Custom software development
Custom software development, tailored to your processes
CIRO EFFORT builds custom software for mid-sized companies: web applications, customer portals and internal tools, connected to your ERP, CRM and existing systems. Because AI runs through every step of our work, we need only a third to a half of the effort of traditional development. You pay a fixed price per project phase, see a first clickable version after two to three weeks and go live after two to three months. Source code, rights and documentation belong to you.
Across Germany for startups and mid-sized companies, with team members in Munich and Dortmund. Updated:
- faster and cheaper than traditional development
- 2–3×
- to the first clickable version
- 2–3 weeks
- per project phase, itemised before the start
- Fixed price
When does custom software pay off?
Off-the-shelf software is often the right start. Your own software pays off once your business has to bend around the software. Typical signs:
- Your team maintains the same data in three systems and reconciles it in Excel
- A core process depends on one person who knows how it works
- The standard product covers 80%, and the missing 20% cost hours every week
- Licence costs grow with every user, the benefit does not
- Customers or partners should view data, place orders or download documents themselves
- A legacy application can no longer be extended safely
The AI advantage
Custom software: two to three times as fast as the traditional way
2–3×
less effort and time than traditional development
For custom software this means: a new feature such as invoicing or time tracking costs us around 35% of a traditional agency's effort, because sign-in, permissions and integrations already exist as proven building blocks.
Effort for a new feature
For example invoicing or time tracking in existing software. Index, traditional agency = 100.
- In-house team
- 120
- Traditional agency
- 100
- Offshore development
- 75
- CIRO EFFORT
- 35
Custom software or off-the-shelf?
Often the answer is a mix of both. The main differences:
| Criterion | Off-the-shelf (SaaS) | Custom software |
|---|---|---|
| Start | Usable immediately | First clickable version after two to three weeks |
| Fit | Your process adapts to the software | The software follows your process |
| Cost | Ongoing licence per user | Fixed price per phase, then operations and maintenance |
| Ownership | You rent, the vendor sets the direction | Code, data and rights belong to you |
| Integration | Through predefined interfaces | Exactly the integrations your workflow needs |
| Competition | Your competitors use the same tool | Your edge lives in the software |
Our advice when in doubt: off-the-shelf for everything that does not differentiate you (accounting, email), your own software for the process that earns your money. We connect both through APIs.
What can we build for you?
Each application is built for one job in your business:
01
Web applications
Browser-based software for your team, no installation, on any device. From order management to dispatch.
02
Customer and partner portals
Areas where customers track orders, download documents or maintain their own data. That takes work off your back office.
03
Internal tools
A replacement for the spreadsheet a whole workflow depends on: with permissions, history and clear ownership.
04
Integrations
Connections to ERP, CRM, DATEV, Microsoft 365 and your shop. Data flows automatically instead of being retyped.
05
Legacy modernisation
We take over legacy software step by step, secure operations and remove dependencies, without downtime.
06
AI features in the product
Reading documents, triaging requests, answering from your knowledge. See AI consulting.
How your software is built: four phases, one fixed price each
Every phase ends with an outcome you can see and check. Only then does the next one start, with its own fixed price.
- 01Week 1
Understand
Workshop with your team, process mapping, review of your data. We find the use case that pays off first.
- 02Weeks 1–2
Design
Solution concept, architecture, integrations. You receive a binding quote with a schedule.
- 03Weeks 2–9
Build
First clickable version, then expansion in short cycles. A visible increment every week.
- 04Weeks 10–12
Deliver
Hardening, integration, supported launch. Then operations, maintenance and development from one team.
Fixed price per phase instead of timesheets
You pay for an agreed outcome. If we need longer than planned, your invoice does not change.
| Phase | Outcome | Duration | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Understand | Prioritised requirements, feasibility, available data, roadmap | Week 1 | Fixed price |
| Design | Solution concept, architecture, integrations, binding quote | Weeks 1–2 | Fixed price |
| Build | First clickable version, then expansion in short cycles | Weeks 2–9 | Fixed price |
| Deliver | Go-live, handover, operations and ongoing development | Weeks 10–12 | Fixed price or monthly retainer |
Durations apply to a typical first use case. Complex integrations with existing systems can take longer; we say so in the concept, before you commission the work. We name concrete figures in the initial call once the scope is clear.
