I build the apps and websites your business runs on
I’m Abrie Els. I write software for South African businesses — either as a monthly subscription I host and keep improving, or as a once-off build you own outright. Both are priced in rand.
Two things, done properly
Websites and applications. Most of the work is one of those two, and the interesting jobs are usually both at once — a public site in front of software that does the actual work.
Websites
Marketing sites, brochure sites, landing pages. Fast, mobile-first, and built to be found - not a page builder template with your logo dropped on it.
Applications
The software your business actually runs on. Ordering, stock, scheduling, invoicing, customer accounts, dashboards. Web-based, so it works on whatever your staff already have.
Integrations
Getting the systems you already pay for to talk to each other - payment gateways, WhatsApp, email, accounting exports.
Monthly subscription, or a once-off build
The same work, paid for two different ways. Which one suits you comes down to whether you want software looked after or software handed over.
I host it, run it and keep improving it
You pay a monthly fee in rand and the software is my problem: hosting, updates, backups, security patches, and a steady stream of improvements. Month-to-month, no minimum term, 30days’ notice to cancel. New subscriptions start with a 14-day free trial.
- Lower upfront cost, predictable monthly figure
- Nothing to maintain on your side
- Improvements keep arriving after launch
- You license the software while you subscribe
I build it, you own it
A defined scope, a fixed written quote, and a finished thing handed over with its source code. 50% on acceptance of the quote and the balance on delivery. Ownership transfers to you once the final invoice is paid.
- You own the code and the data outright
- Fixed price against a fixed scope
- No ongoing fee once it's paid
- Optional support retainer afterwards
Monthly plans
Website care
A website I host, keep patched and keep updated for you. You send changes, I make them.
- Hosting, SSL and domain configuration
- Framework and dependency updates
- Content and copy changes on request
- Uptime monitoring and backups
- Email support within one business day
Application subscription
An application built and run as a service. You pay monthly, I build, host and keep it running.
- Hosted application and database
- Ongoing feature work each month
- Bug fixes and security patches
- Backups and monitoring
- Direct line to the person who built it
Once-off builds
Website build
A marketing site built, deployed and handed over. You own it outright when it's paid.
- Design and build from your content
- Mobile-first, fast, accessible
- SEO basics, metadata and sitemap
- Deployment to your hosting
- Source code and handover
Application build
A scoped application, built to a fixed quote, delivered and handed over with the source.
- Scoping and a fixed written quote
- Build in visible increments
- Deployment to your infrastructure
- Source code, schema and documentation
- Optional support retainer afterwards
All prices are quoted, invoiced and charged in South African Rand (ZAR). Full pricing detail, including what changes a quote.
One developer, real production experience
You talk to the developer
No account manager relaying your request to someone else. You describe the problem to the person who will solve it, which is why small shops ship faster than big ones.
Production software, not demos
I am a co-founder of BudStack, a multi-tenant retail platform that real stores run their tills on. That is a different discipline to building something that only has to survive a pitch.
Built for South African conditions
Rand pricing, POPIA, local payment gateways, patchy connectivity, and customers who would rather send a WhatsApp than fill in a form.
Four steps, no mystery
Tell me what's broken
A call or an email. I want to understand the business problem before the software, because the wrong thing built well is still the wrong thing.
A written quote
Scope, price in rand, and a timeline, in writing. For monthly work that's a plan and a start date. For a once-off build it's a fixed quote.
Build in the open
You see working software early and often, not a six-week silence followed by a reveal. Changes are cheapest while it's still being built.
Live, then looked after
Deployment, handover, and either a support arrangement or everything you need to run it yourself.
Questions people actually ask
I do. There is no account manager layer and no team of juniors behind me - you talk to the person writing the code, which is the whole point of working with someone small.
Take the monthly option if you want the thing hosted, maintained and improved without thinking about it, and you'd rather spread the cost. Take the once-off build if you have a defined scope, you want to own the result outright, and you have someone to look after it afterwards.
On a once-off build, yes - full ownership transfers to you when the final invoice is paid, source code included. On a monthly subscription you have a licence to use the software for as long as you subscribe, and I can quote you a buy-out if you later want to own it.
Monthly plans are published on the pricing page. Once-off builds are quoted in writing after a scoping conversation, because a five-page brochure site and a multi-tenant application are not the same job. Everything is priced and invoiced in South African rand.
Yes, with a month's notice, and there is no minimum term. The refund and cancellation policy sets out exactly how notice and the final billing period work.
By electronic funds transfer, or by card and instant EFT through Payfast. Card details are entered on Payfast's own secure payment pages and are never stored on this site.
Tell me what you need built
A paragraph about the problem is enough to start. I reply within one business day, and the first reply is usually a question rather than a quote.