Bespoke software for businesses and SMEs in the Basque Country

There is work in your company that no off-the-shelf program does the way you do it: the quote built on your own price lists, the allocation of call-outs between technicians, the report someone puts together by hand every Monday from three spreadsheets. That is what custom software is for. At Lagunbot we build it from Azpeitia (Gipuzkoa) for businesses, SMEs and town councils, in Basque, Spanish or English.

Before writing any code we look at what you need. If an existing program already does the job well, we tell you so and build nothing.

What custom software is

Custom software, also called bespoke software, is a program or application developed for the specific needs of one organisation: its processes, its data and the programs it already uses. It can be a full web application, an internal tool for a single department, a link between two programs that do not talk to each other, or a dashboard that brings together data from several sources.

The alternative is off-the-shelf software, designed for the market in general: an ERP, a CRM or an invoicing program of the kind you pay for by licence or subscription. Between the two there are mixed solutions, which combine a standard program with a bespoke piece for whatever the standard one does not cover. Many companies end up with a mix like this.

The custom software we build

We build what each client asks for, on two conditions: it must solve a specific problem in their business and we must be able to maintain it. For each type of work, here is an example we have built ourselves.

Custom web applications

These are applications used from a browser or a phone, with users, permissions and a database of their own. One example is Lagunbot Presupuestos, our own product, already in production. It handles quote requests for aluminium and PVC joinery firms by web and WhatsApp: it applies each workshop's price lists, generates the quote as a PDF, emails it, follows up and alerts the company when a customer comes in. It is built with Node.js, Express and SQLite, has a web dashboard and an API for connecting other programs, and runs on our own server. We have adapted it to several trades, including metal joinery and coach transport.

Internal tools

These are programs that only the company itself uses and that take manual work off a team, such as an incident log, a job-sheet manager or a tool that prepares a report. We built kbsync to keep the knowledge bases of the assistants for the town councils of Arrasate-Mondragón and Beasain up to date. It reads each council's RSS feeds and sitemaps instead of crawling the whole website, because event calendars generate thousands of addresses that are of no use to the assistant.

Integrations between programs

When two programs do not talk to each other, someone ends up copying data by hand. We have connected WhatsApp, Gmail, Google Sheets and Apps Script, Calendly, web forms, the APIs of the assistant platforms we use (Voiceflow and Convocore) and invoicing programs, through an API or, where there is none, through their exports. If a program cannot be connected in any reasonable way, we tell you before we start.

Dashboards and live panels

A dashboard puts data that is currently scattered across several places on a single screen. That is how we run Lagunbot ourselves: with five live dashboards built with three.js that read Search Console, Google Analytics 4, Bing Webmaster Tools and PageSpeed, the usage of each client's assistants, our sales funnels and our invoicing. A collector reads the sources every 30 minutes and our own website displays the data, with no per-user licences. The key numbers also appear as text, so the dashboard stays readable even if the 3D takes a while to load.

Process automation

These are workflows that pick up a request, understand it, record it where it belongs and prepare the next step, with a person checking anything that has consequences. When several automations are put together around one business (customer service, alerts, invoicing, reviews and the owner's dashboard), we call it hyperautomation. We have designed a working prototype for a repair and installation service. It covers the whole journey: customer request, technician, job sheet, invoice, payment, survey and review. It uses dummy data, is built with Python, FastAPI and SQLite, and is not running at any client.

Custom or off-the-shelf software

The decision depends on your process and on the programs you already have. These are the things that usually weigh most.

Advantages of custom software

• It fits the way you work, without changing your processes to squeeze them into a program's menus.
• It connects with what you already use, so nobody has to copy data between programs by hand.
• You do not pay for modules nobody opens.
• New features are commissioned from people who already know your business.
• It can give you a tool of your own that your competitors do not have.

Disadvantages of custom software

• It takes more work at the start: you have to define what you want, and defining it properly takes time.
• You depend on whoever maintains it. If the supplier disappears or does not document the work, you have a problem.
• Every change has to be commissioned, whereas improvements to off-the-shelf software arrive with updates.
• A mature standard program has already ironed out bugs that yours still has to find.

When custom software is not worth it

• When a program on the market already does what you need, even if you have to change a habit or two. Invoicing, accounting or a simple CRM are almost always bought ready-made.
• When the process changes every week and you do not yet know how you want it to work. Settle it first, then program it.
• When you will hardly use it. Sometimes a well-built spreadsheet is enough.
• When you want to save money but cannot point to a specific task.

When the off-the-shelf program covers almost everything and only one piece is missing, a mixed solution makes sense: keep the program you already use and build only the missing part, connected to it. For an SME that is often the most sensible route. It is what we do with invoicing: we do not issue invoices from a program of our own. They are issued by an invoicing program that complies with the regulations, and we connect to it so the data arrives on its own.

Custom software with AI

Artificial intelligence is one more component of the software, and we use it where it adds something concrete: reading an email or a WhatsApp message in free text, extracting the data from a document, drafting a reply, answering a phone call or answering questions from a company's own documents. That is how our AI agents for business, our WhatsApp and voice assistants, and the assistants that answer from an organisation's internal documentation work.

Where the task follows fixed rules (calculating a price, assigning a call-out, generating a PDF), AI is not needed and it is more reliable to program it without it. That is why a single project usually mixes the two: clear rules for what can be decided in advance and AI for what arrives as free text. A person decides anything important. We almost always start with a system that makes a suggestion for someone to confirm, and we make it fully automatic once it works.

