How do we replace spreadsheets and manual admin with our own system?
Start with the one spreadsheet or admin routine that costs the most hours, and turn it into a small system: one database, a screen for each role, the checks and calculations done automatically, and alerts when something needs a person. A first version can run on your real data within a week, for a fixed price from $1,990 agreed before work starts.
Your current spreadsheet keeps working while the new system is built next to it. You switch over once the new one runs on your real data, and the next steps are planned as fixed stages, each priced in writing.
- Runs in your accounts
- You own the code and data
- No fee to leave
Teams that know where the hours go, but have no developer.
- Teams where one person rebuilds the same spreadsheet or template every week or month
- Back offices where data is copied by hand between sheets, email, a CRM and a bank or payment tool
- Owners who can't see the real state of the business without asking someone to update a file
Not a fit if the spreadsheet is small and only one person uses it; a better template is cheaper.
The first build: one process, working, in your accounts.
- One process, end to end: the one that costs your team the most time
- A working version on your real data within a week
- Built in your accounts: you own the code, the data and the logins
- Error alerts and a log of every run
- A written runbook and a Loom walkthrough
- Two weeks of fixes after launch
- A typical first build moves one recurring routine (a monthly run, a weekly report, an intake list) into the new system. Bigger systems continue in fixed stages, each scoped and priced in writing before it starts.
Monthly runs
Payouts, invoices or allocations calculated from the data, checked, and sent with a full log.
Planning and reporting
Imports from your other tools, calculations kept in one place, a live view instead of a saved file copy.
Admin queues
Requests, documents and approvals in one list with owners and due dates, instead of a shared sheet.
From the first call to a working system in about ten working days.
- DAY 130-minute callYou show the process on a screen share. I ask where the hours go.
- DAY 2Scope and fixed priceOne page: what gets built, what doesn't, the price and the date.
- WEEK 1First version workingThe most expensive step runs on your real data, in your accounts.
- WEEK 2Full workflow and handoverError alerts, a written runbook and a Loom walkthrough.
Two weeks of fixes are included after launch. After that you can keep me on for changes, or run it yourselves with the runbook.
Build it yourself, hire a gig, hire an agency, or us.
| OPTION | COST | TIME TO A FIRST VERSION | PROOF YOU CAN CHECK | WHO OWNS IT | BEST FOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Build it yourself with a no-code or AI builder | About $20–400 a month for the tool (Softr $19–395, Noloco $65–79, Lovable from $25 plus credits), plus your team's time | Depends on who on your team has the hours | Your own testing | Your data; the app lives on the vendor's platform and plan limits | Simple processes and a team member who enjoys building |
| Freelancer gig (Upwork, Fiverr, Contra) | $500–2,500 for a small tool on Upwork's fixed-price listings | From 72 hours to a few weeks | Platform ratings; case studies are rarely shown | Depends on the freelancer | A small, clearly defined task |
| Development agency | $13,000–25,000 fixed for an internal tool with 1–3 integrations (RapidDev); A$5,000–60,000 (Sandlabs); paid audits first: $2,000 (Build Simple Systems), A$2,999 (Sandlabs) | 2–10 weeks to the first release | Portfolios, review sites | Usually yours by contract | Large systems and a team over many months |
| lowcoding.dev | From $1,990 for the first build, fixed and agreed before work starts; next stages priced in writing | A working version in 1 week | 24 case studies with client names, numbers and reviews | Runs in your accounts; the code and data are yours; no fee to leave | Small teams that want one process working fast, then more in stages |
Prices as each provider publishes them, checked 13 November 2026: Softr pricing (2026 plans, via Toolradar check of 31 Oct 2026), Noloco pricing, Lovable pricing, Upwork fixed-price tool listing, RapidDev cost page, Sandlabs, Build Simple Systems.
Two systems built for real clients.
US private investment firm · USAMonthly investor payouts cut from 3 days to about an hour
Before: Every month the firm paid distributions to thousands of investors by hand: pull balances, calculate each payout, push the bank transfers, notify each investor. One run took about 3 days, and investors couldn't see their own data. After: Investor and admin portals run the payout as tracked steps with a full log. The monthly run takes about an hour, $300–500K goes out every month, and more than $9M went out in a year.
- 3 days → ~1 hour
- monthly payout run
- $9M+
- paid out to investors in a year
Predictive SCS · California, USAExcel planning models turned into a multi-client supply-chain web app
Before: Alex planned supply and demand for each client in Excel: thousands of rows, complex formulas and a new template built by hand every month. A saved file copy was the only version, and it couldn't grow to more clients. After: One web app plans 3–5 client companies, with CSV import and 24 months of supply and demand per SKU recalculated on every upload. No Excel template is rebuilt by hand, and Alex closed his first paying customer on it about 4 months after kickoff.
- ~4 months
- from kickoff to the first paying customer
- 3–5
- client companies planned in one app
What people ask before they start.
How much does it cost?
The first build starts at $1,990, with the scope and a fixed price agreed on one page before any work starts. Bigger systems are split into fixed stages, and each next stage is scoped and priced in writing after you've seen the first one run.
Do we have to stop using the spreadsheet first?
No. The new system is built next to your current setup, and you switch once it runs on your real data. Until then, the spreadsheet keeps working as it does today.
What happens to our data?
It moves into a database in your own accounts. Imports from the files and tools you already use are part of the build, so nobody re-types it.
Do we own what you build?
Yes. It runs in your own accounts, and the code, the data and the logins are yours. It comes with a runbook, so another developer or your own team can take it over. There is no fee to leave.
How do we know it works before we commit to more?
The first version runs on your real data within a week, so you judge it on your own work. Each next stage is scoped and priced in writing only after that.