Custom Apps, Automation & Architecture Review | GraceZero Ai
GraceZero Ai
What I Build

Custom App Development, Business Automation, and Architecture Review

When the build’s done, you decide how it runs. I can hand it off to your team, fully documented, walked through line by line, and yours to operate. Or I can keep it on my infrastructure and bill a flat monthly to run, monitor, and update it. The right call depends on what you actually want to own. We scope it together before anything starts.

The firms that do this well charge $40,000 for what I scope, build, and walk through end-to-end. Same scope. Fraction of the price.

01 · Custom Development

Custom App Development.

Software that fits your operation, not the other way around.

A web application built for your organization’s specific needs. Not a template stretched to fit. Not a SaaS subscription you’ll outgrow. A purpose-built tool that does exactly what you need and nothing it doesn’t.

Who this is for

The shop, the practice, the studio, the site. Civic organizations, small firms, owner-operators, and trades running operations on spreadsheets, group texts, and workarounds that have gotten too large to manage by hand.

  • Requirements gathering & architecture
  • Full application build & testing
  • Complete technical documentation
  • Live handoff walkthrough
  • Post-launch support included

Scoped before we start. Delivered when it’s right.

[ get a quote → ]
02 · Workflow Automation

Workflow Automation.

The repetitive work, automated. The judgment calls, kept human.

Automation pipelines that take repetitive manual work off your team’s plate. Built on n8n with Claude Opus or Sonnet routed in where reasoning actually helps, connected to the tools you already use. No black boxes. No vendor lock-in.

Who this is for

Businesses where staff hours are being eaten by work a machine should be doing: lead follow-up, reporting, client onboarding, content publishing, data routing, dispatch, route logs.

  • Process audit & workflow design
  • n8n or Make.com build
  • Model routed per job: Opus, Sonnet, or Haiku where it fits
  • Tested against your real data
  • Documentation for non-technical operators

Scoped before we start. Delivered when it’s right.

[ get a quote → ]
03 · Strategy & Review

Architecture Review.

Two weeks. A written plan. Yours to act on, hire me or not.

A fixed-fee engagement: I audit your existing systems, workflows, and tooling, then deliver a written architecture recommendation. What to fix first. What to keep. What to retire. Where Ai actually helps and where it doesn’t.

Want to see what the post-launch operations layer looks like? See Hopper Ops → the dashboard your build will land on.

Who this is for

Operations that know something is off but haven’t had a senior engineer look at the whole picture. Useful before signing a SaaS contract, before hiring, or before committing to a build.

  • Discovery interviews with key stakeholders
  • Existing systems & tooling audit
  • Workflow & data-flow mapping
  • Written recommendations & priority order
  • Live walkthrough of findings

Fixed scope. Fixed fee. Walkthrough before you pay anything beyond the deposit.

[ get a quote → ]
FAQ

Common questions before kickoff.

Q.What does custom software cost for a small business?
A custom-built application typically lands between $8,000 and $40,000 for a complete scope, depending on the work involved. Enterprise consultancies charge upwards of $40,000 for the same scope. The Phase Zero call gives you a fixed quote in writing before anything starts.
Q.What is a fixed-fee architecture review?
A two-week engagement. I interview your team, audit your existing systems and tooling, map your workflows and data flows, then deliver a written set of recommendations with a priority order. The fee is fixed up front. You keep the document, hire me to execute or not.
Q.Do I need an Ai consultant, or can I use off-the-shelf tools?
Often the answer is off-the-shelf with one or two custom pieces wired in. If the only Ai work you need is summarizing emails, a $20-a-month SaaS does that. If you need Ai routed against your own data, your own workflows, or a private model, that is where custom work earns its money. The architecture review settles which side of the line you are on.
Q.How long does a custom app take to build?
A typical scope runs 6 to 12 weeks from kickoff to handoff. Smaller workflow automation projects close in 2 to 4 weeks. Larger multi-tenant SaaS builds run 12 weeks or more. The scope is locked before kickoff, so the timeline is too.
Q.What is the difference between custom software and SaaS?
SaaS is a generic tool with a monthly bill that grows with usage. Custom software is built for your specific operation, owned by you, running on infrastructure you control. SaaS makes sense for commoditized work like email and accounting. Custom makes sense for the work that defines your operation.
Q.What is included in a workflow automation project?
Process audit, workflow design, the build on n8n with Claude routed in where reasoning actually helps, testing against your real data, and documentation written for non-technical operators. Models are routed per job (Opus, Sonnet, or Haiku) so you are not paying premium rates for low-stakes calls.
Q.Do you build on your infrastructure or mine?
Either. After delivery you decide. I can hand the build to your team, fully documented and walked through line by line, and it is yours to operate. Or I keep it on my infrastructure and bill a flat monthly to monitor and update it. The right call depends on what you want to own.
Q.What happens after the app is delivered?
Every build ships with full technical documentation and a live walkthrough. Post-launch support is included for the window after handoff. After that, some clients run the app independently, others keep me on retainer for monitoring and updates. Either path is documented in the scope before kickoff.

Not sure which one fits? Tell me the problem.

I’ll tell you what I actually think, even if the answer is “you don’t need me.”

[ get a quote → ]