Custom business software for companies in Corsica
Custom business software is written for one specific operation, yours, instead of a generic product you have to work around every day. We build it in Bastia for SMEs and startups, and for public bodies in Corsica. It brings your data together and follows your procedures as they really are. The re-keying stops.
What we mean by business software
Business software handles the core of your work, such as customer files, field jobs, the schedule, quotes or production tracking. Management software developed for you starts from your own procedures and vocabulary, and from your constraints. It holds only what you use, laid out the way you work.
Most of the time it is a web application. It opens in a browser, on a computer or a phone, with nothing to install on each machine. Data sits centrally on a secure server. Each person sees what concerns them, according to their role.
A few signs are hard to miss. Spreadsheets keep multiplying. The same piece of information gets typed into three tools, and nobody knows any more which version is right. Or only one person still understands how it all hangs together.
Your own tool or something off the shelf, how to decide
Off-the-shelf software is sold to lots of companies, usually by subscription. It is there straight away, and its publisher improves it for everyone. The trade-off is that you bend to its choices. Sometimes you pay for features you will never touch, and you depend on its priorities rather than yours.
Having your own tool built means an upfront investment. In return it follows the way you work and changes at the pace you set. It makes sense when your procedures are unusual, when you stack several products to cover one need, or when your method is exactly what makes you different. In between, an existing product with a few targeted additions is sometimes the best answer. We will say so.
Management software, a few examples by sector
- 01
Trades and construction
Job sheets signed on a tablet, site photos with snag lists, stage invoicing as the work progresses. Quotes and team schedules live in the same tool.
- 02
Tourism and hospitality
Bookings handled by your own house rules, a rota for housekeeping and maintenance, guest requests. In August in Corsica, that takes weight off everyone.
- 03
Retail and distribution
Stock spread over several shops, supplier orders, preparing deliveries. Returns and after-sales sit in the same place.
- 04
Professional practices
Cases with their deadlines, documents filed by client, a secure area for exchanging files. Time spent per assignment is logged as the day goes on.
- 05
Food production and manufacturing
Production orders, batch traceability, quality control. The software also follows shipments along with orders from resellers.
- 06
Local authorities and public bodies
Requests from residents, tracking of grants or permits, booking rooms or equipment. Every step leaves a record that can be looked up later.
How we develop business software
From the first meeting to maintenance, you deal with one person. Nothing moves to the next stage without your agreement.
- 01
Understand
We look at how you really work, with your current documents and spreadsheets in front of us. Then we find the tasks that cost you the most time and agree the goals together, with a budget and a date.
- 02
Design
Screens, roles, business rules. You approve the mock-ups before any development starts, and together we scope a first version that sticks to the essentials.
- 03
Build
Development goes step by step, each one tested. A test version lets you try every feature as soon as it is ready and tell us where it snags.
- 04
Launch and support
We bring across your existing data and switch the tool on. Your staff learn it with us. Then come hosting and maintenance, with new features in the order of your priorities.
What to check on security and data
- 01
Access and permissions
Each user has their own account and sees only what concerns them. Sensitive actions are written to a log you can consult.
- 02
Data and GDPR
Management software almost always holds personal data. You need to know where it is hosted and who can reach it. How long it is kept matters too, and how it is backed up.
- 03
Ownership of code and data
Before work starts, the quote says who holds the source code and what is handed over to you, plus how you can export your data in a standard format. You should never need a supplier to get at your own information.
- 04
Room to grow
More users, a second site, a new line of business. A clean architecture backed by automated tests lets us add features without breaking what already works.
- 05
Migrating your history
Your spreadsheets and old software hold years of information. Importing it needs preparation. The data is cleaned, fields are matched, then everything is checked with you.
What moves the price of custom business software
We do not give a price without knowing what you need. After a first conversation you get a readable quote that goes through the points below one by one.
- 01
Functional scope
How many screens and roles, which business rules. A simple case tracker is nowhere near the same work as a tool that runs the whole company.
- 02
Connections to your other tools
Accounts, email, payments or software you already have. Each automatic data exchange has to be designed, then tested.
- 03
Data migration
How much history there is to import, its quality, its format.
- 04
Use in the field
Entry on a phone, photos, signatures. And sometimes working with no signal at all, syncing once the connection comes back.
- 05
Hosting and support
The type of hosting and the level of maintenance. User training counts too, as do any improvements already planned.
After go-live, the tool keeps changing
Business software is never quite finished. Your business moves, your staff have ideas, regulations shift. After go-live we look after hosting and backups, apply security updates and fix faults. Change requests are grouped and costed, then scheduled with you.
Keeping the same person on the project has one plain advantage. Whoever improves your software already knows your procedures and the history of the work, so you never explain everything twice.
Technologies and methods
- TypeScript
- Node.js
- React / Next.js
- Web application
- Offline mode
- Automated testing
- GDPR
Frequently asked questions
Will the software work on tablets and phones?
Yes, if it is built as a web application designed for small screens, which is what we usually do. For field work, where the signal comes and goes, we add an offline mode. Entries sync as soon as the connection is back.
Can we start small?
Yes, and it is often wiser. A first version deals with the most pressing need. Other modules follow, shaped by what your staff tell us.
What happens to our current spreadsheets?
They become our starting point, because they show how you really work. Their data is cleaned and then imported into the new software. The old file can stay available during the transition, while everyone finds their feet.
Can the software connect to our accounting package?
In most cases, yes, provided your accounting software offers an API or at least a standard export. An API is an interface that lets two programs exchange data automatically. We check what is possible at the design stage.
What if we change supplier one day?
Another developer can take over documented software whose code is readable and tested. The terms for handing over the source code and your data are written into the quote. You stay in charge of your tool.