Service
Custom software built around how your business runs
At DECHY, we design, build, and look after custom software that fits how your business runs: business tools, customer portals, online platforms, dashboards, and internal systems. You get one team from the first workshop to years of support, and software your staff actually want to use.
- 1,200+ clients helped
- Building since 2010
- 15 services, one team
- 50+ technologies
At a glance
What we build
We design and build software for one organization: its own tools, portals, apps, and dashboards, shaped around how it really works, then tested, secured, and looked after.
Problems we solve
Ready-made software forces workarounds. Spreadsheets pile up, systems do not share information, and people lose time and make mistakes.
Who we serve
Founders, operations leaders, and teams whose process is too specific, or too important, for a ready-made product.
How to choose
Build when your process is unique or gives you an edge. Buy when the need is common. Connect what you already have when the tools are fine but do not talk to each other.
- 1,200+Happy clients
- 1,500+Projects delivered
- 100+Engineers and designers
- 20+Countries served
- 22Certifications
Every project gets its own squad from our 100+ engineers and designers: a project lead, a product designer, and engineers matched to your stack, with the same people from kickoff to launch.
Our approach
Custom software that fits your business, not the other way round
We build software for one organization's own processes, information, and users, instead of making you bend to a product designed for the average customer. We recommend it when your process gives you an edge, when ready-made tools force workarounds, or when several systems need to work as one.
It is often the wrong answer too, and we will tell you when it is. A common spreadsheet process may be better served by a configured product. A generic need such as invoicing is usually better bought. We start by testing three options: build it, buy it, or connect what you already have. The cheapest software is the software you do not have to write.
When building is right, the work covers more than writing code. It includes understanding the process, planning the structure, building the application, testing it, securing it, putting it online, and keeping it healthy afterward. We treat these as one job. That is why software architecture, software testing, and software maintenance are part of every project, not extras.
Choosing an approach
Build, buy, or connect what you have
This is the first decision on most projects. The honest answer depends on how specific your process is and how well existing tools fit it.
Choose it when
Your process is specific to you, gives you an edge, or is poorly served by products on the market.
- Watch out for
- A bigger upfront investment, and a long-term responsibility to look after it.
- What you end up with
- A system shaped to your workflow, which you own and can extend.
Choose it when
The need is common and mature products cover it well, such as accounting, email, or standard HR.
- Watch out for
- Workarounds that grow over time, fees that rise with each user, and limited control.
- What you end up with
- A fast start, with the product's limits built in.
Choose it when
Good tools exist but do not share information, so people re-type or reconcile by hand.
- Watch out for
- Tools with poor connection options, and links that nobody monitors.
- What you end up with
- Your existing tools behave as one system, with less new software to build.
Choose it when
Most real situations: buy the common parts, build the part that sets you apart, and connect the rest.
- Watch out for
- Unclear ownership between the pieces.
- What you end up with
- A practical mix with a clear line around what is custom.
We recommend an approach on the merits of your situation, including recommending against a build.
What we build
Systems we design and build
Most projects take one of these shapes, or combine several.
Business applications and management systems
Applications that run a process from start to finish: orders, jobs, cases, approvals, stock, billing. Each person sees what their role needs, and every change is recorded.
Online platforms people subscribe to
Software that customers pay for monthly or yearly and use online (often called SaaS). It includes accounts, billing, and the operations behind them, from first release through growth.
Customer and employee portals
A secure place where customers, partners, or staff handle things themselves: documents, requests, status, payments, and support.
Dashboards and reporting
Live views of the numbers your team runs on, drawn from the right sources and designed to be trusted.
Marketplaces
Platforms that connect buyers and sellers, or providers and clients, with listings, matching, payments, and trust features.
Booking and scheduling systems
Appointment, resource, and capacity management with availability rules, reminders, and payments.
Membership and subscription platforms
Access, billing, renewals, and delivery of content or services for customers who stay with you over time.
Customer, operations, and stock systems
Custom or extended systems for customer records (CRM), company operations (ERP), and stock, where ready-made products do not fit.
Internal tools
Focused tools that replace spreadsheets and email chains for one team, built quickly and maintained properly.
Learning and payment systems
Course delivery, progress tracking, and certificates, plus payment flows built with providers such as Stripe and PayPal.
Interfaces
The screens your customers and staff use
People judge a system by its screens. We design each one to show what a person came for first, on a desktop and on a phone.
