Custom software development: a programme written from scratch around your process
Custom software development is writing a programme from scratch around one company's own process, instead of adapting a ready-made package. ALTAI Digital maps the process first, then writes quote automation, document pipelines, messaging assistants and AI-assisted tools. Each programme has permanent tests, and risky steps can wait for a person's approval. Who keeps the source code and the server is settled in the scope. The scope is written in a discovery report.
Custom software development is writing a programme from scratch around one company's own process, instead of adapting a ready-made package. ALTAI Digital writes such programmes on request, from Istanbul and Rotterdam. The work covers quotes, documents, email, WhatsApp, phone calls and management panels. The sections below describe the kinds of programme we write, the order the work runs in and how the source code and the server are handled.
The starting point is the process, not a screen. In the discovery call we draw out who does a job, at which step, and where the job waits. Where does a quote request arrive, who prices it, who approves it and where is the document stored? Once those questions have answers, it becomes clear what the programme should do and what a person should keep doing. The scope is written after that and given to you in a discovery report.
A ready-made package suits many jobs, and we do not argue otherwise. Custom software starts to make sense when your process does not fit the package's assumptions. It also makes sense when several systems must be joined into one flow, or when your team has its own approval order. AI-assisted software is used for a specific step, such as reading a request, drafting a reply or summarising a call. It is not added for show, and a risky step can be tied to a person's approval.
Who keeps the source code and the server is settled in the scope, and the programme can also be offered as a monthly service. ALTAI Digital wrote its own platforms the same way, Lexup and Agentsup, and both are listed on the platforms page. Monthly maintenance after handover is optional and runs under a separate contract.
What goes wrong today
- 01
Work moves between inboxes and spreadsheets
A quote arrives by email, the price is worked out in a spreadsheet and the document is prepared in another file. At each step someone waits, and the data is carried over by hand. Custom software joins that chain into one flow. Which step belongs to the programme and which to a person is written down at the start.
- 02
The package does not fit the process
A team that must work to a package's menus ends up bending its own process to the package's assumptions. Workarounds and side spreadsheets follow. With custom software the order is reversed: the process is mapped first and the programme is written to match it.
- 03
Systems cannot see each other
Your phone system, email, customer records and document tool each sit apart, and the same detail is typed into several places. Links can be written. A call record from your phone system (PBX), for example, can be taken in, summarised and attached to the customer record.
- 04
AI is left unsupervised
If an assistant sends a reply by itself, its mistakes reach the customer directly. For that reason a WhatsApp assistant runs in shadow mode first: it drafts the reply and does not send it. Drafted replies are approved or rejected; if the approval rate passes a set threshold the assistant goes live, and if it does not, it stays in shadow. Sending, payment and deletion can be tied to approval.
- 05
Nobody dares to change an untested programme
A programme with no permanent tests breaks when it is changed, so people stop touching it. Every programme we write has permanent tests and pre-release checks. A change reaches production only after passing those checks.
- 06
It is unclear who holds the programme
The code can sit on one developer's laptop and the server in someone else's account. Who keeps the source code and the server is settled in the scope. Monthly maintenance after handover is optional and runs under a separate contract.
Scope of the build
A programme written from scratch around your process
The programme is not built on a ready-made package. It is written around the process of the company. First we draw out who does which step and where the work waits, then we write the programme. The scope is written in the discovery report. Who keeps the source code and the server is settled in the scope too.
Quote automation
We write a programme that reads an incoming request, matches it against a catalogue and works out the price by rules. The quote document is prepared after approval. The price rules are written down, and the approval step stays with a person.
Document pipeline
Quotes, reports and contracts are produced from data. The same detail is entered once, and the documents are generated from it. Document and report production can also be set up as a service of its own.
Email campaign infrastructure
List verification, personalised content and the sending order (cadence) are written. Replies and bounced emails are tracked. Sending-frequency limits are also written into the programme.
WhatsApp reply assistant
The assistant first runs in shadow mode: it drafts the reply and does not send it. Drafted replies are approved or rejected. If the approval rate passes a set threshold the assistant goes live, and if it does not, it stays in shadow.
