MidDevon Digital builds custom web applications for businesses in Devon and across the UK: customer portals, job management systems, booking systems and dashboards that replace the spreadsheets and nearly-right software you're working around. Built on Laravel, used in any browser, with a mobile app for staff out in the field when you need one. Fixed quote in writing, and you own the code.
Bespoke software and web apps built around how your business works
What bespoke software is, and when a business needs it
Bespoke software is a system built for one business, around the way that business actually works, rather than a product bought off the shelf and bent to fit. We build it as a web application: it runs in a browser, nothing is installed, and everyone who needs it can log in from anywhere.
Most businesses start on spreadsheets and a handful of apps, and for a while that's fine. The trouble starts when the same job is typed into three places, when staff in the field phone the office for information that should be on their phone, and when the software you pay for does most of what you need and none of what makes you different. A custom web application fixes that by doing exactly your job, and nothing else.
Off the shelf, until it isn't
Standard software suits most businesses most of the time. It stops fitting when your process is the thing that makes you better than competitors, because no product is going to have that built in. That's the point at which bespoke pays for itself.
Web-based, so it works everywhere
A web application lives on a server and runs in a browser, on any computer, tablet or phone. No installs, no versions to keep in step, no "it only works on Dave's machine". Updates happen once, for everyone.
Built on Laravel, so it lasts
We build on Laravel, the most widely used PHP framework, with a large community and a strong security record. Any Laravel developer could pick up your system, so you're never locked in to us.
Yours to keep
You own the code and the data. It runs on its own dedicated server in your name, with a daily database backup and your files and images held separately in secure cloud storage. If you ever want to move it or hand it to someone else, you can.
We build bespoke software for businesses in Cullompton, Tiverton, Exeter, Taunton and across Devon and Somerset, and for clients across the UK who've never needed to meet us in person. Web design and software in Exeter →
Signs you've outgrown spreadsheets and off-the-shelf software
You don't need all of these. Two is usually enough to make the numbers work.
The business runs on a spreadsheet someone is scared to touch
Jobs, customers, rotas or stock in a workbook that's grown tabs for years. It works until the person who understands it is on holiday.
Customers or staff need to log in and see their own information
Job status, documents, invoices, timesheets. If people ring the office to ask for things they could look up, a portal pays for itself in phone calls alone.
The same information is typed in more than once
A job sheet on paper, typed into a spreadsheet, copied into the accounts package. Every copy is a chance for a mistake, and someone is paid to make it.
You pay for software that nearly fits
It does 80% of what you need, and the other 20% is handled by workarounds, extra subscriptions and a person who remembers. A system built for your process does the whole job.
No per-user pricing. Your fifth employee and your fiftieth cost the same to add: nothing.
Most off-the-shelf systems charge per user, per month, so the bill climbs every time you take someone on, and by the time you're a thirty-person business you're paying thousands a year for a tool that still doesn't quite fit. With your own system you decide how many users there are and there's no charge for adding one. The build is a one-off cost, the monthly plan covers hosting and support, and growing the team doesn't grow the software bill.
What we build
Four kinds of system cover most of what we're asked for. Most projects are one of these, or two of them joined together.
Customer and client portals
Secure login for your customers to see job progress, documents, invoices and bookings, and to send you what you need without an email chain. Branded to your business.
Job management and internal systems
Jobs, quotes, scheduling, staff and customers in one place, with role-based access so the office, the managers and the team each see what they need. Replaces the spreadsheets and the CRM that never quite fitted.
Booking and reservation systems
Your booking rules, not a generic calendar. Customer accounts, availability, automated confirmations and reminders, deposits and payments where you need them.
Office system plus field app
A web application for the office and a mobile app for staff on site, connected so the office always has the latest from the field. Job sheets, photos, signatures and timesheets come back from the field without a phone call or a piece of paper.
One system, two screens: the office on the web, your team on their phones
For businesses with people out on site, the web app and the mobile app are designed together and connected through an API, so what the field enters is what the office sees.
In the office
A Laravel web application
Runs in a browser on any desktop or laptop. Plan the work, allocate it, see what's done, raise the invoice.
- Job planning, scheduling and allocation
- Customers, quotes and invoicing, linked to your accounts package
- Live view of who is where and what's complete
- Reports and dashboards for managers
- Role-based access for office, managers and admin
Out in the field
A NativePHP mobile app for iOS and Android
A proper app on the App Store and Google Play, built with NativePHP so it's Laravel underneath too. It reads and writes to the office system through an API, so the data lives in one place.
- Today's jobs, addresses and notes on the phone
- Job sheets, checklists and QA forms completed on site
- Photos, signatures and timesheets sent straight back
- Works with poor signal and syncs when it's back
- NFC tags, barcodes and push notifications where useful
How the two connect. The office web app holds the data and the rules. The mobile app talks to it through a secure API, so a job sheet completed on site is in the office system the moment it's sent, and a change made in the office shows on the phone. Two apps built for two different environments, one source of truth, and one developer looking after both.
Built to last, and built to be yours
The decisions that make a system cheap to run and safe to rely on for years, made as standard.
- Open-source stack, so any Laravel developer can pick it up
- You own the code and the data outright
- Served from its own dedicated server, with a daily database backup and files and images stored securely on Amazon S3
- Secure login with roles, so people see only what they should
- Connects to the software you already use: Xero, Sage, calendars, payment providers
- Built in stages, so you see working software early
- Training for your team before go-live, in person or on Zoom
- Hosting, backups and support on a monthly plan after launch; new features quoted separately
How a custom web application gets built
Four stages, a fixed price, and working software you can try well before the end.
