Software development
SaaS, customer portals and business software at a fixed price after discovery. You keep the code, accounts and docs.
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.
We build custom web apps: your own SaaS product; customer portals for status updates, documents and invoices; and business software that replaces Excel and Access. They’re for founders with a product idea, businesses with a growing admin workload and mid-sized companies. We work remotely across Germany and the EU, and in person in the Ruhr area.
Datafalke is based in Bottrop, Germany.
| Step | Duration | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Intro call | 30 minutes | goal, data, user groups, the most sensible first step |
| Discovery sprint for a new product idea | 5–10 business days | scope, architecture and a fixed-price quote |
| SaaS MVP | 8–12 weeks | sign-off against written criteria |
| Process check for existing processes | 2–3 weeks | standard-or-custom recommendation in a written report |
| Pilot | 6–10 weeks | sign-off against written criteria |
Our page on customer portal development explains how we connect portals to your ERP.
If you’re comparing several providers, our 12 questions for choosing a software developer can help.
Website developmentAll servicesWe build your SaaS product from the first analysis through to operations. That includes tenant isolation, roles and permissions, subscription billing and data export in open formats. Hosting runs in your own account, with EU-based providers. We start with a discovery sprint, then build your minimum viable product (MVP), the smallest version you can sell, at a fixed price.
Tenant isolation keeps each of your customers’ data separate.
No. Your code and accounts are under your control from the start. The exclusive usage rights to the code we write for you pass to you on full payment.
Then we change the plan, but never silently. New requests go into a prioritized backlog. What they cost in time or money is set out in a change request before we start work on them. Our how-to on writing a software requirements specification shows how to write your requirements down before you start.
We replace Excel spreadsheets and Access databases with a web app your whole team can use at the same time. First, a process check shows whether off-the-shelf software already covers your processes.
Often, yes, and then we’ll recommend it. We only build custom software where off-the-shelf products don’t cover your processes.
We migrate it into the new web app during the pilot, the first process we build. The old and new systems run in parallel until you switch over.
For admin panels and back-office tools on your existing data, see internal tools.
How replacing Access works is covered in our how-to Replacing Microsoft Access.
Custom business software pageYou 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.
Custom software development starts with a conversation, by video or at your office in the Ruhr area. It’s free, and you talk directly to the engineer who will build your software.
A discovery sprint for a new product idea, a process check for existing processes. Both are paid entry offers, each with its own deliverable.
We work in short cycles and show you where things stand every week. The code is in your repository from the start.
You review the software against the criteria we agreed on in writing. At sign-off, you receive the documentation and the software bill of materials.
After that, we can keep looking after the software if you’d like. Your team or another provider can also take over.
Every sign-off includes a software bill of materials (SBOM), a short description of our secure development process, and a patch and incident-reporting process. This gives you documents to show when customers covered by NIS2 ask for evidence of supply chain security. It is not legal advice.
The SBOM lists your software’s components in a machine-readable format (TR-03183-2 (external site), a technical guideline from Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security, BSI).
We build privacy and security in from the first draft (privacy by design, compliance by design) and disclose every service that processes your data. This website shows how we build: its technology and licenses are in the colophon.
ColophonWe built, ran or documented these examples for our articles. The PostgreSQL, 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.
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 discovery sprint and the process check are paid entry offers with their own deliverables, and we tell you their price before you place an order. After the discovery sprint, we quote the fixed price for the SaaS MVP.
Founders and companies with a product idea
Price in your quote
Excl. VAT, business clients only
Businesses running processes in spreadsheets or Access
Price in your quote
Excl. VAT, business clients only
Founders and companies with a SaaS idea
Fixed price after discovery
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. Our cost guide How much does software maintenance cost? covers market prices.
We work exclusively with businesses and self-employed professionals. All offers exclude VAT.
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. If we part ways, we hand over all documents; your contract sets out how the handover works.
You’ll know the price of development before it begins, because we build at a fixed price after the analysis. Changes are made only through a written change request that states the price, and you see the budget status in every weekly demo. Your quote sets out the payment terms. Our article on fixed price vs. time and materials compares when each model fits.
Before we start, our quote states how much time you’ll need to set aside. For software, for example, that’s three two-hour workshops and 30 minutes per weekly demo.
Often, yes, and then we’ll recommend it. In the process check, we first look at whether off-the-shelf software covers your processes. We only build custom software where it doesn’t. Our comparison Build or buy software? shows when each option pays off.
We migrate it into the new web app during the pilot, and the old and new systems run in parallel until you switch over. Please check with your tax advisor which retention requirements apply to your legacy data.
No. We use widely adopted open-source frameworks instead of homegrown tools. A SaaS MVP includes data export; on other projects, it depends on the statement of work. The exclusive usage rights to the code we write for you pass to you on full payment. Open-source components keep their own licenses. Because your code and accounts are under your control from the start, you can switch to another team at any time. Our how-to Avoiding developer lock-in covers what to check with any provider.
The programs we’ve checked are German, and in 2026 they offer little grant funding for business software. In North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), the two state programs we checked are only open to small and mid-sized companies based there. MID-Digitalisierung (external site) (in German) funds only marketable products built on key technologies such as AI, and it excludes subcontracting. MID-Digitale Prozesse (external site) (in German) subsidizes only consulting, not software, and its 2026 funding call has closed. Loans from the German development bank KfW (external site) (in German) are open to companies based in Germany and to German subsidiaries or branches of foreign companies. At the higher tiers, they include a grant of 3% or 5% of the disbursed loan amount. For genuine R&D, there’s also the research allowance (external site) (Forschungszulage, in German); routine development doesn’t qualify. We haven’t checked programs in other German states or other countries. As of November 2026.
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.
Working with us
How we’ll measure websites and AI visibility: which questions, which rules. So far there’s one lab measurement of our technology; the log will follow.
What datafalke.de is built with: Astro, static HTML with zero JavaScript, self-hosted fonts, storage in Frankfurt. Plus every license and image credit.
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.