Custom software for businesses
Software that fits you – not the other way around.
In many businesses it looks like this: jobs in an Excel sheet, hours on paper slips, every quote typed up again in Word. I build software that maps these workflows the way you work – not the way a standard program dictates. It runs on German servers, and if something gets stuck, you call me.
- Fixed price, named up frontYou know what it costs before we start. If extra work comes up, I tell you before it happens.
- German servers, GDPR compliantYour data stays in Germany. I can show you at any time where it is stored and who has access.
- One dedicated contact personNo ticket system. You reach me directly – and I know your business when you call.
Simply explained
Software that just works.
The software I build runs in the browser – you sign in like you do for online banking, done. Nothing gets installed on your computers. You pay a manageable monthly fee, and I look after servers, updates and backups. I offer new features as a separate fixed-price offer.
What's different from classic software?
Software that runs in the browser and is rented is called SaaS. How it differs from classic software:
Classic software
- High purchase costs
- Installation on every PC
- Updates applied by hand
- Security and backups are your job
- Access only at the workplace
- When something breaks, you wait for the technician
Software the way I build it
- A fixed price to build it, then a small monthly fee
- Sign in from the browser, start right away
- I apply updates in the background
- Security, daily backups and data protection included
- From anywhere – office, site, home office
- Help by phone, email or video call – from me, not a hotline
Who is this for?
Above all for small and mid-sized businesses: you get software that fits you, at a fixed price, without your own IT department and cancellable monthly after the first year. Whether three people in a trades business or fifty in consulting – the software grows with you.
How safe is my data?
All data is stored solely on German servers, under the rules of the GDPR. Encryption, a daily backup and a data processing agreement (DPA) – the document data protection law requires for this – are always included. If you switch or cancel, I hand your data back in open formats.
From everyday business
Recognise these situations?
Twelve situations from the everyday life of small businesses – and what I build against each of them.
"Excel sheets nobody understands anymore"
Three versions on three computers, formulas nobody dares to touch. No one knows which file is the current one.
How I'd do it: I turn the sheet into a database that runs in the browser. Everyone sees the same status, each person sees only what they should – and the Excel file can retire.
"Calling customers, no one knows the status"
Enquiries disappear into email inboxes. When you call back, nobody knows what was last discussed.
How I'd do it: A customer file (the technical term is CRM) that holds everything about a customer: emails, notes, appointments, quotes, invoices. Whoever calls back sees straight away what it is about.
"Writing quotes takes forever"
Look up prices, copy text from the last quote, nudge it into place in Word – and the formatting has slipped again anyway.
How I'd do it: Quotes are created from templates with one click: your items, your prices, your discounts are stored. You pick, the software calculates. The finished PDF goes straight to the customer.
"Invoices forgotten or sent too late"
The work was done long ago, the invoice still isn't written. Reminders go out when someone happens to think of it. The money comes late.
How I'd do it: The finished job becomes the invoice with one click. The program keeps an eye on open items, reminders go out on their own.
"Time sheets on paper"
The slips land on the desk in the evening and someone types them up. One number misread, one day forgotten – and the invoice is wrong.
How I'd do it: Your people clock in on their phone, directly on the job. The hours flow into payroll and invoicing by themselves – documented the way the tax office requires (GoBD).
Seven more situations
"Warehouse and sales never match"
The online shop says “in stock”, in the store the item has been gone since yesterday. The customer is annoyed, and at stocktaking you're surprised.
How I'd do it: One stock level for store, online shop and warehouse – an inventory system that holds it all together. What leaves at the till is gone from the shop immediately.
"Appointments in multiple calendars"
Outlook, a wall calendar, a sticky note on the monitor, a note on the phone. Sooner or later two customers turn up at the same time.
How I'd do it: One calendar for everyone, in the browser and on every phone. Customers book online themselves, your team sees straight away what's free.
"Reports take half a day"
How much revenue with customer Meyer last year? Which items are selling right now? The answer comes – after half a day in Excel.
How I'd do it: Reports at the push of a button: filtered by customer, period or product, always with current figures.
"New employees take weeks"
How things work here is known only to the colleague who has been around for twenty years. New people ask their way through – or get it wrong.
How I'd do it: Checklists and instructions right inside the program, where the work happens. New people find their feet faster, and the knowledge stays in the business.
"IT emergency paralyses business"
Server broken, hard drive gone, ransomware on the PC – and everything stops. No backup, no plan.
How I'd do it: The software doesn't run on a single computer but on German servers that are backed up daily. If a device fails at your end, you sign in on another one and carry on. And I'm on the phone.
"Two systems, no interface"
Accounting in one program, customer file in a second, shop in a third. Everything is copied over by hand.
How I'd do it: I connect the systems through interfaces: DATEV for your accountant, bank, suppliers, webshop, email – including the software that holds orders, invoices and stock together (ERP). Data flows by itself, nobody types anything twice.
"Data protection causes headaches"
Data protection rules, disclosure duties, contracts with service providers – all of it costs time and nerves.
How I'd do it: Data protection is built in: encryption, deletion periods, data processing agreement (DPA). You get the paperwork from me.
Real-world examples
What this can look like in your trade.
Six industries, six typical bottlenecks – and what I build for them.
