Custom app development · Essex and UK-wide
Custom app development for businesses that have outgrown spreadsheets.
Booking apps, job and quote apps, staff rotas, customer portals and dashboards, built around how your business actually works (not the other way round) and connected to the tools you already use.
- Fixed quote after a free chat
- Web and mobile
- You sign off designs first
Sound familiar?
Signs you need a custom app
Off-the-shelf software is great until your business doesn't quite fit it. Then the workarounds start. Then the workarounds for the workarounds.
The same data typed in three places
Bookings in one system, customers in a spreadsheet, invoices in a third. Every copy is another chance for a typo.
Job sheets on the van dashboard
Jobs on paper or buried in WhatsApp, photos on someone's phone, and the office ringing round for the details.
Rotas and timesheets by text message
Shifts swapped by message, hours added up by hand on a Sunday night, and payroll queries every month.
Customers ringing for updates
"Has my order shipped?" "When's the engineer coming?" Calls you could avoid with a simple portal.
No single view of the business
To know how the month is going you need four logins and a calculator.
Paying for features you don't use
Per-user fees for a giant platform when you only ever use three of its buttons.
Fancy this working for your business? Free 30-minute chat, then a fixed written quote. No hard sell.
Example apps
The kind of apps we build for local businesses
Examples of common projects. Yours will be shaped around your process. Screens are illustrations.
Booking and deposit app
Customers see real availability, book and pay a deposit. Reminders cut no-shows and your diary updates itself.
Good for: salons, clinics, restaurants, tutors, hire companies
Job and quote app for trades
Today's jobs on every engineer's phone. Photos, notes, quotes and signatures captured on site and sent to the office instantly.
Good for: plumbers, electricians, builders, cleaners, installers
Staff rota and timesheet tool
Publish rotas, let staff request swaps and clock in from their phone, and export hours ready for payroll.
Good for: hospitality, retail, care, cleaning, events
Customer portal
Customers log in to see bookings, progress, documents and invoices, without phoning or emailing you.
Good for: accountants, agents, contractors, B2B suppliers
Business dashboard
Enquiries, jobs, sales and cash in one screen, pulled live from your existing systems.
Good for: any owner who wants the numbers without the spreadsheets
Internal tools
Stock checks, order tracking, inspections, checklists and approvals, replacing fragile spreadsheets with a proper, secure tool.
Good for: shops, warehouses, property managers, multi-site teams
Fancy this working for your business? Free 30-minute chat, then a fixed written quote. No hard sell.
What you get
Built properly, so your team actually uses it (and doesn't sneak back to the spreadsheet)
- Designed around your process, not a generic template
- Works on phones, tablets and computers, as a web app or mobile app
- Secure logins with the right access for staff, managers and customers
- Connected to your calendar, CRM, payments and accounts where they allow it
- You see and sign off designs before we build
- Hosting, support and improvements once it's live
How we build
From idea to working app, in small, visible steps
- 1
Free chat
30 minutes on how the work happens today and what "better" looks like.
- 2
Design
A written specification and screen designs, with a fixed quote for the build.
- 3
Build
Built in stages so you see progress and can give feedback early.
- 4
Launch and support
We help your team get started, then host, support and improve it. No vanishing act after launch day.
Fancy this working for your business? Free 30-minute chat, then a fixed written quote. No hard sell.
Pricing
How app projects are priced
Every app is different, so we give you a fixed, written quote after a free chat, so you know the cost before a line of code is written. Our list prices for system work are below. Not VAT registered - no VAT added
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| System design: specification, workflow and screen designs | £2,200 |
| System set-up and development | £3,300 |
| Smaller tools and larger apps | Fixed quote after a free chat |
| Hosting and support once live | Quoted with your project |
Free app scoping chat
Not sure what you need? Good. Let's sketch it together.
- 30 minutes, by phone or video
- We map what your team does today
- You get a written outline and a fixed quote
Questions
Custom app questions
How much does a custom app cost?
Our list price for system design is £2,200 and for system set-up and development £3,300. Small tools can cost less and larger apps more. We give you a fixed, written quote after a free chat, so you know the cost before you commit.
Do I need a mobile app or a web app?
Often a web app that works on any phone or computer does everything you need, without app store fees and approvals. If you need phone features like offline use or notifications, we'll recommend a mobile app. We'll suggest the simplest option that does the job, not the fanciest.
How long does it take?
It depends on the size of the app. Your proposal includes a timeline, and we build in stages so you see working parts along the way.
Can it connect to the software we already use?
Usually, yes. Connecting systems is a big part of what we do. See integrations and automation.
Who looks after it once it's built?
We can, so you're not left holding it. We host and support it, fixing issues and adding improvements as your business changes.
Do you work with businesses outside Essex?
Yes. We're based in Brentwood, Essex, and build apps for businesses across the UK, with meetings by video where that's easier.
Free, friendly, no hard sell
Grab a free 30‑minute chat
Tell us what's driving you mad. We'll ring you back, talk it through, then send a written proposal with fixed prices. You decide if it goes ahead. No pressure, no jargon.
- Fixed, written quotes before any work starts
- One team for apps, systems, Google, website, ads and social
- Plain English, no jargon, no hard sell
- Based in Brentwood, Essex, working UK-wide
- No VAT on top (we're not VAT registered)
Prefer to talk now? 07311 051251 info@pixelmediagroup.co.uk