Custom Business Software
SaaS products: many customers, one product, each kept apart
What worked for five firms won't work for fifty
Early products run on the founders: they create each account, explain how it works, fix data by hand and remember which customer was promised what. That's right for an MVP. It stops working when the next firm signs up at 11 p.m. and expects to be using the product by morning.
A SaaS product turns those habits into software. Every firm gets its own workspace, separated in every query. Plans say what each firm can do, and the product enforces them politely. Onboarding is a path the product walks people through, and the team can see what's working, what's failing and what's being used.
Software for one customer, and a product for many
Software for one customer
- 01Set up by hand for each customer.
- 02One set of data, so everyone can see everything.
- 03What each customer gets is in an email somewhere.
- 04Problems reported by phone and fixed by the founder.
Every new customer adds work for the team, and one mistake can show one firm another's data.
A product for many
- 01Each firm creates its own workspace at sign-up.
- 02Every record belongs to one workspace, and every query is scoped to it.
- 03Plans set limits and features; the product enforces them.
- 04Errors, usage and sign-ups are measured and watched.
New customers add revenue, not set-up work.
What a product adds
01
Separation
Each firm in its own workspace
Every record belongs to one workspace, and every screen and API call is scoped to it.
02
Onboarding
Started without a call
A checklist walks a new firm to its first real request, and shows the team who got stuck where.
03
Plans
Limits the software keeps
What each plan includes is data the product checks. Hitting a limit offers a choice, not an error.
04
Operations
Problems seen first by you
Errors, slow pages and failed jobs are watched, so the team knows before a customer writes in.
05
Product analytics
What's actually used
Which features firms use, where they stop, and what the busiest firms do differently.
Plans the software enforces
Starter
- Contractors
- up to 3
- Properties
- up to 50
- Request link
- yes
- Reports
- basic
- API access
- no
- Price
- yours to set
Team
- Contractors
- up to 10
- Properties
- up to 250
- Request link
- yes, with your branding
- Reports
- full
- API access
- no
- Price
- yours to set
Portfolio
- Contractors
- unlimited
- Properties
- unlimited
- Request link
- yes, with your branding
- Reports
- full, with export
- API access
- yes
- Price
- yours to set
The parts it's built from
What changes from one product to the next
A common starting point is a Next.js application, a Postgres database with every record tied to a workspace, hosted sign-in with teams, Stripe for billing, and error and usage monitoring. These are starting candidates, not requirements.
Is it time for a SaaS product?
Good fit
- An MVP or internal tool has proven people will use it.
- More customers are coming than you can set up by hand.
- You'll charge for it and support it as a product.
Avoid when
- You haven't tested the core belief yet. Start with an MVP.
- Only your own company will use it. Build an internal tool or platform.
How we'd approach it
01
Understand
As much as the problem needs
We map how the work runs today: who does what, which systems hold the records, and where it breaks.
02
Design
Decided before it's built
Ownership, rules, integrations and exceptions, agreed with you and written down with acceptance criteria.
03
Build
Connected to what you use
We build the scoped system, connect it to the tools you already run, and test it on the cases that matter.
Questions about SaaS products
Can our MVP become the SaaS product?
If it was built on foundations worth keeping, yes. Workspaces, plans and onboarding are added to it rather than starting again.
How is each customer's data kept apart?
Every record belongs to one workspace, and every query, screen and API call is scoped to it. The separation is tested along with the rest of the software.
Do you handle billing?
We build the plan checks and connect a billing provider. The prices and terms are yours.
What happens after launch?
The product keeps changing. Usage and errors show what to fix and build next; we can keep building with you, or hand over to your team.
Turn your software into a product
Tell us how customers are set up and supported today. We'll show you what the product would need to do on its own.