Custom business software, built around how your team actually works
We build the internal tools, admin systems, dashboards, and portals that replace the spreadsheets your team has outgrown. Fixed quote before we start. You own the code.
RECENT RESULT
Four disconnected systems at Field Outdoor Spaces became one internal portal. HR, scheduling, safety, training, and production tracking behind a single login.
John reads every request personally and replies within 24 hours.
What we build
Internal software is the work nobody sees and everybody depends on.
The systems your team lives in every day.
Your data, pulled into one place.
The right view for every role behind one login.
Shaped to one specific workflow. Yours.
The tools you already pay for, finally talking to each other.
For the Access, FileMaker, and Excel systems your business has outgrown.
If it lives in a spreadsheet today and it shouldn't, that's usually the right place to start.
Why not just use Retool or Power Apps?
Sometimes you should. If one person needs a simple form or dashboard on top of existing data, a low-code platform is a fine answer, and we'll tell you that on the first call.
The math changes when the system becomes part of how the whole company operates. Platform licensing typically grows with the team. The builder covers most of your process, and the part it can't handle is usually the part that made you search for custom in the first place. And the app itself is written in the platform's format and runs on the platform's engine. Hosted in their cloud or on your own servers, there is no version of it that exists independent of the subscription.
We build conventional software you control.
Source code, documentation, and a deployment any qualified team can take over. You'll still pay for hosting and whatever services the app uses, usually a fraction of platform licensing, and none of it is owed to us. No fee per seat. No agency holding the keys.
A build costs more on day one. Platform licensing keeps climbing as the team grows, and no version of the app exists independent of the subscription.
Recent work
A Minneapolis outdoor construction company ran its field crews on four disconnected systems for HR, scheduling, safety, training, and production tracking. We built one internal portal designed around how crews and managers actually work. Four systems became one login.
Lighting-spec PDFs took hours of manual data entry before a usable schedule existed. We built an app that turns those PDFs into editable Excel schedules in seconds.
A national consumer education competition needed one platform for students, coaches, teams, quizzes, scoring, and competition workflows. We built the custom platform that runs it.
Who you're working with
Eclipse is led by John Schatz from Minneapolis St. Paul, and he has led every client relationship personally since 2009. Behind him is a senior remote development team of ten. The people who scope your project are the people who build it, so nothing gets lost between a salesperson's promise and a developer's inbox.
You get John's direct line, not a ticket queue.
How working with us goes
We ask real questions about your process, not a sales script. If a fifty-dollar-a-month tool already solves your problem, we'll say so and save you the project.
Clear scope, clear price, before any code gets written. If scope changes during the build, we price the change before we build it. Nothing lands on an invoice you didn't approve first.
You watch it come together on a staging site with updates every week, and nothing goes live until you've clicked through it yourself. A focused first release often goes live in 6 to 12 weeks after scope approval. Larger systems get a realistic timeline in the quote.
Full source code, documentation, and a complete handover. Host it anywhere. Have anyone maintain it. You are never dependent on us.
What we put in writing
Three promises go into every contract, not just this page.
Fixed once scope is agreed. It doesn't move unless the scope does, and any change gets priced before it gets built.
If a defect shows up in the first 30 days after launch, we fix it free. No arguing about whose fault it is.
Full source code, documentation, and deployment access at completion. If we disappeared tomorrow, your software wouldn't.
What it costs
Every project gets a fixed quote once the scope is defined, but you deserve a range before you fill out a form.
Focused internal workflow tools typically start at $5,000. Internal portals and operations systems that span several workflows usually fall between $25,000 and $75,000.
Your final number depends on the workflows, integrations, user roles, and reporting involved, and it doesn't move unless the agreed scope does.
Questions we get asked
Focused workflow tools typically start at $5,000, and systems spanning several workflows usually fall between $25,000 and $75,000. The quote is fixed before we start, so the number you approve is the number you pay.
A focused first release often goes live in 6 to 12 weeks after scope approval. Larger systems with more workflows, integrations, or data migration take longer, and your quote includes a realistic timeline before we start.
We're based in Minneapolis St. Paul, where John leads every client relationship. Our senior development team works remotely and has since 2009. The person you scope with is the person accountable for delivery.
Yes. At handover you receive the full source code, repository access, deployment documentation, and everything a qualified developer needs to maintain the system without us. Open source components keep their standard licenses. Everything written for you is yours.
We flag it the moment it comes up, scope it, and price it before building it. You approve every change in writing before it costs you anything.
Yes. Defects found in the first 30 days after launch get fixed free, in writing, in the contract. After that, support is optional and never required.
Maybe, and if your case is simple we'll say so. Platforms earn their keep on small internal apps. They cost you when licensing scales with headcount, when a workflow doesn't fit the builder, and when the app can't exist outside the platform. Bring it to the first call and we'll walk the math honestly.
You work directly with John, who has led every client relationship personally since 2009. Development is handled by our senior remote team, with no junior handoffs and no account manager layer between you and the people building.
Yes. We regularly plug into in-house teams to build alongside them, take over a stalled project, or extend a system they already run. Tell us how your team is set up and we'll shape the work around fitting in, not replacing anyone.
No retainer required, ever. Most clients keep a small support arrangement because it's convenient, but the code is documented so you're never locked into one.
Tell us what's slowing your team down
Describe the process that's eating your team's time. John reads every request personally and replies within 24 hours.
John Schatz · Founder, Eclipse Dev Studios