Different views for different people
Customers, staff, and administrators see what they need and nothing they should not. One set of access rules applies across the screens and the system behind them.
Designed for every screen
The phone layout is designed on its own terms, not shrunk from the desktop one. It has touch-sized controls and puts the most important status first.
Usable by everyone
Keyboard use, clear focus, readable contrast, and plain labels are part of the standard from the start, not a repair later.
How we deliver
From first conversation to software that stays healthy
These stages are common to most projects. Their size depends on the job, and we do not skip any of them.
Discover
We learn the process, the users, the information involved, and what success means. We test whether to build, buy, or connect.
What it produces
- Problem and scope statement
- Map of the process and information
- Build, buy, or connect recommendation
Plan the structure
We choose how the system is organized: its parts, how information is stored, how it links to other systems, how it is secured, and where it runs. We write decisions down with their trade-offs.
What it produces
- Overview of the structure
- Plan for stored information
- Decision records
Build
We deliver in short steps you can see and use, riskiest parts first. Every piece of work is reviewed and can be shown to you.
What it produces
- Working software each round
- Reviewed and versioned work
- Progress you can inspect
Test
Automated checks at several levels, plus accessibility, speed, and security checks, run on every change.
What it produces
- Automated test suite
- Security and update-check results
- Speed and accessibility checks
Release
We release to a safe preview first, then to the live system, with a rehearsed way back and a clear handover.
What it produces
- Release process
- Release notes
- Rollback plan
Look after it
We watch, update, and improve the software after launch. Software that matters needs an owner who keeps it current.
What it produces
- Monitoring and alerts
- Security and update fixes
- Documentation and runbooks
Quality
Quality assurance, security, and speed in every release
Quality is a set of habits applied to every change, not a phase at the end. This is the model we work to.
Quality assurance in every release
Many quick tests of small parts, fewer tests of parts working together, and a handful of full walk-throughs of the tasks that matter most.
Secure by design
We plan for threats, give people only the access they need, scan for known weaknesses, and follow the OWASP list of the most common web security mistakes from the first round, not the last.
Watched after launch
Records, measurements, and alerts mean our team sees a problem before your users report it.
Choosing the right approach
How we pick the right approach: build, buy or connect
If a mature product already does the job, buying it is faster and cheaper. If your tools are fine but separate, connecting them is often enough.
We look at what you already use, what the market sells, and what you need to own, then recommend the route that will still work for you in three years. Buying or connecting usually wins when:
- Your need is common, such as standard accounting or email.
- You are not yet sure the idea works. A simple test version or a configured product may teach you more.
- You cannot yet name who will own and maintain the system.
Technology
The technology we build with
For your technical team: how we pick a stack, the choices we make most often, how we weigh one option against another, and the architecture styles we consider.
The programming language, framework, database, and hosting for a project are chosen for the problem, for the team that will look after it, and for the long-term cost. A tool chosen because it is fashionable becomes a burden once the people who chose it have moved on.
For the behind-the-scenes part, we often use Python, TypeScript, Java, C#, Go, or PHP. For the screens people use, React, Next.js, Vue, or Angular. For stored information, PostgreSQL, MySQL, or MongoDB. For hosting, AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, with Docker and Kubernetes where containers pay for themselves.
- How well it fits the problem.
- How mature it is and how healthy its community is.
- How easy it is to hire for and maintain.
- Its security record.
- How well it connects to your other systems.
- Speed, and the total cost over the life of the system.
- Modular monolith: one application built in clear, separate modules.
- Microservices: many small services that work together.
- Serverless: code that runs only when it is needed.
- Event-driven: parts that react to things that happen.
- Multi-tenant platforms: one system that safely serves many customers.
- Headless: the content or logic is separate from the screens.
Modernization
Replacing old software without stopping the business
Old software is rarely rewritten in one go. The safer path is to wrap it, replace it piece by piece, and switch it off only when nothing depends on it.
We audit your current system first
We map what the system does, what depends on it, and where its information lives. Surprises found here are cheap. Surprises found after launch are not.
Keep the business running
A new layer in front lets old and new run side by side, so nobody faces a switchover weekend.
Data migration, planned and tested before go-live
Moving information is planned, rehearsed, and checked, with a way back if a check fails.
Beyond the application
Software that connects to AI, automation, and the cloud
A modern business application rarely stands alone. It shares information with your customer or accounting system, takes payments, sends notifications, and increasingly includes AI features such as search across your documents, drafting, or an assistant that can act inside the system.