Custom automation

Custom automation is a workflow built for your process. For example, an email arrives with an order and the system reads it, logs it in the management program, alerts whoever prepares it and keeps a record. That is how business processes that currently depend on copying, forwarding and checking get automated. It works best with tasks that repeat many times a week, follow much the same steps almost every time and have their data in programs or emails, not in one person's head. In AI automation for SMEs we explain in more detail what we automate and what we do not.

How we run a custom software project

1. Free 30-minute assessment by video call. You tell us which process or program is giving you trouble, and we see whether something needs building or whether it already exists ready-made.
2. Tailored written proposal. Scope, phases, what is delivered in each one and what we need from you. We do not publish price lists: each project is quoted after the assessment.
3. Prototype. Before building everything, we show you a version you can try with sample data. It is the quickest way to find out that something was misunderstood.
4. Delivery in phases. We build in blocks. Each one is tested with real cases, in Basque and Spanish if your work requires it, and goes into use as soon as it works, so you can work with it before the project is finished.
5. Maintenance. We maintain what we deliver: adjustments when a program or a price list changes, and later improvements. What is included in each project is set out in writing in the proposal.

If you want to decide before commissioning anything, our AI consulting covers an assessment, prioritised use cases, a pilot and a roadmap. We describe our general approach in how we work.

The technology we work with

We choose technology to suit the problem. These are the tools we have already used in what we have built:

• Node.js, Express and SQLite, in Lagunbot Presupuestos.
• Python, in the collector that feeds our dashboards and, with FastAPI, in the repair service prototype.
• three.js for the 3D dashboards, which receive their data as JSON files on a static website.
• Google Apps Script and Google Sheets, to read data from spreadsheets and notes without setting up separate infrastructure.
• Docker, so that each application runs on a server of its own and can be moved.
• An API and an MCP server, so that other programs and AI assistants can work with an application's data.
• Voiceflow and Convocore, for conversational assistants.

If the best solution is another tool, we use that one and explain why.

What to ask any custom software supplier

This applies to us and to any other supplier. Before you sign, ask them to answer the following in writing:

• Ownership of the code. Who owns the code and the data, and what you receive if you end the relationship. It should be in the contract.
• Where it is hosted. Which server it runs on, in which country, and who pays for the hosting.
• Who maintains it. What happens when something breaks, when a program it connects to changes, or when a feature needs adding.
• Documentation. Whether someone else could understand the work and carry it on without the original team.
• Backups and access. Who makes the backups, how often, and who can get in.
• How it is delivered. In phases and with testing, or all at the end. The first is better.

If a supplier cannot answer any of these clearly, treat it as a warning sign.

Custom software in Gipuzkoa, San Sebastián, Bilbao and the Basque Country

We are based in Azpeitia and meet in person when the project calls for it. The rest of the work is done by video call, whether with a company in Gipuzkoa, in Bizkaia or in another region. If you are looking for a custom software development company in Bilbao or Bizkaia, we work in the same way there. For San Sebastián and the rest of Gipuzkoa, see AI agency in San Sebastián and AI agency in Gipuzkoa. Our team works in Basque, Spanish and English, and what we build can speak the language of your customers.

Frequently asked questions

What is custom software development?

It means building a program or an application for the needs of one particular organisation, with its processes, its data and its connections to other programs. Off-the-shelf software, by contrast, is designed for many customers, and it is your company that has to adapt to it.

How much does custom software cost and how long does it take?

Both depend on the same things: the scope, how many programs have to be connected, how many people will use it and how clear the process is. We do not publish prices or indicative timescales because they would not help in your case. After the free assessment you receive a written proposal with the scope, the phases, the price and the maintenance. We work in blocks, so you can use the first part before everything is finished.

Should I choose custom or off-the-shelf software?

If a program on the market does what you need, use that one. Custom software pays off when your process is your own, when the standard option forces you to change things you do not want to change, or when you lose time copying data from one program to another. Often the best answer is a mix: keep the standard program and build only what it lacks.

What examples of custom software have you built?

We have Lagunbot Presupuestos, a web application in production that prepares and sends joinery quotes by web and WhatsApp. We have also built the live three.js dashboards we run the company with, and kbsync, a tool that keeps the assistants of two town councils up to date. In addition, we have designed a prototype for managing call-outs, job sheets and invoices for a repair service, which is not in production at any client.

Is custom software suitable for a small business?

Yes, if there is a specific task that costs time every week. In a small business the sensible approach is to start with one piece, such as a link between programs, a form with an alert or a quoting tool, and grow if it works. If an existing tool already covers what you need, we tell you on the first call.

Can it integrate with my ERP or invoicing software?

Usually, yes. If the program has an API, we connect to it. If it has none, or charges extra for it, we work with its exports, which is how our own invoicing dashboard works. We do not issue invoices from a program of our own: we connect an invoicing program that complies with the regulations. We check this during the assessment.

Who maintains the software after delivery?

We do, the same team that built it. We make adjustments when a program or a price list changes, and the improvements you ask for. What each project includes is set out in writing in the proposal.

Custom software with AI or without AI?

It depends on the task. If the job involves reading free text, talking to customers or summarising documents, AI adds value. If the process follows fixed rules, programming it without AI is more predictable. Many projects mix the two, and a person checks anything with consequences.

Let's talk

If you have a process that eats up your time or a program that does not do what you need, book a free 30-minute assessment or write to us from the contact page.