Step 1
Discovery call
A proper conversation about how the business runs today, who does what, and where the time and mistakes go. At your place, so we see the real process, or on Zoom.
Step 2
Scope and fixed quote
A written scope of what the system will do, screen by screen, with a fixed price and a realistic timeline. If a simpler option would do the job, we say so here.
Step 3
Build in stages
The system is built in working pieces, with regular check-ins. You use each part as it's ready and tell us what's wrong while it's still cheap to change.
Step 4
Train, launch, support
We train your team, move your data across and go live together. Then hosting, backups and support run on a monthly plan, so there's always someone who knows the system. New features are scoped and quoted as you need them.
Recent project
Elite Cleaning: one portal for customers, cleaning staff and the office
A Devon commercial cleaning company with a large mobile workforce. The portal gives operatives a simple sign-in and sign-out for attendance on each site, gives the office a live view of cover, timesheets and issues, and gives customers their own login for the sites they're paying for. Three types of user, one system, built to replace off-the-shelf software that never fitted how the company worked.
80+
staff using the portal
100+
client sites managed
3
user types in one system
We have always found Peter to be responsive to our requirements, and this has delivered an efficient solution to the daily functions of our growing business. Peter has created a multi-faceted portal including customers, colleagues and office. We believe that the process we undertook with Peter has resulted in a far superior solution to purchasing an off-the-shelf system.
Phillip Voss, Elite Cleaning, Devon
Built by the person you'll talk to
Peter spent five years as general manager of a commercial cleaning company before MidDevon Digital, and built that company's first portal from the inside. So the questions in discovery are the ones a manager asks: who's covering, what's been done, what's owed. Not what's possible, but what's useful.

Every system is designed, built and supported by Peter personally. No account managers, no outsourcing, no handover to a team you've never met.
Bespoke software questions
Can't see yours?
Give us a ring on
01392 346700.
What is bespoke software?
Bespoke software is a system designed and built for one business, around its own processes, rather than a product bought off the shelf and adapted. It does exactly the job that business needs, connects to the tools it already uses, and belongs to the business once it's built. We build bespoke software as web applications, so it runs in a browser on any device and nothing has to be installed.
How is a web application different from a website?
A website tells people about your business and brings in enquiries. A web application does work inside the business: it holds your jobs, customers and bookings, lets staff and customers log in, and automates the steps that used to be done by hand. If your team copies data between systems or runs on spreadsheets, you need a web application, not another website.
How much does bespoke software cost?
It depends on how many types of user there are, how many screens and rules the system needs, and what it has to connect to. A simple customer portal is at the lower end; a job management system with a mobile app and accounts integration is at the upper end. After a free discovery call you get a fixed quote in writing with a clear scope, so there's no hourly meter and no surprises. We scope to the budget a small business actually has, and we'll tell you if an off-the-shelf tool would do the job for less.
Is bespoke software cheaper than off-the-shelf software in the long run?
Often, yes, once the business has more than a handful of staff. Off-the-shelf systems usually charge per user per month, so the cost rises with every person you take on and never stops. Bespoke software is a one-off build cost plus a monthly plan for hosting and support that doesn't change with headcount, and you can add as many users as you like at no extra charge. For a growing business the lines cross sooner than most people expect, and the bespoke system does the whole job rather than most of it.
How long does a custom web application take to build?
It depends on the spec, how complex the rules and integrations are, and our workload at the time, so we don't give a standard figure. A straightforward portal is at the shorter end; a multi-user system with a mobile app and integrations takes longer. Your quote comes with a realistic timeline for your project, and because we build in stages you'll be using the first working parts well before the end.
Do I own the software once it's built?
Yes. The code and the data are yours. It's built on open-source technology and hosted on a server in your name, so you're never dependent on us to keep it running or to hand it to another developer.
Why do you build on Laravel?
Laravel is the most widely used PHP framework, with a large developer community, thorough documentation and a strong security record. That matters for two reasons: the system is built on well-tested foundations rather than something exotic, and if you ever need another developer to work on it, Laravel developers are easy to find.
Can staff use it on their phones out on site?
Yes. The web application works in a phone browser, and for teams who are properly out in the field we build a matching mobile app with NativePHP for iOS and Android. It's built with NativePHP, so it's Laravel underneath like the office system, and it connects to the office app through a secure API. Job sheets, photos, signatures and timesheets entered on site appear in the office as soon as they're sent, and the app keeps working on a poor signal and syncs when it's back.
Can it connect to the software we already use?
Usually, yes. We regularly connect systems to Xero and Sage for invoicing, to calendars, to payment providers like Stripe, and to existing websites. If a tool has an API, we can normally work with it. We'll confirm what's possible during discovery before anything is quoted.
What happens after launch?
The system runs on a monthly support plan that covers hosting on its own dedicated server, a daily database backup, secure cloud storage for files and images, security updates and support for any issues. Rolling monthly, 30 days' notice. New features aren't part of the plan: most clients add to their system over the first year as they see what else it could do, and each addition is scoped and quoted separately depending on its size and complexity.
Related services
Got a process held together by spreadsheets?
Tell us how the business runs today and we'll tell you honestly whether bespoke software is worth it, and what it would cost.
