Web apps, client portals and internal tools
Most small businesses run something important on a spreadsheet. It works until two people need it at once, or somebody needs to see their own data without seeing everybody else's, or the person who understands the formulas leaves.
That is the point where a spreadsheet becomes an application, and it is the work I do most: taking a process that already exists and turning it into something with logins, permissions and a database behind it.
What you get
- A working application, not a prototype, deployed to a server you own
- Multi-tenant and role-based access where the job needs it
- The deployment, the database and the backups set up and documented
- Source code and credentials handed over, yours to keep
Who it's for
Small businesses and IT firms with a process currently held together by a spreadsheet, or a product idea that needs building properly the first time.
How it's priced
Fixed price per project, quoted after a free scoping call. Larger builds split into stages you sign off one at a time, so you are never far from a working thing.
Case study
A multi-tenant portal two companies run their week on
The problem. An IT firm needed its client companies to see their own devices, tickets and security findings, with no possibility of one client ever seeing another. The usual approach, a shared database with a tenant column on every table, fails the moment one query forgets its filter.
What I did.
- Gave every client company its own database, created when the company is added and deleted with it, so a missing filter cannot cross a boundary that does not exist
- Built six roles across two tiers after splitting one overloaded permission check that had been guarding two unrelated powers
- Added TOTP two-factor, and session revocation by version number so a password change signs out every other device without the server storing sessions
Outcome. Around 15,000 lines of TypeScript, in production, used daily by two client companies. I still run the server it sits on.
Questions people ask
- How long does a build take?
- A small internal tool is usually two to four weeks. Something with multiple user types and a client-facing side is more like two to three months. I quote a fixed price and stage anything large, so you sign off working pieces as they land rather than waiting for one big reveal.
- Do I own the code?
- Yes. Source code and credentials are handed over, and it deploys to a server you own or one I set up in your name. There is no arrangement where I hold your application hostage.
- What if I need changes after it is delivered?
- Small changes are usually quicker to just do than to negotiate. For ongoing work I bill monthly rather than trying to price every tweak.
- Can you take over something somebody else built?
- Often, yes. I will read it first and tell you honestly whether it is worth continuing or whether you are better off rebuilding the parts that matter. Sometimes the answer is that it is fine and you just need it deployed properly.
Talk about your project
Tell me what you're trying to do and roughly what it's worth to you. The first call is free, half an hour, and you get a straight answer about whether I'm the right person.
That's with me.
I read these myself and reply within a working day, usually sooner. If it's urgent, ring 07853 610930.
The other two things I do
Security audits
Find out what is actually exposed, with the evidence attached. Not a scan report you cannot act on.
Servers and infrastructure
Provisioning, hardening and keeping Linux servers running. Including being the person who gets the call.
Website care plans
Hosting, security updates, tested backups and your monthly changes. For any small business site, whether I wrote it or not.
