Web applications and automation for businesses in Upper Styria

Signs that a custom application is worth it

A custom application is not always the right answer. It usually becomes sensible when several of these coincide:

• The same data is typed into several places and eventually stops matching.
• A spreadsheet travels back and forth by email and nobody is certain which copy is current.
• A recurring report is assembled by hand every month.
• Appointments, equipment or rooms are allocated on paper or by shouting across the room.
• Off-the-shelf software exists but charges per user and does ninety percent things nobody needs.
• A process depends on one person and stops while they are on holiday.

If the first conversation shows that an existing standard product is cheaper than building something, we say so. It happens.

What such an application can do

Applications of this kind run in the browser. Nothing needs installing, and they are reachable from the office, from home and from a phone. Typical parts:

• Capturing and managing data with distinct roles and permissions
• Reports at the press of a button instead of by hand
• Scheduling of appointments, equipment and resources with one shared state
• Import of existing data from spreadsheets, export to Excel and PDF
• Connections to existing programs through their interfaces
• Automatic email notifications for deadlines and changes
• Search and filtering across data that has outgrown a spreadsheet

How a project runs

1. 1

   Observation

   We look at the existing process, where possible on site and during actual work. Descriptions from memory almost always differ from what really happens.

2. 2

   Scoping

   Together we mark out the smallest scope that already saves work. Everything else is noted but not built yet. That keeps the first stage affordable and the benefit visible early.

3. 3

   Proposal

   In writing, with scope, schedule and price. Where many unknowns remain we work to a range and bill by effort, disclosed in advance.

4. 4

   Prototype

   First comes a usable version of the most important view, not yet fully functional. It shows faster than any concept document whether the direction is right.

5. 5

   Build

   Development proceeds in stages with regular intermediate versions to try out.

6. 6

   Testing with real data

   Before going live we test with your actual data rather than samples. That is when the special cases surface.

7. 7

   Training and operation

   Training for the users, written documentation, handover of credentials. A phase usually follows in which daily use produces further adjustments.

Data, access and GDPR

As soon as an application holds data about people, whether staff, customers or participants, the GDPR applies. That is manageable, but it has to be considered from the start rather than at the end.

Standard practice includes: servers located in the EU, roles and permissions instead of one shared login, logging of material changes, regular backups with restores actually tested, and encrypted transport.

It also means collecting only the data the purpose requires, and supplying the technical details you need for your record of processing activities. Where Vontures processes data on your behalf, a data processing agreement is concluded.

What you are left holding

With software for your own operations, the question of what remains matters more than with a website. So, stated up front:

• The source code is handed over, and usage rights pass to you on full payment.
• The application runs on your hosting or on an account in your name.
• Data sits in a common database and can be exported in full at any time.
• Proven, widely used technology is applied so others can work on it too.
• The documentation covers structure, operation and recovery.

The point behind this is simple: you should stay because the arrangement works, not because leaving would be expensive.

Operation and further development

Applications in daily use keep changing. Fields get added, processes shift, another report turns out to be needed. On request we take on maintenance, backups and further development with agreed response times. Without a care agreement the application keeps running and changes are commissioned individually.

What it costs

After the observation stage you receive a fixed price for the defined first stage or a range with an upper and lower bound. With applications, scope is the strongest lever: the same brief can turn out very differently depending on extent, and the first version is allowed to be small.

Vontures is a small business under § 6 (1) no. 27 of the Austrian VAT Act, so no VAT is charged. Billing follows the agreed intermediate stages.

Working together in the region

Vontures is based in St. Peter-Freienstein in the district of Leoben. With internal tools especially, seeing the real workplace is valuable, so on-site meetings across Upper Styria are expressly part of the arrangement. Coordination during development then usually runs by phone and video call.