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Free 45-minute call
What the problem costs now, what building would be worth, and the honest range. You leave with a number, not a brochure.
Custom software development firm, UKSoftware you own.
We build software for UK businesses that have outgrown their tools. Projects from £10,000. All IP assigned to you. See prices
Most firms ask you to book a call to find out whether you can afford them. We publish every price instead, so you can qualify us before you spend an hour.
Minimum build engagement£10K
IP assigned to you on final payment100%
Free first call, no proposal attached45MIN
Internal operations systemsWhat we build
Internal operations systems
Job tracking, scheduling, stock, quoting, approvals. Usually replacing a spreadsheet four people are afraid to touch.
Customer portals and websites
Somewhere for customers to self-serve, taking volume off the phone and out of the inbox. Fast custom sites when a platform has hit its ceiling.
Business apps
Field-team, customer and internal apps that work without signal and write straight into your systems.
ERP and business platforms
When off-the-shelf ERP cannot fit how you work, or the licence for a product you half use stops making sense.
Agentic AI systems
Software that pursues a goal across multiple steps and acts on its own. Gartner expects over 40% of these projects to be cancelled by end of 2027. We build the ones that survive.
System integration
Making the software you already pay for talk to the rest, so data stops being retyped between systems.
Legacy modernisation
Rebuilding something that works but is now a liability: unsupported, or dependent on one person who is retiring.
Every price published
What it costsDiscovery and scoping£3,000-£8,000
One to two weeks. Requirements, a technical approach and a costed plan. The plan is yours, including the right to take it to another supplier.
Small system£10,000-£25,000
Four to eight weeks. One focused system: job tracking, a booking portal, a quoting tool.
Mid-size platform£25,000-£70,000
Eight to twenty weeks. Several connected modules and integrations with the systems you already run.
Large or core system£70,000-£200,000+
Twenty weeks or more. The system your business runs on, built in reviewable phases at a fixed price per phase.
Support retainerFrom £800/mo
Defined response times. Optional: you hold the code, so you can take it in-house instead.
How long it takesIntegrations only (2-4)6-12 weeks
Integrations with systems you do not control are the single biggest cause of timelines stretching.
Agentic AI feasibility2-3 weeks
Proves whether an agent can do the job on your real data before anyone commits to a build.
Agentic AI production agent6-8 weeks
From an approved feasibility study to an agent running in production with audit and escalation.
What extends a timeline3 things
Integrations with systems you do not control, data quality discovered late, and how many people must approve decisions. The last one is entirely within your control.
ITJobsWatch reports a median advertised UK contractor day rate of £525 for software developers in the six months to 1 October 2026, with London 15-30% higher. Divide any quote by weeks, then by five, to see the day rate it implies. Try the cost calculator
Stop paying rent on your own operations
£81,000
Licences: 30 users at £45/month for five years. You own nothing at the end.
£45,000
A custom build. It is yours at the end.
Break-even after about 2 years 9 monthsBuild vs buy, in full
Where we are most useful
Operations-heavy businesses with physical processes, real stock or document-heavy workflows. Typically 10-250 staff.
Manufacturing and wholesale
Stock across locations, production steps, batch traceability, pricing models no product represents.
Logistics and distribution
Delivery reconciliation, exception handling, customer status enquiries.
Construction and trades
Job tracking, subcontractor management, compliance documentation.
Professional services
Practice management, time recording, client portals, document workflow.
Healthcare administration
Booking, records workflow, UK GDPR designed in from the start.
How we
work
Payment is tied to accepted deliverables, never elapsed time. You can stop after any phase with working software and no penalty.
The full process, week by week02
Discovery you own
£3,000-£8,000 for requirements, a technical approach and a costed plan. Take it to another supplier if you like.
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Reviewable stages
Fixed price per phase. Working software at the end of each stage. When our estimate is wrong, that is our cost.
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Everything in your name
Source code, documentation, deployment instructions and infrastructure in your accounts. All IP assigns on final payment.
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Retainer or in-house
Support from £800/month with defined response times, or take it in-house. The documentation is written for that.
Why UK delivery
Offshore is cheaper per day, roughly £150-£350 against a UK median of £525. The day rate is also the only cost that appears on the invoice.
- Your specification time
- Your management time
- Timezone latency
- Rework from misunderstanding
Real gap: 30-40%
Bar lengths are illustrative. The full arithmetic
Questions for
any supplier
Including us. The answers vary more than you would expect, and they are checkable.
The full selection process →“Do I own the source code outright, and when does it transfer?”
Under UK law an agency owns copyright unless the contract assigns it. Paying the invoice does not transfer it.
“Where will the system run?”
Your accounts, or theirs? The second is a dependency no clause removes.
“What is your day rate?”
Divide the quote by weeks, then by five. Far below £400 or far above £900 both warrant a question.
“What happens when your estimate is wrong?”
Listen for a mechanism, not a reassurance.
“Can I take your discovery document elsewhere?”
If not, it is a hostage rather than a deliverable.
“Could another firm pick this up without you?”
How comfortably they answer tells you how the handover was designed.
Questions
What is a custom software development company?
A firm that builds software for one organisation, designed around how that organisation works, rather than selling a ready-made product. The work covers deciding what to build, building it, connecting it to existing systems, and handing it over with the source code and documentation.
What does a software development firm do?
Four things: establishes what needs building, builds it, integrates it with the systems you already run, and hands it over so you can maintain or move it. Integration is usually the largest portion of the work.
How much does custom software development cost in the UK?
Most projects land between £15,000 and £120,000, with small systems from £10,000 and core business systems from £70,000. Full ranges are published on our pricing page.
How long does a project take?
A small system takes four to eight weeks. A mid-size platform takes eight to twenty weeks. A core system takes twenty weeks or more. Discovery takes one to two weeks and happens before any build estimate is credible.
Do I own the software you build?
Yes. All intellectual property assigns to you on final payment — source code, documentation, designs and infrastructure configuration. Everything runs in your accounts on your keys.
Do you offshore the work?
No. Development is UK-based. Offshore development is a legitimate option at £150–£250/day, and we will say so when it suits your situation better, but it is not what we provide.
What if we need changes after launch?
Either a support retainer from £800/month with defined response times, or ad-hoc work quoted per change. You are not locked into either, because you hold the code.
Can you work with our existing systems?
Usually. Most projects involve connecting to accounting, CRM, stock or supplier systems already in place. We test the integration during discovery rather than assuming it will work, because this is the most common source of overruns.
What happens if you go out of business?
You hold the source code, the documentation and the deployment instructions, and the system runs on infrastructure in your name. Another firm can pick it up. This is a fair question to ask every supplier, and the answer should never be "we host it".
Do you work with startups?
Yes, where there is a defined problem and a budget from £10,000. We are less useful to pre-funding founders looking for a technical co-founder or build-for-equity.