Software development
Software built around your business, not the other way around.
Booking systems, job management, customer portals and the internal tools that finally kill the spreadsheet. Software like this used to mean a six figure budget and a year of your life. It does not any more. Buy it outright, or lease it from us monthly and we maintain it.
Why businesses call us
You have outgrown the spreadsheet, and nothing off the shelf quite fits
Almost every business we build software for arrives the same way. There is a workbook, a shared inbox and a whiteboard, and the whole operation quietly depends on one person knowing how they fit together. It worked at five jobs a week. At fifty it is costing you money in ways nobody has added up.
The alternative is usually a subscription product built for a different kind of business, where you pay per user forever to work in a way that is almost right. Custom software is worth it at the point where "almost right" is costing more than the build would.
- The same information typed into three systems
- Jobs, bookings or stock tracked in someone’s head
- Paying per seat for software you use a fifth of
- A process that cannot scale without hiring admin
- No reporting without a night of copy and paste
What we build
The jobs custom software is actually good at
Most of what we build falls into one of these six. If yours does not, it is still worth a conversation, and we will tell you honestly if something off the shelf would do the job better and cheaper.
Booking & scheduling systems
Take bookings on your own website, on your own terms, without paying a percentage to someone else.
- Live availability, deposits and online payment
- Automatic confirmations and reminders
- Staff, room, court, site or equipment allocation
- Syncs with the calendar your team already uses
Job & workflow management
The quote to job to invoice run, in one place, instead of across a spreadsheet, a whiteboard and someone’s memory.
- Quotes, jobs, scheduling and job status in one system
- Field staff updating jobs from a phone on site
- Photos, notes and sign-off attached to the job
- Invoicing handed straight to Xero or MYOB
Customer & member portals
A login where your customers, members or franchisees self-serve, so your team stops being the lookup service.
- Account areas, documents and order history
- Memberships, renewals and gated content
- Franchise, dealer and contractor portals
- Role-based access so people see only their own
Internal tools that replace spreadsheets
That one workbook the whole business depends on, that only one person really understands, is a risk not a system.
- Shared data with real permissions and an audit trail
- No more emailed copies and no more version conflicts
- Validation, so bad data cannot get in
- Reporting that does not need rebuilding every month
Integrations & automation
Make the systems you already pay for talk to each other, instead of paying a person to retype between them.
- Website, CRM, accounting and inventory connected
- Payment, SMS, email and calendar integration
- Scheduled jobs, syncs and alerts that just run
- Custom APIs when an off-the-shelf connector will not do
Web apps & SaaS platforms
A product of your own, whether it is for your business or something you intend to sell to your industry.
- Multi-tenant platforms with subscription billing
- Dashboards, reporting and data visualisation
- Built to scale, hosted in Australia
- Documented properly, with your data exportable at any time
Need it to be a phone app rather than a web app? We will tell you straight whether it genuinely needs to be, because most of the time it does not. Ask us.
We run Webics on software we built ourselves
Our quoting, projects, job tickets, time and internal documentation all run on a platform we wrote, because nothing we could buy fitted how we work. When we tell you a custom system is worth the money, it is because we made that call for our own business first.
How a build runs
You see it working long before you pay for all of it
The classic way custom software goes wrong is a long quiet build against a spec written before anyone understood the problem. We do not work that way.
- 1
Work out what it really is
A short paid discovery where we map how the job actually runs today, including the bits that live in someone’s head. Most of the value is here, and plenty of it ends in "you do not need software for that".
- 2
See it before we build it
A clickable prototype of the real screens. You click through your own process and tell us what is wrong while changing it still costs nothing.
- 3
Build it in pieces
The part that hurts most is built and put in front of you first, in weeks rather than at the end of a six month contract. You see progress you can use, not a status report.
- 4
Launch and settle it
Your data brought across, your team trained, and us on hand for the first weeks while real use finds the things testing never does.
- 5
Keep it alive
Software is not a one-off purchase. Hosting, backups, security patching and changes as the business changes, from the same local team.
Hosting, security and support come from the same team: see hosting, email and IT and cyber security. Chasing repetitive work rather than a whole system? That is AI and automation.
How you pay for it
Buy it outright, or lease it from us
Two ways to do this, and they suit genuinely different businesses. We will tell you which one we think fits, and we are happy to quote both so you can see the numbers side by side.
You own it
A one-off build. On handover the software is yours: the code, the repository, the documentation and the data.
- You own the code outright, and another developer can take it on without a negotiation with us
- Hosted wherever you want it, in your own name
- No ongoing licence fee to us
- Built on mainstream technology, not something only we understand
- Support and maintenance available separately if you want us to keep looking after it
Suits you if the software is core to your business, you want it on the balance sheet as an asset, or you need the certainty that nobody else holds the keys.
You lease it from us
A much smaller upfront cost and a monthly fee. We own and maintain the software, you use it for as long as you are subscribed.
- Far less to find up front, so a system you could not otherwise justify becomes affordable
- Hosting, backups, security patching and support all included
- We keep improving it, and you get the improvements
- One predictable monthly cost instead of a capital project
- Your data stays yours and is exportable at any time
Suits you if cash flow matters more than ownership, you would rather someone else carried the maintenance, or you want to prove the thing works before committing to owning it.
Either way your data is yours and you can export all of it whenever you like, and either way it is hosted in Australia. The difference is who owns the software, not who owns your business information. Ask us to quote both.
Good to know
Software development questions
How much does custom software cost?+
There is no honest package price, because a booking form and a multi-site job management platform are not the same job. What we can do quickly is scope it: tell us the process you want fixed and we will come back with what it would take, what it would cost and a straight answer on whether it is worth doing. Most projects start with a short paid discovery so the number you get is real rather than a guess.
