We build business software, and we run the servers it depends on.
OneZera builds mobile apps, web applications and online stores. We also set up the servers they run on, keep them patched and backed up, and pick up the phone when something stops working.
- Fixed-price scopes
- You own the code
- We run the servers
Services
What we do
Five services. Most clients start with one and come back for another later.
Custom apps for business
Mobile app development for businesses that currently run on phone calls, spreadsheets and messaging apps. Android and iOS from one codebase.
Apps for your customers and for your staffWeb development
Website development and web applications built on Laravel and Next.js: storefronts, customer portals and the internal tools your staff work in.
Applications and storefronts that handle real moneyShopify & WooCommerce
Shopify and WooCommerce development: building stores, fixing slow ones, and migrating off the platform when it stops paying for itself.
Build it, fix it, speed it up, or move off itAWS and cloud infrastructure
AWS consulting and cloud infrastructure: setting it up, migrating onto it, and working out why the bill went up.
Set up properly, watched, and not costing more than it shouldServers & IT support
Server management and IT support: provisioning, deploys, backups and monitoring. The part most development companies will not take on.
The layer most agencies hand back to youNot sure which you need?
Describe what is going wrong and we will tell you which of these fixes it, or that none of them does.
How we work
Every layer, one owner
Your customers notice one thing: whether the order went through.
Getting that right means the app, the API and the server all have to work. Most projects split those three between a designer, a developer and whoever ended up with the hosting login. Things get lost at each handover, and when something breaks later nobody is sure whose job it is. We take all of it.
Mobile apps
Android and iOS
Web apps
Portals and tools
Online stores
Storefront and checkout
Your application and API
One source of truth, serving every front end above
AWS or bare metal, run by us
- Deploys
- Backups
- Monitoring
- Cost review
- TLS
The difference
How this differs from the usual arrangement
A typical arrangement
When the site goes down
The developer blames the host and the host blames the developer.
What you are quoted
A day rate, and an estimate that moves as the work does.
Who owns the work
Their platform, their hosting account, their licence.
After launch
A support address, and a quote for anything that changes.
With OneZera
When the site goes down
You call us. We wrote the code and we built the server.
What you are quoted
A fixed price against a written scope. Changes are quoted before they're done.
Who owns the work
Your repository, your servers, your store accounts.
After launch
A monthly agreement that lists what is covered.
Selected work
Work we have delivered
Six systems, across transport, wholesale, retail, hospitality and e-commerce. Client work stays confidential, so these describe what was built rather than who it was for.
Transport. Customer app, driver app, dispatch admin.
Taxi and private-hire booking platform
Bookings, dispatch and driver pay now come off one system.
Wholesale. Android and iOS, Laravel API.
Trade ordering system for a wholesaler
Orders get typed once, by the customer. The counter runs off a tablet.
Retail. Tablet POS, central back office.
Point of sale for a multi-branch retailer
Head office sees every branch on the same day, in the same format.
Hospitality. Customer app, kitchen screen, driver app.
Food ordering and delivery for restaurants
Orders come in on the restaurant's own app, and the customer list belongs to the restaurant.
E-commerce. Laravel, PostgreSQL, Next.js.
Moving a shop off WooCommerce
The website, the apps and the back office now run off one codebase.
Our own product. Laravel, SMS and email.
Reorder prompts for repeat-purchase businesses
We built it, we run it, and we are on call for it ourselves.
The diagrams are wireframes of the kind of screens each system uses. They are not client screenshots. Read the full write-ups.
Getting started
How a project starts
- 1
A call
Half an hour on what the business does and where it is going wrong. If what you need is smaller than you think, we'll say so then.
- 2
A scope and a price
One document: what's included, what isn't, what it costs and when it lands. No day rate.
- 3
Build
You get something you can use early, and regularly after that. Changes are cheap while we're still in the code.
- 4
Live, and looked after
Deployed to a server we have set up, with the accounts and documentation handed over. Maintenance afterwards if you want it.
Engagements
Ways to work with us
Three arrangements. Which one fits is usually clear after one conversation.
Fixed-price project
You know the number before we start.
A written scope, one price, one date. Works when you have a reasonable idea of what you want built.
- Scope agreed in writing first
- One price, not a day rate
- Changes quoted before they're done
Monthly care plan
Somebody is responsible when it breaks.
Hosting, monitoring, backups, updates and an agreed number of development hours each month. Most clients move onto this after launch.
- Monitoring and patching
- Backups, restored on a schedule
- An agreed block of development hours
Audit and advice
Find out what you're sitting on.
We review an existing system, server or store, and write up what's wrong and what each fix is worth. Useful before you commit to anything larger.
- Code, infrastructure or store review
- Written findings, ranked by what ignoring them costs
- No obligation to hire us for the work
Questions
Questions we get asked
Where are you based?
We work remotely, with clients in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and India, and we keep hours that overlap yours. The more useful answer is that the same people stay on your project from the first call through to maintenance.
Why can't we see your client work?
We don't publish client names, logos or screenshots. The businesses we build for would rather their systems weren't advertised, and we'd rather keep that promise than win work with a case study. We can walk you through what we have built on a call.
What does a project cost?
A fixed-scope app or web build runs into the thousands rather than the hundreds. We quote a firm number against a written scope before you commit anything. Audits and smaller fixes are priced on their own. If your budget and the work don't match, we'll say so on the first call.
How long does it take?
Audits and speed work, one to two weeks. A web application, four to twelve. A two-platform app with a staff side, six to ten. The scope document gives you dates rather than ranges.
Tell us what is not working
Half an hour, no charge, and an honest answer about whether we are the right people for it.
Start a project