Systems built for how you actually work
Custom Software Development
Palmate Solutions builds custom software for operational problems that off-the-shelf products handle poorly: multi-step approvals, inventory across channels, internal dashboards, and processes that encode your margins. We treat custom software as a product with owners, environments, and a maintenance path — not a one-off script that only one contractor understands.
Problems this work solves
Work lives in files nobody trusts
When the source of truth is a spreadsheet emailed at 6pm, errors compound. Custom software is justified when the process is stable enough to encode and valuable enough to protect.
SaaS tools do not talk to each other
A stack of subscriptions can still require copy-paste. Sometimes the answer is integration. Sometimes the answer is a small system that sits in the middle and owns the workflow.
The last custom build cannot be changed
Software without tests, environments, or documentation becomes a hostage situation. We prefer boring, explicit architecture over cleverness that only the original author can extend.
Reporting is a weekend activity
If assembling a weekly number requires three exports, the business is flying on lag. Dashboards should read from operational data, not from reconstructed memories.
Who it is for
- Operators who have outgrown spreadsheets but are not buying an enterprise suite
- Companies with a process that is a competitive advantage and should not be flattened into generic SaaS
- Teams that need an internal system with roles, audit trails, and integrations
- Founders who need an MVP that can be operated, not a prototype that cannot be hosted
What Palmate can provide
Domain modelling and scope control
We write down entities, states, and who is allowed to change them. Features that do not map to a business event get challenged.
Application engineering
Web applications, APIs, background jobs, and admin tools in TypeScript/Node and related stacks we can support in production.
Internal dashboards and business systems
Operational screens for staff, not marketing pages. Filters, exports, permissions, and the dull work that makes a system usable.
Lifecycle and handover
Repositories, environments, backup expectations, and a backlog that a future engineer can pick up.
Typical workflow
- 01
Problem framing
We distinguish a software problem from a process problem. If the process is still changing weekly, we recommend a thinner first version.
- 02
Thin vertical slice
One real workflow goes live end-to-end — including auth, data, and an operator — before we widen scope.
- 03
Harden the core
Permissions, audit logs, and failure modes for the slice that already works. Expansion happens on a stable core.
- 04
Operate
Monitoring, backups, and a change process. Custom software that cannot be deployed safely is not finished.
Common use cases
Operations console
A single place to see orders, tickets, or jobs that currently live in three vendor UIs and a spreadsheet.
Rules engine for pricing or allocation
Business rules that are too specific for a generic ERP screen but too important to leave in someone's head.
Partner or franchise portal
External users who need a subset of internal data with their own login, branding, and permissions.
FAQ
When should we buy SaaS instead?
When the process is common, the vendor is trustworthy, and the cost of fitting in is lower than the cost of owning code. We help you make that call; we do not treat every problem as a reason to build.
Who owns the source code?
That is a contract term. Our default expectation for custom work is that you own the product code we write for you, with a clear list of third-party licenses.
How do you estimate cost?
By workflow, integrations, and operational requirements — not by a per-page guess. The website and API estimators on this site are planning tools, not quotations.
Can you take over an existing codebase?
Sometimes. We start with a read-only review: runtime, secrets, tests, and whether the original author left a path to deploy. If the honest answer is a rewrite, we say so.
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Next step
Discuss custom software
Share the current system, the constraint, and the outcome you need in the next quarter. We will say if Palmate is a fit.