Custom software, as a monthly subscription.
Most small businesses choose between stacking more SaaS tools and paying for a one-off custom build. There’s a third way: one platform built around how you operate, maintained and improved by the same senior engineers, for one flat monthly price.
Three ways to get the software you run on.
Each can be the right answer. Here’s how they differ once you look past the first invoice.
| Question | Stacking SaaS tools | One-off custom build | Software subscription |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Monthly per tool, often per seat | A large project fee up front | One flat monthly price |
| Fits how you work | You adapt to each tool | Yes, at launch | Yes, and keeps adapting |
| Tools talk to each other | Only through connectors you maintain | Within the build | One system, one source of truth |
| After launch | Vendors change on their schedule | Maintenance is a separate contract | Maintenance and improvements included |
| Commitment | Often annual contracts | The project fee is spent either way | Month-to-month, cancel anytime |
| Who carries the risk | You, stitching tools together | You, if the project runs over | Us: we earn every month |
Weighing the options in more depth? Read custom software vs off-the-shelf and what custom software costs.
From first call to live in four to six weeks.
The typical timeline for one location. More locations add time, and we’ll tell you how much before you commit.
Week 1
Step 1: Map
We sit with the people doing the work, from the front desk to the books, and list every tool and every place information gets typed twice. You get a written scope and the plan it fits before anything is built.
Weeks 2–4
Step 2: Build
We build on our base for your industry and shape it to your workflows, your forms and your reports. You see it working as it takes shape and tell us what’s off while it’s cheap to change.
Weeks 4–6
Step 3: Move and train
We move your data out of the tools you’re leaving and train each role on its own work, not a generic demo. Tools worth keeping, like payroll or your accounting system, get connected.
Every month after
Step 4: Improve
Launch is the start. The same engineers maintain the platform and keep improving it as your business changes, for as long as you’re with us.
It’s a big decision. We make starting it small.
You’d be trusting us with the systems your business runs on. These terms exist to make that an easy yes, and an easy exit if we ever stop earning it.
- Month to month. Cancel anytime.
- No annual contract. Annual billing saves 10% if you’d rather, but it’s never required.
- We move your data.
- Migration from the tools you’re leaving is included on every plan, so nothing is stranded.
- Live in four to six weeks.
- For one location, from the first call to your team working in it.
- We sign a BAA.
- Medical practices get a signed Business Associate Agreement before any patient data moves.
- Keep what already works.
- Payroll, your accounting system, or a clinical system you rely on can stay. On Growth and Custom we connect it to your platform instead of replacing it for the sake of it.
- The same senior engineers, start to finish.
- The people who map your business build the platform and keep maintaining it. No handoffs to a junior team.
- We’ll tell you if we’re not the fit.
- If one more subscription, a Zapier connection or a part-time hire would serve you better, we’ll say so on the first call.
Questions about the subscription.
What is a software development subscription?
Instead of paying a large fee for a one-off build, you pay a flat monthly price for software built around your business and kept up to date. With Localhost Labs that means one custom platform replacing your disconnected tools, plus data migration, training, and ongoing improvements.
How is this different from hiring an agency for a one-off project?
An agency project usually ends at launch, and changes or maintenance become new contracts. A subscription keeps the same senior engineers improving the platform as your business changes, and you can cancel anytime instead of committing the whole budget up front.
How is it different from buying more SaaS tools?
Each SaaS tool solves one job and expects you to adapt to it, so the business ends up running on several systems joined by exports and connectors. A custom platform puts scheduling, billing, records, and reporting in one system built around how you already work.
What does it cost?
Starter is $497/mo for one location, Growth is $1,497/mo for up to three locations, and Custom starts at $2,997/mo for unlimited locations. Pricing is per plan, not per seat. See the pricing page for everything each plan includes.
What happens if we cancel?
Plans are month-to-month and you can cancel anytime. Ask about data export on your first call so you know exactly what you would take with you.
Who builds and maintains the platform?
Senior engineers, from the first call onward. The people who design your platform are the ones who build it, with no juniors or offshore handoffs, and they stay on to maintain and improve it after launch.
A 20-minute intro call.
Bring the list of tools your team logs into. We’ll tell you honestly whether one platform makes sense for your business, and what it would take if it does.