2 weeks
Scoping
The process map, the gap to close with its cost, and a recommendation: buy, configure or build.
$3,000 to $5,000
Custom software development
Custom software development for Montreal SMBs
SignalOrange designs and builds custom software for small and mid-sized businesses in Montreal and across Quebec, when off-the-shelf tools leave a gap your team fills by hand. We start with a two-week scoping, then put a first release into production on your real records, at a fixed price.
What we deliver
From the process to an application in production
Custom software is worth it when the process is the service, or when your people copy the same data between several systems. We deliver the software that closes that gap and keep the tools that already work.
A map of the process
We describe the work as it is done, from the point of view of the person doing it. We put a cost on the gap and recommend whether to buy, configure or build.
A web application
An application that talks to your off-the-shelf software instead of replacing it: accounting, email, e-signature, payments. It is written for the people who do the work, in their language.
Integrations
Connections between your systems, so each piece of data is entered once. When a product offers an API, we use it rather than copy data across.
Planned maintenance
Custom software needs ongoing maintenance. Maintenance has its own monthly package, priced from the start: fixes, updates and small changes.
Is it the right choice for you?
Custom software is a good choice if
- your people copy the same data between several systems, every week;
- the vocabulary of your trade does not exist in any off-the-shelf product;
- you have to explain to a client where their information goes;
- every vendor update breaks an integration you paid for.
It is not if
- an off-the-shelf product already does the job at a price you understand;
- the process is the same in every company, like payroll or accounting;
- nobody, in-house or at a named supplier, will be able to maintain the software.
Solution architecture
Architecture first, so the software lasts
Solution architecture means deciding, before writing code, where each piece of data lives, which system does what and how the systems communicate. For an SMB, it mostly means drawing a clear boundary: the in-house software connects to the off-the-shelf software without replacing all of it.
Jacob Roy has 10 years of experience in enterprise solution architecture. In the Full project package, architecture is part of the engagement: it is documented, revised with each release and handed over with the software.
What the architecture answers
- Where the data is, and who the subprocessors are.
- What each system does, and what it does not do.
- How to get your data out if you change tools.
- What touches personal information or leaves Quebec.
Packages and prices
Four packages, from scoping to maintenance
Each package has a fixed price within the published range. Scoping can also conclude that an off-the-shelf product will do, which costs you less than a project.
6 to 10 weeks
First release
A first version in production, on your real records.
$15,000 to $25,000
Several releases
Full project
Successive releases that cover the whole process, with the architecture documented.
$30,000 to $60,000
Monthly
Maintenance
Fixes, updates and small changes, every month.
$500 to $1,500 per month
Fixed price, confirmed after a 30-minute call. In Canadian dollars, taxes extra.
How it works
How an engagement runs
-
Discovery
A 30-minute call to understand the need and confirm the package and its fixed price. Then the scoping: we watch the work and read your current tools.
-
Iterations
We deliver in small versions that your team uses and validates. Each version runs on your real records.
-
Handover
We hand over the software in production and its documentation. You then choose the maintenance package, or hand the software to someone else.
Who leads it
Jacob Roy, from scoping to handover
Jacob Roy founded SignalOrange in 2022 in Montreal. He leads every custom software engagement, from the first call to the handover.
Meet the whole team
Jacob Roy
Founder and Solutions Architect
Leads the engagement, the architecture and the development.
With ten years in solution architecture and software development, Jacob builds things that last and that fit the way you work.
LinkedInWhat we have built
Our own software, in production
SignalOrange designs and runs three products. These web applications, which we operate ourselves every day, show the kind of software we build.
Meridian
Canadian CRM software for service businesses: proposals, invoicing and projects, with an AI assistant on every screen. Built in Elixir with Phoenix LiveView and PostgreSQL, hosted in Montreal.
See the page
Router
An OpenAI-compatible AI gateway: more than 40 models behind one API, and Guard, which filters personal information and secrets before anything is sent.
See the page
Estrade
A hockey pool as a progressive web app, with a live draft, a TV mode for the projector, and sign-in by magic link or passkey.
See the pageBefore you call
Custom or off the shelf?
Our guide offers a grid for choosing between an off-the-shelf product and custom development, with the questions specific to the Quebec market: language, currency, where the data lives, how to leave. You can fill it in on your own before the scoping.
A process that costs hours every week?
Describe it to us in 30 minutes. We will tell you which package fits and at what fixed price, or whether an off-the-shelf product already does the job.