How long does it take?+
A focused tool is usually weeks, not months. A full platform is longer, but you do not wait until the end to see it. We build in pieces and put the most valuable part in front of you early, so you are using something real while the rest is still being built.
Should I just use an off-the-shelf product instead?+
Often, yes, and we will say so. Off-the-shelf wins when your process is genuinely standard for your industry. Custom wins when the product almost fits, when you are paying per seat for a fraction of what it does, or when the workaround has become the job. We would rather tell you to buy something than sell you a build you did not need.
Do we own the software, or do we lease it?+
Whichever suits you, and we will quote both. If you buy it outright you own the code, the repository and the documentation on handover, and another developer could take it on without our involvement. If you lease it, the upfront cost is much smaller and you pay a monthly fee that covers hosting, backups, security patching, support and ongoing improvements, and we own and maintain the software while you are subscribed. Your business data is yours either way, exportable at any time, and hosted in Australia either way.
Which is better value, owning it or leasing it?+
It depends on cash flow and on how central the software is to your business. Owning it costs more up front and nothing ongoing beyond whatever support you choose, which suits a system that is core to how you operate or that you want on the balance sheet. Leasing gets you running for a fraction of the upfront cost with everything included and no maintenance to think about, which suits a business that would rather keep the capital, or that wants to prove the system earns its keep before committing to owning it. We are happy to say which one we think fits once we understand the job.
What happens to the software if we stop leasing it?+
Access to the software stops, in the same way any subscription does. Your data does not disappear: you can export all of it in a usable format, and we will help you do that. If you decide part way through that you would rather own it outright, tell us and we will price the change instead of making you start again.
Do I own the software when it is finished?+
Yes. You own the code, the repository, the documentation and the data, and it is hosted somewhere you control. Another developer can pick it up without a negotiation with us. We build on mainstream technology for exactly that reason.
Can it connect to Xero, MYOB or the systems we already use?+
Usually yes. Accounting, CRM, payment, SMS, email and calendar systems nearly all have an API, and connecting them is one of the highest-value things a custom build does. Where there is no connector we can write one.
Does it need to be a phone app?+
Usually not. A well-built web app works on a phone, installs to the home screen, and does not need app store approval every time you change something, which is faster and much cheaper to run. Where a native app genuinely is the right answer, for offline use or deep device features, we will tell you.
What happens after it launches?+
Software is never finished, so we host it, back it up, keep it patched and change it as your business changes. That comes from the same local team that built it, not a support queue you have never spoken to.
Do you build software for businesses you did not build a website for?+
Yes. A custom system is its own project and does not require anything else from us. Plenty of clients come to us for one and never touch the rest.
Don't take our word for it
rating 5.0 ★★★★★ from 50+ reviews
★★★★★
My new website and hosting service are great. The Webics team were excellent in developing the website and taking on board feedback. I felt they communicated very well and a range of staff expertise was involved in the development phase. I recommend them particularly for Illawarra and South Coast businesses.
Ione Lewis
3 months ago
★★★★★
We have been working with Ory and the team at Webics for quite some time now for our website, marketing, and ongoing support needs. Their service has consistently been outstanding. Whenever we've had an issue or needed assistance, the team has simply worked it out with no fuss and no unnecessary delays. Their communication is excellent, keeping us informed throughout the process, and their attention to detail gives us confidence that everything is being handled properly. It's refreshing to work with a team that is professional, responsive, and genuinely focused on delivering results. We highly recommend Ory and the Webics team to anyone looking for reliable website and marketing support.
Bumpy Road Catering and Events
3 months ago
★★★★★
Couldn’t recommend Webics more. We had an urgent issue with one of our social media accounts and they handled it quickly and seamlessly. No stress, no back and forth — just results. Super knowledgeable team and we’ll definitely be working with them again.
carly pont
4 months ago
★★★★★
Thank you Ory and team for getting my ecom site live. Great communication, smooth process, definitely recommend.
Amber Hadfield
5 months ago
★★★★★
I had the pleasure of working with Ory from Webics, and I couldn't be more thrilled with the services provided. Ory's expertise and professionalism made the entire process seamless. He assisted in registering domains and configured our email.
Tiffany Ellis
2 years ago
★★★★★
Ory and the team at Webics are a one stop shop! They took the time to listen to my needs and came up with personalised solutions for my website and graphics. My website looks amazing, professional and the logo that was created was perfect.
Nadine Stevens
3 years ago
★★★★★
Lydia and Hayden have made the process of upgrading and refreshing our existing website an easy and enjoyable process. We had struggled for a few years to find a team that we trusted and could easily relate to that understood our business.
Jamieson Civil
5 years ago
★★★★★
It has been a pleasure dealing with Webics, the way the staff and Ory have conducted themselves has been so professional for my business. They always have new ideas and ways to get in front of the local area marketing on Google.
Adam Sturt
5 years ago
★★★★★
Absolutely fantastic service, end to end. Very impressed with the branding side of things, and the creative lead Sam is highly talented. The team were able to guide me through the concept stage of my website and able to really create a design that resonated with me. Hayden was highly responsive with my many requests for changes and committed to helping me get things just right. I will be using their service for SEO also. Having a local team like Webics that was available to me daily was invaluable. Will be using again in the future. Thanks Ory & team!
Zainib cheema
5 years ago
★★★★★
Webics would have to be the most creative and talented bunch of people I've met in a long time. They make the experience of setting up a webpage easy from start to finish.
Adam Straney
11 years ago
Trusted by 900+ Australian businesses
Describe the problem. We will tell you if software fixes it.
No specification needed, and no technical vocabulary. Tell us what is slow, what gets typed twice and what keeps going wrong, and we will come back with what it would take to fix, what it would cost, and whether it is worth doing at all.