Custom software development for what no product solves

Custom software development means building the system your company needs instead of adapting the company to a product. At Intway we have been doing it for more than 25 years: management systems, integrations between systems, modernisation of old systems, apps, portals and artificial intelligence applied to real processes. This page explains what our services include, when building makes sense, how we work and what drives the cost. If you are a small or mid-sized business moving off spreadsheets, also see custom software for small and medium businesses.

What custom software development is (and isn't)

It is a system designed around your processes, your rules and your data, with the code and the database in your company's name. It isn't a generic product customised until it looks like your operation, or a two-year project you only get to see at the end. And it is rarely a fresh start: often the job is to connect what already works, replace the part that got old or add a new channel without touching the core system.

What our software development services include

• Management and operations systems: orders, stock, production, payroll, dispatch. See custom ERP development.
• Integrations and APIs: so your systems talk to each other, to your online store, your bank or e-invoicing. See e-commerce and marketplace integrations and microservices.
• Legacy modernisation: replacing, piece by piece, a system that works but got old, without stopping operations. See how to modernise a legacy system.
• Mobile apps and web portals: for field teams or for your customers. See custom mobile app development and the self-service portal.
• Applied artificial intelligence: on your documents and your data, inside a process that already exists. See AI process automation.

When it makes sense

• The process is specific to your business and no product covers it without side spreadsheets.
• You have several systems that don't talk and the same data is entered two or three times.
• The core system works but can't be touched: every change is a risk and nobody knows all of it.
• You need to add a channel (app, portal, third-party integration) without replacing what you have.
• The rules change often (rates, agreements, regulations) and waiting for a vendor's roadmap holds you back.

When it doesn't

If the process is standard, such as accounting, payroll or plain invoicing, a well-integrated product almost always wins; we explain it in custom software vs SaaS. And if you already have a development team and what you lack is people, what you need is the software factory and team augmentation.

Not sure whether to build, integrate or buy? Tell us what you want to solve and we'll tell you which path makes sense, even if it isn't building.

Custom development, off-the-shelf product or in-house team

How we work

Discovery before quoting

Before giving a number we look at how the process works today: who enters what, in which system, what gets redone by hand and where information gets lost. That tells us what to build first and what is better left as it is.

The biggest pain first, in production within weeks

The first release solves a concrete problem and is actually used; it isn't a mock-up. Then we add the rest piece by piece, with releases every two weeks that you can see and try. That is how we replaced a traffic spreadsheet that decided how much to pay for each trip: it became a system with its formulas and a record of who changed each value.

Living with what already exists

Almost no project starts on a blank page. When there is a core system that works, such as a banking core or an ERP, we build a service layer that connects it to the new channels without modifying it, and we migrate in parts, with both systems running in parallel until the new one proves it gives the same results.

Quality, security and traceability

Automated tests on every release, role-based permissions, a record of who did what and backups from day one. In systems that run payroll, collect or pay, every result has to be explainable later.

The code and the data are yours

The repository, the database and the cloud accounts stay in your company's name, with the documentation another team needs to carry on. We work with Node.js, NestJS, Next.js, React Native, Go and PostgreSQL, on AWS or on your own servers.

Real cases

How much does custom software development cost?

It depends on concrete things, and it helps to have them clear before asking for a quote:

• The scope of the first stage: how many processes go in and how tied together they are.
• Integrations: every external system adds work, more so without a documented API.
• The system being replaced: how many hidden rules it has and how much history must be migrated.
• Users and permissions: not because of licences, but because of the number of roles and screens.
• Security and availability requirements: an internal tool is not the same as a system that moves money.

We quote the first stage with a fixed scope and price after discovery, and the rest stage by stage. How we build that number is in how to estimate a software project. For a concrete proposal, get in touch.

Examples by industry

Logistics and transport

Dispatch, route sheets, proof of delivery, customer rates and driver settlement, with each trip connected to invoicing so nobody re-enters what happened on the road. See software for logistics and transportation and the guide to transportation management software.

Maintenance and field service

Work orders, each unit's history, spare parts, customer signature and technician dispatch, with an app that works even when the equipment is in a basement. See software for maintenance and field service.

Healthcare

Medical records, appointments, billing of services and medication control, with role-based permissions and protected sensitive data. See healthcare software.

Banking and financial services

Integration layers with the core, digital channels, back office and traceability of every operation, in regulated environments where repeating an operation is as bad as losing it. See software for banking and financial services.

Common mistakes

• Wanting everything in the first version. A big project you only see at the end is the one that drifts the most.
• Copying the old system screen by screen. It's the chance to keep only what is actually used.
• Replacing everything at once. Migrating in parts, with both systems in parallel, avoids stopping operations.
• Leaving integrations for the end. They are the hardest part and should be tested first.
• Not having the code in your name. If the repository and the cloud belong to the vendor, so does the system.