Manufacturer
Customers configure their product exactly the way they want it; the software translates every order straight to the shop floor. Delivered in three days, however specific the request.
A lead time competitors cannot match.
Service
Custom software development
dotNET lab builds custom software for SMEs and organisations in Belgium: business applications, web applications, customer portals and integrations with your ERP, CRM and accounting software.
Custom software starts from how your organisation works. No detours through Excel, no duplicate work in scattered tools, but one coherent whole that supports your processes, grows with you and sometimes becomes the very advantage that sets you apart.
Any competitor can buy a standard package. Software built around your way of working, they cannot.
What you do better than the rest lives in the heads of your people today. Custom software turns that internal knowledge into a process everyone can repeat.
The problem
Sound familiar?
That kind of edge rarely starts big. It usually starts with daily friction.
Almost fits
Your package can almost do what you need, so workarounds appear in Excel and email.
Double data entry
The same data is entered two or three times, in different systems.
Version chaos
Nobody knows which list or which file is the right version any more.
Copy-paste reporting
Reporting means cutting and pasting, every week again.
Growing pains in administration
You are growing, but every new customer mostly means extra administration.
The comparison
Standard software or custom software?
Sound familiar? Then custom software may be worth considering. Below you see when it fits and when it does not.
Custom software
When do you choose it?
-
When your way of working is what sets you apart
The layer above your accounting and payroll, where a package serves everyone the same.
-
When software itself can be your competitive edge
Software that exists only once is something no competitor can buy.
-
When your processes no longer fit a package
Too many workarounds, too many systems side by side.
Standard package
And when not?
For accounting, payroll and other highly standardised domains, a standard package is usually the right foundation.
Not sure? Then we look at your situation together in a 30-minute call.
Inspiration
What can you do with custom software?
A good idea, translated into software, wins customers. This is what that can look like:
Contractor
Customers put together their own project on your website and see an indicative price straight away. You receive warm leads.
Competitors are still typing up quotes.
Read why a configurator sells more (Ondernemersbelang, in Dutch)
Wholesaler
For regular customers, stock replenishes itself: their warehouse reports what has run out, your system delivers.
You are part of their operation; switching is off the table.
Read how such a silent replenishment system works (VMI, explained, in Dutch)
And then their business grows. And so do their needs.
Manufacturer
Meanwhile the customer designs online; the software turns it into production-ready plans.
From order to machine, without drawing work.
Contractor
The configurator now feeds the costing and the site planning directly: sold means scheduled.
From lead to building site without retyping.
Wholesaler
The system now also predicts seasonal peaks per customer and reserves stock in advance.
Never having to say no when it matters.
And so on: custom software grows with you, program goal by program goal.
What we build
What can we build for you?
Every custom application starts from a concrete need. These are the forms that come back most often.
Custom web applications
In the browser, nothing to install, available everywhere. For your team, your customers or both.
Customer and supplier portals
Self-service for orders, status, documents and follow-up. Fewer phone calls, faster answers.
Custom business software
Planning, follow-up, quotes and administration in one application that works the way your organisation works.
Integrations
Your ERP, CRM, accounting and webshop talking to each other reliably. Entered once, correct everywhere.
Smart automation with AI
Processing documents, flagging anomalies, searching text and data intelligently. Embedded in your software, not a separate gadget.
Looking specifically for a custom ERP or custom CRM? We treat those as projects in their own right.
Situations
Who is custom software for?
Four starting points, each with its own first step.
You have outgrown your standard package
The package that used to be enough is now holding you back. Too many workarounds, too little fit.
You want to automate business processes
Manual work, retyping and duplicate administration can go. Your team gets its time back for real work.
You have a specific idea or product
A portal, platform or service that does not exist yet. We translate the idea into working software.
Your existing custom software is outdated
The application from ten or twenty years ago still runs, but nobody dares to touch it. We modernise or rebuild it.
The dotNET lab AI approach
Faster and more affordable thanks to AI, guarded by craftsmanship
Our years of experience with software quality, security and maintainability are embedded in an agentic development process: AI-assisted software development with human control.
We call that process the dotNET lab AI approach: an internal framework of our own, built by testing across multiple projects what works and where LLMs fall short, and packaging those lessons into fixed working formulas and examples. It lets us iterate much faster while always knowing what is being built.
As a result we build custom software at a pace and cost that were not realistic a few years ago. That puts custom software within reach for SMEs that would not have started on it before.
every month 1 program goal a concrete piece of working software
For example
- Order status for clients Clients log in and see their open orders: the first step towards a customer portal. 1 month
- Indicative price on your website A quote form that calculates an indicative price from your price list right away. 1 month
- Web shop to accounting New orders land in your accounting software automatically, without retyping. 1 month
- Analysis human work
- Architecture human work
- Building AI-accelerated
- Review human work
AI speeds up the building. The analysis, the architecture and the review remain human work.
