Client portals
Somewhere your customers log in to see their documents, jobs, invoices or progress, instead of emailing you to ask.
Web applications & portals
When a website isn’t enough.
Client portals, booking systems, dashboards, internal tools. The software a business needs when the spreadsheet has stopped coping and the off-the-shelf option almost fits but not quite.
You probably have one already
Every business runs on software nobody chose.
It just is not software. It is a collection of habits that grew, and it works right up until the person who understands it goes on holiday.
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The spreadsheet
The one with the colour coding that only Sue understands, that three people edit and nobody backs up.
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The WhatsApp group
Where jobs get allocated, and where the record of what was agreed lives until somebody clears their phone.
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The email inbox as a database
Where every booking, quote and complaint is technically stored, in the sense that it is in there somewhere.
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The filing cabinet
Still the master copy. Still not searchable. Still in one building.
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The clipboard
Filled in on site, driven back to the office, retyped by someone. Twice, if it rained.
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Somebody’s memory
The most reliable system you own and the one you can least afford to lose.
None of that is a criticism. It is how nearly every good business starts. The question is only whether it is still the cheapest way to work.
What we build
Software shaped round how you actually work.
Not a platform you have to bend your business to fit. The point of building it is that it matches what you already do, only without the retyping.
Booking & scheduling
Slots, staff, resources and availability, handled without a phone call and without double-booking anybody.
Quoting & estimating
The calculation that currently lives in a spreadsheet, turned into something your team, or your customer, can run in seconds.
Dashboards & reporting
The numbers you actually run the business on, in one place, updating themselves instead of being rebuilt every month.
Internal tools
The job the off-the-shelf software does not do, that somebody is currently doing by hand every Friday afternoon.
Member areas
Gated content, subscriptions, courses, resources. Anything where who someone is changes what they should see.
Integrations
Making the systems you already pay for talk to each other, so the same information stops being typed in three times.
Field & mobile tools
Forms, checklists and job sheets that work on a phone, on site, on a bad signal, and sync when they can.
How we work
Small, working, early. Then grow it.
Custom software goes wrong when everyone tries to specify everything up front. We build the smallest useful version, put it in front of the people who will use it, and go from there.
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01
Work out what it has to replace
Not what it should do. What it replaces. That question produces a much smaller and much more useful answer.
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02
Map it with the people who do the job
The person doing the work daily knows the exceptions, and the exceptions are what sink these projects.
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03
Build the smallest useful version
One workflow, working properly, in the hands of real users in weeks. Not a demo, a thing they can use on Monday.
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04
Watch people use it
This is where you find out what you got wrong, and it is much cheaper to find out now than after six months of building.
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05
Extend it as it earns its place
Each addition justified by use rather than by the original wishlist. Most of that wishlist turns out not to matter.
What it costs
More than a website. Usually less than you fear.
Application work starts around the top of our website range and goes up with genuine complexity. The honest answer is that it depends almost entirely on how many exceptions your process has, which is why the first conversation is about the process rather than the software. You get a fixed figure before anything starts.
Questions
Before you commit to building something.
Should we just buy something off the shelf instead?
Very often, yes, and we will tell you when. If a well-established product does 90% of what you need for a monthly fee, buying it is almost always the right call. Building makes sense when the thing that does not fit is the thing that makes you money, or when you would be paying per user forever for something you could own.
Who owns what you build?
You do. The code, the data, all of it. We will hand it over in a usable state if you ever want to take it elsewhere, and we would rather keep your business by being worth keeping.
What happens when it breaks at 4pm on a Friday?
Someone answers. Applications are supported the same way our websites are, under a care plan sized to how critical the thing is. If a system is load-bearing for your business, that support arrangement is part of the build conversation and not an afterthought.
Can it work with the software we already use?
Usually. Most modern systems can be connected, and making the ones you already pay for talk to each other is often more valuable than building anything new. Tell us what you are running and we will tell you what is realistic.
How long does it take?
A focused first version is typically six to twelve weeks. Larger systems run longer, but you should be seeing something usable well before the end rather than waiting months for a reveal. If anyone offers you a fixed date for a large application without mapping the process first, be careful.
We are not sure this is what we need.
That is a good place to start from. Plenty of these conversations end with "your website needs sorting first" or "fix the process before you build anything". Both are cheaper answers and we would rather give you the right one.
Kind words
People who trusted us with the difficult bits.
“The team at Web Butler get 10/10 on all levels, from web design and maintenance, SEO to tech help, absolutely spot on.”
“They interpreted and executed my brief perfectly. I’d highly recommend Web Butler to anyone looking for a website that not only looks great but gets results.”
“Brilliant service from start to finish, looking forward to working with these guys in the future.”
What’s the spreadsheet holding it together?
Tell us what it does and who depends on it. We’ll tell you honestly whether it needs replacing, and what that would take.