One team from consulting to analytics
In our team, consulting, design, development and operations work together, so there are no handovers between them. Handovers are where many software projects fail.
- Consulting
- Process mapping and prioritisation: we do not digitalise a workflow that should have been abolished first.
- UX and design
- Interfaces your team understands without training. We test the clickable prototype before writing code.
- Development
- Frontend, backend, integrations and operations from one team, without handing over to a subcontractor.
- Analytics
- We measure usage and lead times, so after launch you see whether the software meets its goal.
- AI
- Where it saves work, AI goes into the product: reading documents, triaging requests, answering from your knowledge.
One foundation for every application
We built what every application needs once, as independent building blocks. Today they power CIRO.immo, CIRO NOISE and our client projects. So your budget goes into what makes your software special:
01
Sign-in and permissions
Sign-in, roles and multi-tenancy, with multi-factor authentication on request. Proven in daily operation.
02
Payments
Subscriptions, invoices and payments via Stripe, connected to your accounting.
03
AI core
Language models running in the EU and agents that work with vetted tools and permissions.
04
Security
Protection against attacks and bots, rate limiting, upload scanning, protection against prompt injection.
05
Logging and monitoring
We see errors before customers report them. Every change passes automated checks.
06
Analytics and consent
Measuring what users really do, with GDPR-compliant consent from day one.
Where we use AI, and where we do not
AI-First means we use AI for research, concepts, code, tests and documentation.
We do not hand architecture decisions, security reviews or acceptance to AI. Every line that goes into your product has been read and signed off by a person on our team. AI-assisted code is treated like any other code: it belongs to you, completely.
Your data is not used to train AI models. We exclude that contractually with the providers.
Technology many teams know
That way you can switch to another provider at any time and are not tied to us.
Application
- TypeScript
- React
- Next.js
- Node.js
Data
- PostgreSQL
- Prisma
- REST and GraphQL APIs
Operations
- Vercel
- Cloudflare
- Google Cloud
- EU hosting on request
Integrations
- ERP
- CRM
- DATEV
- Microsoft 365
- Shop and CMS
Custom software FAQ
What companies ask us most often before the start:
It depends on scope: the number of roles and workflows, integrations with existing systems, and requirements for security and operations. We work with fixed prices per project phase. The first phase clarifies requirements and feasibility and delivers a roadmap with effort estimates; after that you know what each further phase costs before it starts. You pay for an agreed outcome. Because we use AI in development, research and quality assurance, the same work costs us fewer person-days than traditional development, which lowers your price. We name concrete figures in the initial call.
A first clickable version is ready after two to three weeks, and the first use case goes live after two to three months. Larger platforms then grow in further phases. Complex integrations with legacy systems can take longer; that is stated in the concept before you commission the work.
You do, completely: source code, designs, access credentials and documentation. That includes code we wrote with AI assistance. We work in a repository you can access from day one, using widely used open technologies, so you can continue with another team at any time.
Fixed price, per phase. A single fixed price for a large project whose details nobody knows yet is a gamble; time and materials shifts all the risk to you. Phases with their own fixed price solve this: each phase has a clear outcome, and the price of the next is fixed before it starts.
Yes. We connect ERP, CRM, inventory management, DATEV, Microsoft 365, shops and your own databases through their APIs or, where none exist, through a separate, isolated intermediate layer. Which systems are involved is clarified in the first phase.
Yes. We work with a data processing agreement, host in the EU on request and define before the start which data flows where. If AI features are included, we also classify the application under the EU AI Act and document that in writing.
On request we take over operations, maintenance and ongoing development for a monthly retainer and with the same contacts as in the initial call. We also measure whether and how the software is used, so the next stage is based on usage data.
Yes. We work across Germany, with team members in Munich and Dortmund, and are happy to come to you for workshops, especially in the first phase. Implementation then runs remotely with weekly meetings.
Let's talk about your project.
We take care of strategy, design, development and data. Your intro call is directly with the founders: 45 minutes, no obligation.
Or directly: 089 24 88 31 22
