Operational software
For the parts of your business that don't fit off-the-shelf SaaS. Custom CRMs, client portals, inventory and catalog automation, integration work between systems that don't natively connect, and the occasional bespoke platform when a vertical doesn't have a tool that fits.
This is the work I've done most recently:
- —A multi-division CRM for a wedding services company (photography, videography, DJ, formalwear). One year in production, around ten daily users, roughly 250 contracts processed since launch. Django and Postgres, with a separate React client portal integrating via API.
- —A real-time analytics platform for college basketball. Live during the 2026 Final Four with modeling that had to work as the games ran.
- —A Python catalog management app for an ecommerce client whose existing catalog was unworkable. Programmatically updated several thousand SKUs.
- —An archive migration moving roughly fifteen years of legacy CRM data into controlled infrastructure, with JWT-based auth integration between two separate codebases.
What I build
Custom CRMs.
When the off-the-shelf CRM doesn't match how the business actually operates, and forcing the operation to match the software costs more than building something that fits.
Client portals.
Customer-facing applications that integrate with the CRM or operations system. Login, workflows, document review, payment handling, real-time status. See a working example at the Essence Weddings client portal demo.
Inventory and catalog automation.
Multi-channel inventory across Amazon, eBay, BigCommerce, Shopify. Catalog automation when an existing platform's catalog management is unworkable. Programmatic updates at scale.
Integration work.
When two systems need to talk to each other and don't have a clean integration path. Custom auth across separate codebases, data feeds, and API bridges.
Who this is for
Small to mid-size businesses where off-the-shelf software covers maybe 70% of what the operation needs and the remaining 30% is the actual problem. The team is too small to hire a full-time dev department, and the work is too specific to pay agency rates for. The owner has lived with the workarounds long enough to know exactly what's broken.
Pricing
Starts at $15,000.Bespoke engagements. Three months on the short end. Twelve months on the long end. The wedding services CRM took roughly two years of build time. The catalog management app was built in weeks. The analytics platform took a couple of months.
Smaller integration and automation work prices closer to $15,000. Multi-application platforms with custom backends, ongoing iteration, and complex integrations price up from there.
A firm quote follows the intake call. For larger engagements, a paid scoping phase (typically $1,500 to $3,000) produces the build plan and the firm quote.
What I won't do
Replace systems that work. If your accounting, payroll, or ERP is doing its job, the right place for me is alongside those systems, not in place of them. The wedding CRM I built integrates with the company's existing financial workflows. The catalog work I've done feeds existing ecommerce platforms. The point is the gap, not the wholesale rebuild.
How the intake works
Free 30-minute conversation. Before the call, I read whatever you've sent over and look at any existing systems you've shared. On the call, you walk me through what's broken and what you've tried. The next step is either a firm quote (for smaller engagements) or a paid scoping phase that produces one (for larger ones).