Custom software and web applications
At some point the spreadsheet stops working, and the software you could buy doesn’t quite fit how you operate. That’s when custom software development pays for itself — not because the tool does more, but because it does exactly what you do.
What custom software development covers
- Billing and invoicing systems — built around your actual pricing rules, not a generic template
- Internal dashboards — pulling your numbers into one place instead of five tabs
- Client portals — logins, documents, project status, billing
- Booking and scheduling systems — built around your real availability rules
- Workflow tools — approvals, job tracking, inventory, quoting
- Integrations — connecting systems that don’t talk to each other
- Automation — removing the manual copy-paste work between tools
How I build
Languages
Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML and CSS.
Front end
React for interfaces that need to be genuinely responsive to what the user is doing — dashboards, live data, complex forms.
Back end
Node.js with Express for APIs and server logic. Python with FastAPI or Django where the work is data-heavy or needs faster backend services.
Integrations across payment gateways, shipping and delivery providers, CRMs and accounting systems.
My process
- Requirement mapping — how the work happens today, where it breaks, what “done” looks like. Nothing gets built from a one-line brief.
- Scope and estimate — a written specification with fixed scope, so we both know what’s included.
- Build in stages — working software you can use early, not a big reveal at the end.
- Testing and handover — with your real data and your real team.
- Support — three months of full support included after launch.
When you shouldn’t build custom
If existing software covers eighty percent of what you need, buying it and adapting your process is usually cheaper and safer than building. I’ll say so during the first conversation rather than after you’ve paid a deposit. Custom software you don’t need is expensive twice — once to build, and again every year you maintain it.
What it costs
Software pricing depends on scope, and scope only becomes clear once the requirement is mapped. A billing system for a single workshop and a multi-user platform with role permissions and integrations are not the same project.
What determines the price:
- How many distinct functions the tool needs to perform
- Number of user types and permission levels
- Which external systems it has to talk to
- Whether existing data needs migrating
- Reporting and export requirements
- Hosting and ongoing maintenance
The first step is a conversation about how you work now. You’ll get a written specification and a fixed-scope quote before anything is built. Quoted and invoiced in USD.
How long it takes
Simple tools ship in weeks. Larger systems run four to six months, built in stages so you’re using working software well before the end.
Projects
Billing software for a vehicle repair and restoration business in Australia — built alongside their website and SEO, so the system that brings the work in and the system that invoices for it were designed together rather than bolted to each other.
Tell me what you're trying to grow.
I'll come back with an honest read on what's possible — whether or not it turns into a project.