Technology
Technology in service of your situation
We are language- and technology-agnostic: we choose the technology that fits your situation, your existing systems and your team.
What never changes: security from the start, maintainable code and documentation, so your software lasts for years.
Where needed, your software runs on a European cloud environment, keeping ownership and processing of your business data under your control.
Approach
How a project runs
No big project without a clear picture. We start small, show results quickly and scale up what works.
You are here
- 01
Intro call
30 minutes, no obligationThe button schedules it right away. You tell us what you are running into or what you want to build, in plain language.
- 02
Direction
within 2 working daysYou hear whether custom software makes sense in your situation, and which direction we propose.
- 03
Analysis
scope before priceTogether we pin down which core delivers the most value. You get an honest estimate in program goals: for the core that is often just a few, and you decide whether more follow.
- 04
Building
program goals of 1 monthEvery month we deliver a program goal: a concrete piece of working software. You adjust where needed.
- 05
Go-live
training includedWe take the software live and train your team.
Software live!
Support
for as long as you need usWe stay available for questions, extensions and further support.
Client cases
Proven in practice
From SMEs to public-sector organisations: this is what custom software looks like in practice.
A 20-year-old custom application rebuilt for an SME
Legacy modernisation: from outdated custom software to a future-proof application, without halting daily operations.
Read the caseFrom legacy application to modern web application
How an outdated application became a manageable, modern web application.
Read the caseCustom software for the Flemish government
Custom development, with AI and machine learning, for the Department of Agriculture & Fisheries.
Read the caseCosts
What does custom software cost?
Custom software pays off most when you treat it as a lever for growth: software you keep adjusting and let grow with your business. That is why most clients simply keep building after the first release, program goal by program goal.
Starts from
Our standard model€9,500
per program goal, delivered every month
A fixed budget per program goal. After each delivery you decide: keep building, pause or stop.
Included per program goal
- Development and program management
- Support during the build
- AI-agent usage during development
- No licence costs
A delivery every month: a concrete piece of working software
* We also charge a one-time program setup of €6,000: that is where we get to know your organisation, sharpen the goal and pin down the scope of the first release.
What else determines the price:
- The pace that suits your business: how many program goals in a row, and how fast you want to go live.
- The complexity of what we build: the processes, roles and reporting the software has to support.
- The number of systems we integrate with: your ERP, CRM, accounting or web shop.
We deliberately keep that complexity as small as possible: as much result as possible with as little software as possible.
Price known up front
You know the cost of a program goal before we start. What we decide together is where to start and how far to go.
Building in phases
First the core that delivers the most value, extending once it has proven itself. That keeps investment and risk under control.
Predictable cost, your property
You scale up or down yourself, instead of per-user licences that climb as you grow. The software remains your property.
Pausing is always possible
Good enough for now? Then pause after a program goal. Watch out, though! The team that knows your business moves on, and bringing new people up to speed later costs time and money. But we help you answer these questions.
Book an intro call (30 min) (opens in a new tab)
A clear answer within two working days, no obligation.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about custom software
What is custom software?
Custom software (also called bespoke or tailor-made software) is software developed specifically for your organisation, instead of a standard package that is the same for everyone. It follows your processes, integrates with your existing systems and is your property.
What does having custom software built cost?
We work in program goals: every month we deliver a concrete piece of working software, from about €9,500 per program goal to start. For the first program goal there is a one-time program setup of €6,000: that is where we get to know your organisation, sharpen the goal and pin down the scope of the first release. As an indication: from around €9,500 per month we have already seen impressive internal tooling take shape. What you need exactly depends on your expectations, the desired pace and the complexity of what we build: the size of your processes, the number of integrations with systems such as ERP, CRM or accounting, and the reporting or AI features you want. In practice custom software pays off above all as a lever for growth: you adjust per program goal and let the software evolve with your business. Before we start, we pin down the first program goal together, so you know what you are signing for. After an intro call you hear within two working days whether custom software makes sense in your situation; the figure follows from the analysis.
What is included in the price?
Every program goal covers development, program management and support during the build, including the AI-agent usage during development. We build on open-source components such as PostgreSQL and Linux, without licence costs. Hosting, the AI usage of the application itself and support outside active program goals are provided for separately, always transparently in the quote.
How long does a project take?
That differs per project, but because we build in phases, a first working version is often there within weeks to months. You see regular results throughout the project and can adjust each time.
Can you integrate with our existing systems?
Yes, that is often the very core of the work. We integrate with ERP, CRM and accounting packages, webshops and other systems, so data is entered once and is correct everywhere.
Who owns the code?
You do. You pay for the development and the software is your property. No vendor lock-in: any developer can in principle take it forward.
Do you work in our region?
We work from Westerlo for SMEs and organisations across Belgium, from the Kempen region and Antwerp to Brussels. Meetings can be at your office, at ours or online.