Software shaped like your business, not the other way around.
A micro-SaaS is a small, focused, multi-user application that does one job for your company exceptionally well. Three to eight screens that replace a process. You own the code, the infrastructure, and the roadmap.
Most companies should buy. Some shouldn't.
We build custom software for a living, which should make you appropriately skeptical of our opinion here. So here's the honest version — including when to go with the vendor.
Buy off-the-shelf when…
- Your process matches how the industry does it
- The vendor's roadmap points where you're going
- Configuration gets you to 90% without custom code
- You have no appetite to own software long-term
Build a micro-SaaS when…
- Your process is the competitive advantage
- You're paying for 40 modules and using three
- Every vendor demo ends with "we could customize that"
- The workaround spreadsheet has become the real system
- Seat licenses now cost more than a build would amortize to
What's in a build
Every application ships with these. They aren't upgrades or phase twos.
Multi-user from day one
Roles, permissions, SSO, and an audit trail. Not a spreadsheet with a login screen bolted on.
Integrated with what you run
Your ERP, CRM, accounting, file store, and messaging. The application lives inside your stack, not beside it.
AI where it earns its place
Extraction, classification, drafting, prediction — added after the workflow works, with an eval set proving it helps.
Mobile when the work is mobile
Offline-capable field interfaces for people wearing gloves in a parking lot with one bar of signal.
Deployed on your cloud account
Infrastructure as code in your AWS, GCP, or Azure tenancy. You hold the keys and the bill.
Documented for the next person
Architecture decision records, runbooks, and a training session for whoever inherits it.
Ten to fourteen weeks, demoed every Friday
No nine-month reveal. You see working software from week three and can change direction while changing direction is still cheap.
Shape the product
Interviews with the people who do the work today, a map of the current process, and a written product definition: who uses it, what job it does, and what we are deliberately not building.
- Process map
- Product definition
- Clickable prototype
- Fixed build quote
Build the spine
The core workflow end to end — data model, the one path that matters, and the integrations it depends on. Real data in a staging environment by week five, and a demo every Friday.
- Working application
- Integrations live
- Staging with real data
- Weekly demos
Layer in the AI
Extraction, classification, drafting, or prediction — added once the workflow is proven, with an evaluation set so you can see whether it's helping. The application works without it; the AI makes it fast.
- Eval test set
- Confidence thresholds
- Escalation rules
- Cost model
Roll out and hand over
Pilot with one team, fix what the pilot finds, then widen. You get the repository, the infrastructure, runbooks, and a training session for whoever owns it next.
- Pilot & rollout plan
- Runbooks
- Source & infrastructure
- Team training
Three applications, three very different businesses
Illustrative build-outs showing the shape of a typical engagement — the problem, the design decisions, and what moved.
You own it completely. That’s the whole point.
A micro-SaaS isn’t right for
- A consumer app or marketplace looking for product-market fit
- A full ERP or CRM replacement
- Anything where the requirements can't be pinned down in two weeks
- Projects where the budget is under $60k — a good no-code build serves you better
If you describe one of these, we’ll say so on the first call and point you somewhere better.
Micro-SaaS questions
The things every prospective client asks in the first thirty minutes.
What exactly is a micro-SaaS application?
A small, focused, multi-user web application that does one job for your business extremely well — quoting, dispatch, review, intake, reconciliation. It's not an enterprise platform and it's not a spreadsheet with a login. Think 3–8 screens that replace a process, owned by you rather than licensed.
Do we own the code?
Completely. Source, infrastructure definitions, CI pipelines, and documentation are yours in your repositories from the first commit. There is no license, no per-seat fee to us, and no escrow arrangement — you already have it.
What does it cost to run after launch?
For a typical application in this range: $300–$1,500/month in cloud infrastructure, plus AI model usage that usually lands between $50 and $600/month depending on volume. We model your specific numbers during scoping so there are no surprises.
Can our own developers maintain it?
That's the design goal. We build with mainstream, boring technology — TypeScript, React, Postgres — and document decisions as we go. If you don't have developers, we offer a support retainer, and you can end it whenever you like.
How is this different from a no-code tool?
No-code is excellent up to a ceiling. Past it — real permissions, complex business rules, performance at volume, integrations that need to be reliable — you end up fighting the platform. We often build alongside your no-code tools rather than replacing them.
What if we want to sell it to other companies later?
Several clients have. Because you own the code outright and we build multi-tenancy in when it's plausible, turning an internal tool into a product is a business decision rather than a rewrite. We'll flag the design choices that keep that door open.
Describe the process. We’ll tell you if it should be software.
Sometimes the answer is a two-week automation instead of a build, or a product you should just buy. You’ll get a straight read either way.