Start with the actual job
Map the quotes, records and handovers people rely on. Build around those requirements and test the awkward cases with the team.
Project story · Sussex sign maker
Built in 2005. Still working every day.
A quote, job sheet and invoice system for a Sussex sign maker is still in daily use in 2026. The customer owns it, and keeping it switched on does not depend on paying Inferred a licence fee.
A system for the everyday work
The business makes signs. The system handles quotes, job sheets and invoices: the records that connect what a customer agrees to the work the shop carries out and the bill at the end.
It went live in 2005 and remains in use every working day. That is the result we can point to. We are not attaching an estimated saving or a replacement cost to it without the records to support one.
For another sign business, the useful starting point is a real job. What was quoted? Which details reached the workshop? What did the office need before invoicing? Those questions reveal more than a list of desired screens.
What ownership meant here
We did not host the system or licence it back to the customer. There was no fee simply to keep it running. The working system belonged to the business using it.
That distinction matters when software becomes part of the daily operation. The customer should be able to decide when a change is useful, rather than having replacement forced on them by the end of a payment arrangement.
Ownership does not mean a system will never need maintenance. It means maintenance and improvements can be discussed as work, with a scope and a price.
What this means for a build today
A long working life is evidence of continued usefulness. It is not a promise that another system will last for a particular number of years.
Make the handover real
Our current business-system offer includes source code, documentation and a written exit so another engineer can take over.
Keep useful software
A system that still does its job may need a small improvement rather than replacement. Age alone is not a reason to start again.
Modern projects may also need tablet capture, checked offline updates or connections to an existing accounts package. Those are requirements to assess for the new project, not features we are claiming for the 2005 installation.
What does your business need to keep doing?
Bring a job sheet, a quote or the old database that people depend on. We will look at what works and where a change would earn its cost.