Common questions
The things people ask before they email us
If your question is not here, ask it on the contact page — we answer within one business day.
What does a custom software project cost?
There are two parts: the build, quoted once we know the scope, and a monthly fee that covers hosting the system and looking after it. Every project starts with a short paid discovery, usually a few days, that produces a written scope with both figures before any build work is agreed. You own that document either way, so if you take it elsewhere you have lost days rather than months.
How long does it take?
A first useful version of a portal or an automation is typically weeks rather than months, because we build in slices and put each one in front of you on a test environment. Larger systems keep growing from there. If someone quotes you a firm date for a system nobody has written down yet, be careful.
Who owns the data, and who owns the software?
The data is yours, always. Ask and we export it in a usable format, with no argument and no exit fee. The software itself stays ours to run while we host it, which is what keeps the monthly fee predictable. If you want to take the system in-house, we quote a buy-out of the software and hand over the code, the server setup and the deployment pipeline. We say that up front rather than hiding it in the small print.
Do you host the system, and what does that cover?
Yes. We run it on our own infrastructure in South Africa and that is part of the monthly fee: the server itself, HTTPS, security and dependency updates, monitoring, nightly backups and separate test and live environments. You get one predictable amount rather than a hosting bill from one supplier and a support bill from another.
Can you take over a system someone else built?
Yes, taking over a legacy system is work we know well. We start by getting it into version control, adding a test environment and an automated deployment, and writing down how it actually runs. Only then do we change it. Tell us what it is built in and how long it has been unattended — there is usually more worth keeping than people expect.
Do you only work with big companies?
No. We work with small businesses whose processes have outgrown how they are run today, and with larger teams that need one system built properly and kept running. The difference is scope, not the way we work.
What happens after launch?
The system moves onto a monthly arrangement: we host it, keep it patched and watched, and include a standing allowance for changes as the business moves. That is how we prefer to work, because a system nobody is looking after quietly rots. If you would rather run it yourself from day one, that is a different arrangement and costs more up front.
Where is our data hosted?
On infrastructure we control, in South Africa, with nightly database backups and separate test and live environments. If you have a policy about where data may live, or you need it on your own servers, tell us early — it changes the arrangement but it is not a problem.
What do you build with?
PHP and Symfony with PostgreSQL on the server, Vue and Nuxt on the front end, everything in Docker with automated deployment. We pick well-supported tools on purpose, so the system is still maintainable in five years.
Do you do design and branding?
We design the interfaces we build, and they look considered. We are not a branding agency: if you need a full identity or a marketing campaign, we will happily work alongside the people who do that.
Still deciding?
Tell us what you're working with. If it isn't something we should build, we'll say so.
Ask us directly