Instagram automation
Instagram messages and comments are turned into records. A reply is sent once it has been approved. The decision to send therefore stays with you.
Phone system call-record integration
A call record from your phone system (PBX) is taken in, summarised and attached to the customer record. Which phone system is connected is settled in the discovery call.
AI-assisted process management panel
Records, calendar, contracts and operations tracking are gathered in one panel. The panel can include AI-assisted steps. Which step is used where is settled in the discovery call.
Multi-user platform for one sector
We write a multi-user business platform for one sector, gated by role and permission. Who sees what, and who may change what, is defined by role. Row-level permissions can be used in the data layer.
Agent system with an approval queue
We write an in-house automation system in which agents call tools. At a risky step the job drops into an approval queue, and a person decides.
How the build runs
- 01
Discovery call
We talk through how the job runs today, who does which step and where it waits. The call shapes the scope of the programme.
- 02
Process map and scope
What was said becomes a process map. What belongs to the programme and what to a person is drawn out. The scope is written in the discovery report.
- 03
Writing and permanent tests
The programme is written, and each programme has permanent tests. It passes pre-release checks. A risky step, such as sending, payment or deletion, can be tied to approval.
- 04
Handover and the status of the source code
The programme goes live. Who keeps the source code and the server is settled in the scope, and the programme can also be offered as a monthly service.
- 05
Optional monthly maintenance
Monthly maintenance after handover is optional and runs under a separate contract.
Products used in this build
Web and mobile development
Code written from scratch: web with Next.js, mobile with React Native and Swift; the repository is yours from day one.
Integrations
Your existing systems get connected; data is not carried by hand and not kept in two places.
Document and report generation
Proposals, contracts, listing copy and monthly reports are produced from your template, with your data.
Agent deployment
The written method for moving a job into a system: discovery, priority order, first live workflow, measurement and an audit log.
Terms used on this page
- Custom software development
- Custom software development is writing a programme from scratch around one company's own process.
- Process map
- A process map is a document that shows the steps a job passes through, who performs each step and where the job waits.
- Shadow mode
- Shadow mode is a way of running an assistant in which it drafts the reply but does not send it, while people approve or reject the drafts.
- Approval queue
- An approval queue is a line in which a risky step waits for a person's decision before it is carried out.
- Source code
- Source code is the set of software files that defines how a programme works.
custom software developmentFrequently asked questions
Custom software is the right choice when your process does not fit a package's assumptions, or when several systems must be joined into one flow. If your process already fits the package's flow, the package may be enough. The decision is made in the discovery call, once the process has been mapped.
The front end is usually written in Next.js, React and TypeScript. The data layer mostly uses Supabase and PostgreSQL, and the server side can be Node.js or Python (FastAPI). For AI we use Anthropic Claude and OpenAI. Deployment is on Vercel or on a server. For mobile apps, see the web and mobile app service page.
Who keeps the source code and the server is settled in the scope, and the programme can also be offered as a monthly service. The decision is written in the discovery report.
Monthly maintenance after handover is optional. If you want it, it runs under a separate contract. The decision comes after handover, according to what you need.
AI is used in specific steps: reading a request, drafting a reply, summarising a call. A WhatsApp assistant first runs in shadow mode and does not send the reply. Risky steps such as sending, payment and deletion can be tied to a person's approval, and in an approval queue a person decides.
Links can be written. Your phone system (PBX), Google (Sheets, Gmail, Calendar), Meta (WhatsApp and Instagram), Stripe and invoicing software can be connected. Which systems are linked is settled in the discovery call and written in the discovery report. Where personal data is processed, GDPR (UK GDPR in the UK) applies.
Yes. ALTAI Digital wrote Lexup and Agentsup the same way it writes custom programmes. Both are listed on the platforms page, where you can read the details.
The time is written in the discovery report together with the scope. The number of systems to connect and the number of user roles set it most.
The process first, the proposal after
In a short discovery call we map the process together and tell you plainly whether it is worth automating. If it is not, we say that too.
30 minutes · no preparation needed
