Notes from the workshop
for people who run a business
What custom software really costs, when you do not need it, and how small businesses outgrow spreadsheets. Written from practice, not from marketing.
Buy, subscribe or build: a decision framework for a small company
A simple order for a small company facing a tooling decision: buy off the shelf, subscribe if nothing free fits, and build custom only after both have failed. When each option quietly becomes the expensive one.
Learn moreWhat Google Play's February 2027 app requirements mean if you own an app
Google is raising the bar for Android apps, with the main new requirements becoming mandatory in February 2027. If an app is not maintained, it quietly falls out of the store. What actually changed, and what it costs the owner who thought the app was finished.
Learn moreWhy offline-first: the engineering case
Offline-first is not a rule we apply to everything we build, it is the right call for a specific B2B situation. The reliability, privacy and cost case for building local-first, and the exact line where a server becomes the honest answer instead.
Learn moreFixed price vs hourly billing: why we refuse to bill by the hour
Hourly billing moves the risk of a wrong estimate onto the client. Why we quote a fixed price instead, what that costs us, and the one case, a post-launch incident, where hourly is the only honest option.
Learn moreProof of visit: how solo tradespeople win disputes
A geo check-in, a photo of the finished work and a signature on the screen: the three artifacts that settle a 'you were never here' call before it becomes a fight.
Learn moreFive signs your inventory has outgrown the spreadsheet
Excel is a fine inventory system until it is not. Five concrete symptoms, what each one costs you, and the two ways out: a free offline app or a small web system.
Learn moreWhen you do not need a custom app
An honest checklist from a development studio: five situations where off-the-shelf software, a spreadsheet or a free app beats a custom build, and four where custom is the right call.
Learn moreHow to write a spec for your app (a one-page template)
You do not need a 40-page document to get a fixed quote. Seven questions that matter, the details you can safely leave out, and a one-page template you can copy.
Learn moreHow much does a custom mobile app cost? An honest breakdown
What really drives the price of a custom business app: screens, integrations and platforms. What silently doubles a quote, what makes it cheaper, and why we give a fixed price before work starts.
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