We also work on AI and machine learning, automation and workflows, integration, and cloud and DevOps (building, testing, and releasing software reliably). So we design those pieces together with the application instead of bolting them on afterward. Sign-in, access rules, stored information, and hosting are decided once. An AI feature then follows the same access rules as the rest of the product.
That is the practical meaning of designing software, AI, automation, integration, and cloud as one system. It is also why security and monitoring belong in the first design conversation, not in a later clean-up.
Where it is applied
Industries and business types
Software needs differ by sector. We shape requirements around each sector's information, rules, and users.
Pricing and timelines
What custom software costs
Every project is quoted in writing after a short call. These ranges show where most projects land, so you can plan before you talk to us.
Internal tool or admin system
Replaces spreadsheets and manual steps with one tool your team logs into.
Typical range
$15,000 to $30,000
4 to 6 weeks from approved scope
Customer or partner portal
Accounts, documents, requests, and status updates in one secure place.
Typical range
$25,000 to $50,000
6 to 8 weeks from approved scope
Operations platform
Orders, scheduling, inventory, billing, and reporting built around your process.
Typical range
$40,000 to $80,000
2 to 3 months from approved scope
SaaS product
A subscription product with plans, billing, onboarding, and an admin console.
Typical range
$50,000 to $100,000
2 to 3 months from approved scope
Enterprise system or modernization
Large or legacy systems rebuilt in stages while the business keeps running.
Typical range
$100,000+
3 to 4 months from approved scope
The timeline starts once the scope is approved and we have what we need from you.
What moves the price
- Number of user roles and screens
- Integrations and data migration
- Reporting and dashboards
- Security and compliance needs
Not sure which fits? Tell us what you need and we will send a fixed quote and timeline for your project. Read the full cost guide.
Get a quoteSelected work
Software Development projects we have delivered
What clients say
In our clients' words
We stopped keeping a second list just to track referral follow-ups. The team can see who owns the next step, and I no longer spend Friday afternoons asking where things got stuck.
Rachel MorganReferral Operations ManagerBridgeway Professional NetworkProfessional Services DECHY fixed the part of our dispatch board that left us chasing updates in three places. I can see what is delayed and why, without ringing around.
Thomas ReedDispatch Operations ManagerHarborline LogisticsLogistics
Common questions
Questions about custom software
How much does custom software cost?
Most custom software projects cost $25,000 to $80,000. A focused internal tool can start from $15,000, a customer portal costs $25,000 to $50,000, and a SaaS product $50,000 to $100,000. Every quote is fixed in writing after a short discovery call, and it includes testing, security, documentation, and launch support.
How long does a custom software project take?
Most projects take 4 weeks to 4 months. An internal tool usually goes live in 4 to 6 weeks, a portal in 6 to 8 weeks, and a larger platform in 2 to 4 months. We release in stages, so your team uses working software early instead of waiting for one big launch.
Should we build or buy?
Buy when the need is common and a mature product fits with little change. Build when the process is specific to you or gives you an edge. Connect when the tools you have are fine but do not share information. Many projects combine all three, as the comparison above shows.
Can you work with software we already have?
Yes. Improving existing systems is a large part of our work: reviewing and stabilizing code, adding features, connecting to other tools, moving to the cloud, or modernizing in stages. The first step is a technical review to understand what is there.
Who owns the code and the system afterward?
Ownership and licensing terms are agreed in writing before work starts. We aim to keep code in a repository you can access, document key decisions, and avoid lock-in where it is not needed, so your system can be maintained by whoever you choose.
How is security handled?
Security is designed in from the planning stage. That covers sign-in and permissions, giving people only the access they need, encrypting information, and scanning for known weaknesses. We also follow the OWASP list of common web security mistakes. Where rules apply, such as privacy law or industry regulation, we identify the requirements during discovery. Our cybersecurity practice can also review an existing system.
Do you support software after launch?
Yes. Support includes monitoring, updating parts that age, fixing defects, and adding features. Software that matters needs an owner who keeps it current, whether that is your team, us, or both.
Have a different question?
Tell us what you are weighing up and we will answer it plainly.
Ask a questionAlready a client? Email support@dechytech.com
Tell us what you want built, replaced, or connected
Describe what you want to build, replace, or connect. We will tell you honestly whether building is the right approach and what the first step should be.