Customer & partner portals
Self-service for customers, partners and suppliers instead of email threads and PDF forms — connected to your ERP, CRM or core system.
Service 02
Internal tools that replace the spreadsheet your operations depend on
Every company has a process that runs on a shared Excel file, an Access database or a ten-step email ritual. It works until it doesn’t. We turn it into a small, robust application — validated inputs, clear ownership, audit trail, connected to your systems of record.
Problem
The expensive part is not the spreadsheet — it is what it hides
Manual processes hide cost in three places: people re-typing data between systems, errors discovered late (wrong price, missed approval, duplicated order), and knowledge locked in one person’s head. When that person is on holiday, the process stops.
Off-the-shelf SaaS covers the generic 80 %. The remaining 20 % — your approval rules, your pricing logic, your ERP field mapping — is where the value and the pain sit. That is what we build.
Typical candidates
- Quote, order or approval workflows that move through email and Excel.
- Planning, scheduling or allocation tools (crews, vehicles, rooms, production slots).
- Data-entry and validation front ends for ERP/CRM that replace error-prone direct input.
- Reporting and reconciliation tools that currently mean “export to Excel and fix by hand”.
- Back-office consoles for teams who administer customers, contracts or claims.
Approach
How we build it
Internal tools should be cheap to change, because the process will change. We build for that.
Observe the real process
We sit with the people who run it (on site or remote), read the spreadsheet, and document the exceptions — the exceptions are the specification.
Thin slice in weeks, not months
The first usable version covers one process end to end for one team, connected to real data. Feedback beats requirements documents.
Harden and integrate
Roles, validations, audit trail, ERP/CRM integration, notifications, exports. Automated tests protect the rules that matter (pricing, approvals, limits).
Hand over with a change budget
Internal tools live on a small evolution retainer or a documented handover to your IT. Either way you own code, data and infrastructure.
Deliverables
What you get
- A web application (desktop and tablet first) with role-based access via your company SSO.
- Validated forms, workflows with states and approvals, comments and attachments.
- Integrations to ERP, CRM, DMS, e-mail, Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace as needed.
- Audit trail (who changed what, when), exports (Excel/CSV/PDF), scheduled reports.
- Automated tests for business rules, CI/CD, monitoring, backups — in your accounts.
- Source code, documentation and a short admin/user guide in EN and DE.
Indicative range
- Investment
- CHF 30,000 – 120,000
- Duration
- 2 – 4 months to first production release
Indicative, for planning. The discovery sprint produces a fixed price for a fixed scope. Smaller tools can start with a shorter, fixed-fee pilot. How pricing works →
Typical technology
TypeScript/React front ends; Node.js or Java/Kotlin back ends; PostgreSQL; your SSO via OpenID Connect; hosted in your AWS/Azure account or a Swiss provider. Where a low-code platform you already pay for is the better answer, we say so.
A representative engagement
Illustrative scenario — not a client case study
Before
A services company of 200 people prices and approves customer quotes in an Excel template per sales rep. Approval happens by forwarding the file. Margins differ by rep; nobody can say which version was sent to the customer.
After
Reps build quotes in a tool that pulls products and prices from the ERP, applies the discount rules, routes approvals above thresholds to the right manager, produces the PDF, and records which version the customer received. Management sees margin by quote in a live view.
We publish real case studies only with written client permission. Until then, this section shows the shape of the work, not a result we claim.
Led by a software engineer (since 2008) with roles at
- Deutsche BörseGerman stock exchange, 2014–2018
- SAPSenior Software Engineer, 2019–2022
- UnbluSenior Software Engineer, 2022–2024
- InfosysSoftware Engineer, 2008–2012
Founder’s employers — not Monolith clients.
FAQ
Common questions
Wouldn’t a low-code or no-code tool be cheaper?
For simple forms and approvals, often yes — and we will recommend it if it fits. Low-code becomes expensive when you need complex rules, many integrations, performance at volume, or when the licence grows with every user. The assessment compares both paths for your case.
Our process changes every few months. Is custom software too rigid?
Only if it is built that way. We keep business rules in one well-tested place, separate configuration from code, and offer a small evolution retainer so changes take days, not projects.
Can you work with our Microsoft 365 / SharePoint / Dynamics setup?
Yes. Internal tools typically sit next to Microsoft 365: SSO via Entra ID, files in SharePoint, data from Dynamics or Business Central via their APIs.
What is the smallest engagement you take?
A fixed-fee discovery or a pilot for one process, typically from CHF 10,000–15,000. Below that, a senior engineer’s involvement does not pay off for you.
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Related services
System integration & APIs
Make your ERP, CRM, shop, banking or insurance platforms exchange data reliably — with monitoring, retries and an audit trail, not nightly CSV hope.
Legacy modernisation
Move off the application nobody dares to touch — incrementally, with the business running, instead of a big-bang rewrite that never ships.
Which process is running on a spreadsheet today?
Tell us what it does, who uses it and which systems it touches. You receive a written assessment within two business days — including whether a tool you already have could do the job.