Custom systems
Bigger than a website. Built around how you work.
Some businesses need more than pages: orders and drivers to coordinate, a tow truck to send to a dropped pin, an auction to run, a community to host. These are the systems we build. Each has a starting price, a plain explanation, and a calculator that works out whether it would pay for itself, using your numbers and nobody else's.
- 10
- systems we build
- From $3,500
- fixed price, in writing
- $59/mo
- and up, flat: we charge no per-order or per-user fees
- You own it
- the code, the data and the domain
Pick a family, or browse them all. Select any system for the full picture: what's in it, who it suits, the price and the numbers.
The same on every system
- A fixed price, in writing
- Every build is scoped in a proposal with the price on it before any work starts. No hourly meter and no long-term contract.
- You own the code
- The code, the data and the domain are yours. If you ever want to move on, nothing is held back.
- What the monthly covers
- Hosting, backups, security updates and small fixes. New features are quoted first.
- What it doesn't include
- Card fees, map usage and text messages are billed by those providers at cost. Native App Store and Google Play apps are quoted separately.
"From" prices are for a first launch: one business, one region and the features listed, delivered as a web app that installs to a phone's home screen. Your proposal fixes the scope and the price before any work starts.
How a build goes
From a conversation to a live system.
Step 01
Talk it through
A short call about what you do, what's slowing you down and what you pay today. If a system isn't the right answer, we'll say so.
Step 02
A written scope and price
The features, the timeline and a fixed price go in a proposal before any work starts. Nothing is billed by the hour.
Step 03
Build it in the open
You see working screens as they come together, so you can steer early instead of reacting to a big reveal at the end.
Step 04
Launch and show your team
We put it live, move your data across and walk you and your staff through it.
Step 05
Look after it
The monthly fee covers hosting, backups and security updates, and you can reach the person who built it.
Three ways to get one
Rent it, commission it, or own it.
None of these is wrong. Which one fits depends on how closely you need the system to match your business, and how long you'll use it.
A subscription tool
- Up-front cost
- Low or nothing
- Monthly cost
- A fee that usually rises with users, orders or sales
- Who owns the code and the data
- The vendor
- What happens as you grow
- Your bill grows with you, and so do the limits
- Best when
- What you need is what it already does
A large agency build
- Up-front cost
- Commonly five figures and up
- Monthly cost
- Retainers vary
- Who owns the code and the data
- Usually you: check the contract
- What happens as you grow
- Scales, at agency rates
- Best when
- You have a big budget and a big team
A ZONA custom build
- Up-front cost
- From $3,500, fixed in writing
- Monthly cost
- From $59 a month, flat
- Who owns the code and the data
- You do
- What happens as you grow
- A flat monthly fee, whatever your size
- Best when
- It has to fit how you work, and you want to keep the customers and the data
The first two columns describe the routes in general. They are not quotes or prices from any named company.
Questions
What people ask before they ask us.
Still not sure a system is the right answer? That's a fair thing to ask us directly, and we'll tell you if it isn't.
Talk it throughDo I own the system?
Yes. The code, the data and the domain are yours. If you ever want a different developer or a different host, nothing is held back and there is no exit fee.
Can you build something that isn't on this list?
Often, yes. These are the requests we get most. Describe what you have in mind and we'll tell you plainly whether we can build it, what it would involve and roughly what it would cost, or point you to a tool that fits better.
Will it be an app in the App Store?
The first version is a web app: customers open a link and can add it to their phone's home screen, with no store approval and no store fees. If you later want a listing in the Apple App Store or Google Play, we quote that separately.
What does it cost beyond the build and the monthly fee?
Card processing, map usage and text messages are charged by those providers, at their rates, on your own accounts. They scale with how much you use the system, and we'll tell you what to expect for yours.
How long does it take?
Each system lists a typical range. Your proposal gives the dates for your project. The biggest variable is how quickly we get your content, rules and decisions.
What if it doesn't work out?
Scope, milestones and payment terms are written into the proposal before work starts, so what happens if you stop part-way is agreed in advance. The code and data are yours throughout.
Can I start smaller and add to it later?
Yes, and for several systems we'd suggest it. A booking or ordering add-on can be the first step, and the larger system builds on it.