Software development
We replace spreadsheets and Access databases with a multi-user web app and migrate your existing data.
Updated November 2026
You’ll talk to the engineer who will build your project.
We work exclusively with businesses and self-employed professionals. All offers exclude VAT.
Business software is an application a company uses to manage recurring internal processes and the data behind them, such as orders, field assignments, inspection records, and customer and contract data. Custom business software is built around one company’s processes instead of bending the company to fit a standard product.
Datafalke, based in Bottrop, Germany, builds it as a web app for businesses whose processes are stuck in spreadsheets, in Access databases or on paper. A process check first shows whether off-the-shelf software fits. Then we build the app module by module and migrate your existing data. We work remotely across Germany and the EU, and in person in the Ruhr area.
Software development overviewAll servicesSecurity updates ended for Access 2016 and 2019 (external site) on October 14, 2025, and for Access 2021 on October 13, 2026. If you’re on one of them, a decision is due anyway. Which path fits and what the move involves is in our how-to Replacing Microsoft Access.
Source: Microsoft (external site), · Ending Support in 2026
Your current process, a sketch of your data and how it connects (a data model), and an assessment of whether off-the-shelf software is enough.
One process first, such as orders or field assignments, so your team works with real data early on.
We migrate your spreadsheet and Access data. The old and new systems run side by side until everything checks out.
Each role sees and changes only what it needs. The app logs changes to the data.
Connections to your accounting system, plus e-invoices in the German XRechnung or ZUGFeRD formats.
Training, an operations manual and 30 days of bug fixes after sign-off.
A process check takes three days of work, spread over an estimated 2–3 weeks. In two half-day workshops, held by video or on site if you’re in the Ruhr area, we map your process. You get a 10–15-page report.
The report shows your current process as a diagram and sketches the data model. It also assesses whether off-the-shelf or custom software fits better and includes notes on funding options.
You can use the report even if you then go ahead with another provider or an off-the-shelf product.
Excl. VAT, for businesses.
Recurring processes where several people work with the same data, passed back and forth today in lists, forms or emails. The examples show typical processes by industry, not client projects.
Job scheduling, site measurements and maintenance contracts
Property logs and damage reports
Ordering processes and add-ons to industry software
Status tracking, documents and integrations
Inspection reports and a supplier portal
By video, or in person at your office if you’re in the Ruhr area of Germany. The call is free, and you talk directly to the engineer who will build your software.
We map your process in two workshops and check whether off-the-shelf software fits.
We build the first process and migrate the data it needs. Your team tests it early, and we show you where things stand every week.
The old and new systems run side by side until the data is right and your team wants to switch over.
More processes follow in the order you choose. After that, we can keep looking after the software if you’d like, or your team takes over.
We built, ran or documented these examples for our articles. The Excel and Access examples use test data rather than client data.
All examples come from our own project or from test data. None of them comes from client work.
You can carry on without us if you need to. Code, hosting account and domain are under your control from day one, and every sign-off includes documentation another team can work from.
Repository, cloud account, domain and credentials are in your name. We work with delegated access.
Architecture docs (arc42, C4), decision records, an operations manual and a software bill of materials (SBOM) come with every sign-off.
If we part ways, we hand over all documentation to your team or new provider. Your contract sets out how the handover works.
We use widely adopted open-source frameworks, not homegrown tools only we understand.
Mohammad Alboush is a software engineer and the owner of Datafalke. He’s your direct line to the team, from the intro call to sign-off. He replies to requests within one business day (Monday to Friday).
If your project is a fit, you’ll get a price range or a recommended first step after the free intro call. The process check is a paid entry offer with its own deliverable; we tell you its price before you order and quote the fixed price for the pilot module afterwards, before development begins.
Businesses running processes in spreadsheets or Access
Price in your quote
Excl. VAT, business clients only
Businesses moving their first process into a web app
Fixed price after discovery
Excl. VAT, business clients only
Software care S covers updates, monitoring and two hours of work a month, for at least three months. Software care L is by agreement. Changes outside the fixed price start only once you approve them.
We work exclusively with businesses and self-employed professionals. All offers exclude VAT.
Often, yes, if several people work with the same data every day or data gets entered twice. A rough yardstick is the hours your team spends each week retyping, searching and cross-checking. Our how-to on digitizing business processes shows how to measure those hours. Before you invest in development, the process check shows whether custom software pays off or off-the-shelf software is enough.
We migrate it into the new web app during the pilot, and the old and new systems run in parallel until you switch over. Before that, we agree with you on which data to migrate and how to clean up duplicate or incomplete records. Our article How to replace Excel with a web app shows step by step how the migration works. Your tax advisor can confirm which retention requirements apply to your legacy data.
In your own cloud account, with a provider of your choice, preferably EU-based and under a data processing agreement (DPA). We set up the account with you and work in it with delegated access.
Yes, the app can generate invoices in XRechnung or ZUGFeRD format and connect to your accounting system through integrations. Your tax advisor handles the tax review.
If an ERP system or other off-the-shelf software fits your processes, we’ll recommend it; the process check shows whether it does. We build custom software where off-the-shelf products don’t cover your processes, for example as an add-on to an ERP system you already use. A sign that they don’t: your team still keeps its own spreadsheets alongside the standard product. Our comparison Build or buy software? shows when each option pays off. To see whether a low-code platform could do the job instead of a custom app, read our comparison Low-code vs. custom development.
That’s why we start with a pilot in one department. Your team tests it early, and their feedback shapes the next module. Training and an operations manual are part of the scope.
For business software, the funding programs of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) offer few grants in 2026. MID-Digitalisierung (external site) (in German) only funds marketable digital products that use technologies such as AI. MID-Digitale Prozesse (external site) (in German) subsidizes outside consulting, and its 2026 funding call has closed. One option is a promotional loan for digitalization projects (external site) (in German) from the German development bank KfW. What else we’ve checked is in our software development FAQ. We haven’t checked programs in other German states or other countries. As of November 2026.
Then your team or another provider carries on, because your code, hosting and domain run on your own accounts from day one. Every sign-off includes architecture documentation, an operations manual and a software bill of materials. Our colophon shows the technology we use ourselves.
Cost guide · SaaS & software
What custom software development costs: euro price ranges for web apps, customer portals and SaaS, hourly rates, maintenance and the main cost drivers.
Comparison · SaaS & software
Off-the-shelf or custom? Five-year costs, flexibility, lock-in and data control for small and mid-sized companies, with a decision tree and worked examples.
How-to · Business software
How to digitize business processes: pick one process, map and measure it, then work up from existing tools to custom software. With a template and calculation.
How-to · Business software
How to tell Excel has reached its limits as a database, which option fits and how to switch: inventory, data model, data migration and parallel running.