booked twice, and nobody can tell which change came first.
The subscription that almost fits. You pay monthly for software built around somebody else's process, and keep a spreadsheet beside it for the one step it cannot handle. From then on, the two have to be kept in step by hand.
The request nobody planned for. A customer asks for a copy of everything you hold about them. The answer sits in an inbox, a shared drive, a booking tool and a sheet with one login everybody knows, and gathering it is a manual job against a deadline you did not set.
How it works
- Thirty minutes on the workflow. We cover four questions: who logs in, and in how many roles; which systems it must read from or write to; what personal data it will hold; and which steps are a legal requirement rather than an inherited habit. Within three working days you have a fixed-fee written scope, or the name of somebody better placed to build it.
- The data decisions come first. Before any code, we map the screens and record the roles, your lawful basis and retention. Settled early, each is a decision; settled late, each is a project.
- Built and checked as it goes. The app is written in TypeScript and Next.js, and most of the build can run against test records shaped like yours, which keeps real personal data out of development, screenshots and review links. Accessibility is checked automatically against WCAG 2.2 AA as the build goes, rather than audited once at the end.
- Launched on accounts you own. Hosting, deployment and error alerting sit in accounts you control throughout or transfer cleanly at handover. Your team gets a walkthrough and a runbook written for somebody who did not build the thing.
- Thirty days of support, then maintenance. Post-launch support is included for thirty days. After that, a Maintenance care plan is the sensible next step, and we recommend one for anything business-critical.
What the starting price buys
A focused tool: one workflow built end to end, with sign-in and roles checked on the server rather than by hiding a menu item. It connects to one system you already use, such as your calendar, CRM or payment provider. It comes with accessibility to WCAG 2.2 AA and a handover on accounts you own. At the same price it can install to a phone's home screen, so staff or customers open it like an app without going through the app stores.
Add when you need it: more workflows or roles · further integrations · an append-only audit trail · export and erasure paths · several organisations each signing in to their own space · real-time updates · health or other sensitive data · feature work past the first version. Each is scoped in writing when you need it. A clinic tool that holds treatment or other health details is priced with the health-data add-on.
Custom software vs off the shelf
Buy if a product fits your process; build when it cannot and the gap matters for the data you hold.
| What you need | Off-the-shelf product | Built for you |
|---|---|---|
| Fit to your process | Only if it happens to fit | Built to it |
| Retention | Whatever the vendor's settings allow | The period you set, recorded before any code |
| Access control | Their permission model, as sold | Roles you define, checked on the server |
| Audit trail | If your plan includes it | Append-only, where the build includes it |
The four questions to put to a vendor's documentation before you sign are in the FAQs below.
What keeps you safe
You own it. The repository, database, and hosting, deployment and monitoring accounts sit in your name or transfer at handover. Nothing needs unpicking if you bring development in-house.
Live customer data is not used by default. Where live records genuinely have to be touched, it should happen under a written agreement setting out what may be accessed, on named accounts, with access logged and then removed.
Built to WCAG 2.2 AA. Staff who cannot use the rota or intake form cannot do the job you hired them for, so every screen is built to it.
Where a build decision stops and a legal one starts. Your solicitor or data protection officer (DPO) decides the lawful basis and retention periods, and we build to that decision without softening it. For dental practices and aesthetic clinics, regulators' rules shape the build, not just the copy.
What it costs
A focused tool starts from £4,500 excl. VAT; a multi-user platform with several integrations from £9,500 excl. VAT. The fee rises with the number of roles and with what the app reads from and writes to. The written scope fixes the fee before the build starts. Every starting price sits on the pricing page.
When something else fits better
If nobody signs in and nothing changes, a marketing site with an enquiry form is cheaper and will serve you better: that is Web Development. If the store listing, offline use or the phone's device features are the point, look at Mobile Apps. If what breaks is following up leads rather than a workflow of your own, that is CRM. If you have software and people still get lost in it, start with UI / UX Design. Once an application is live, Maintenance keeps it patched.
Get in touch with the workflow, who logs in and what it has to connect to, or read how a project runs first. If you are not yet sure the answer is software, start with the free audit.