Trades & construction
Measurements on paper, quote in Word, invoice in Excel – nothing connects.
How I'd do it: Measurements are taken on the phone on site and land directly in the quote. The quote becomes the job, the job becomes the invoice. Materials and hours are attached.
Service providers & consultants
Appointments in Outlook, hours on slips, invoices forgotten – time evaporates.
How I'd do it: Appointment, hours and invoice in one flow. Customers book online, reminders go out automatically, the invoice goes to your accountant via DATEV export.
Retail
Warehouse, register, and online shop are three separate worlds. Stocks never up to date.
How I'd do it: One system for warehouse, till and online shop. What goes over the counter in the store is gone from the shop in the same second.
Practices & law firms
Patient or client files in folders, appointments in calendars, billing external.
How I'd do it: Digital files, encrypted and stored so that nothing can be changed unnoticed. Plus online appointment booking, reminders and billing in the same program.
Sales & consulting
Enquiries get lost, nobody knows who stands where. Reports take half a day.
How I'd do it: A customer file in which every enquiry has a status: who stands where, what the next step is. Reminders, email templates and reports included.
Hospitality & hotels
Reservations by phone, orders on paper, staff planning in your head.
How I'd do it: Guests reserve online, table or room occupancy is always in view. Orders go digitally to the kitchen, and the shift plan adds up the hours as it goes.
My approach
Tailored. Not off the shelf.
Every business works differently. If ready-made software fits, I recommend it. If not, I build from what I see at your place – and the software adapts to your processes, not the other way round.
With ready-made standard software you adapt your workflows to the software. What doesn't fit becomes a permanent crutch – or ends up on a paper slip again. I do it the other way round: you show me how you work today and what should change, and I build software that does exactly that – and nothing you don't need.
The source code is yours if you want it. On request you receive the full source code – the blueprint of the software – with documentation. Any other developer could carry on with it. You stay with me because it fits, not because you have to.
How your software is built – in five steps.
From the first conversation to day-to-day operation you have one contact: me. No project team that rotates, no sales rep who hands you over.
- WorkshopI come by and look at how you work: workflows, annoyances, wishes – on site or by video.
- ConceptYou receive a binding fixed-price offer with a timeline and a click prototype – a first preview you can click through.
- DevelopmentI build in two-week stages – after each one you see the status and say what doesn't fit yet.
- LaunchYour new software first runs alongside the old one; I bring over your existing data and train your team. We switch over at a quiet time – and I’m on site on day one.
- OperationServers, updates, backups and help with questions stay with me, from €89 a month. Further development – new features – comes as a separate fixed-price offer.
Price and scope
A fixed price before we start.
What exactly fits you, we work out in the first conversation. After the free workshop you receive a binding fixed-price offer: you know before we start what you get and what it costs – no time sheets afterwards.
Three sizes to fit your project
Whether pilot or full industry platform – the software grows with you. The starting point is wherever it pinches most in your business right now.
Pilot
from €3,500 one-off, net
One clearly defined building block: order management, appointment booking or digital files. In use within 4–6 weeks – you see early whether the approach fits.
- First results in under 6 weeks
- Manageable start, clear benefit
- Foundation for later extensions
Growth
Fixed price after the workshop
Several building blocks that work together – for example job, invoice and handover to your accountant via DATEV export. For businesses that want to tackle several bottlenecks at once.
- Processes digital from start to finish
- Interfaces to DATEV, inventory software and other programs
- Several roles: everyone sees what they need
Platform
Fixed price after the workshop
A complete system for your business or your industry: its own structure, several roles, closely connected to the programs you already use. A tool that exists in exactly this form only at your place.
- Workflows your competitors don't have in this form
- Grows with the business
- Source code with you on request – you stay independent
Operation
from €89 a month, net
Servers, updates, backups and help with questions – for every size.
Further development – new features or additional building blocks – comes as a separate fixed-price offer. You decide whether and when.
What's included in every fixed-price offer
- Workshop and conception
- Click prototype before building starts
- Full development
- Migration of your existing data
- Training of your team
- On-site visit at launch
- Data protection paperwork and DPA
- 12 months warranty
The software runs on German servers, under the rules of the GDPR. All prices plus VAT. Operation runs for 12 months and can then be cancelled monthly.
Custom software can also be one building block of the all-in-one digitalisation package – then I take care of consulting, software selection and rollout as well. The all-in-one package in detail
Honestly: custom software isn't right for everyone.
Before you invest time: here is when software of your own pays off – and when I'd recommend something ready-made.
When custom software makes sense
- Your processes are particular – no ready-made program covers them
- You've already tried ready-made software and it didn't fit
- You need connections to other programs (DATEV, inventory, till …)
- You're growing, and per-user licences are getting too expensive
- You don't want to depend on one vendor
When not – honestly
- When a ready-made program covers 80% of your processes
- When you have to start tomorrow – ready-made is there faster
- When you don't have 4–6 weeks for a first building block
- When only one or two people will work with it
- When what the software should do changes fundamentally every week
In these cases I recommend ready-made software – and help with selection and setup if you like.
Contact
Let's talk about your business.
Call or send an email – whatever suits you. I’ll get back to you within one working day, with no sales pitch.