How I help / Build it
Custom software. Built around how you actually work.
Sometimes the right tool does not exist yet. I design and build custom software and web applications around a real business process, then test, release and hand them over so your team can rely on them.
Hands-on developer and external CTO · Newbury, UK · Remote worldwide
Custom software, at a glance.
What it is
A web application or internal tool built for one clear job: the process your team already runs, minus the workarounds.
Why it helps
Off-the-shelf tools cover most of the job. Custom software covers the part that keeps slipping into spreadsheets, email threads and memory.
How I build
Small working releases you can try early. I write the code, test the normal and awkward cases, and keep you in the decisions.
What you keep
Your paid-for custom code and documentation, plus a handover your team can use. Pre-existing materials and third-party licences are identified in the proposal.
When a custom build makes sense.
Most businesses already pay for good software. The trouble starts in the gaps: a step that lives in a spreadsheet, a request passed around by email, a check only one person knows how to do.
A small custom application can close that gap. Sometimes the better answer is a setting, an integration or a process change. If that is the case, I will tell you.
A process has outgrown its spreadsheet
Several people edit, check and approve the same information. An application can give each step an owner and a visible status.
Your systems do not quite meet
The data exists, just not where the work happens. A focused tool can bring it together while the source systems stay in charge.
It has to be something people use
Software has to suit the person using it, not only the specification. Design and usability are part of the build.
How I build it.
Understand the job
Follow a real example through the process. Agree who uses the tool, what it must do and what a useful result looks like.
Design the screens
Sketch the flow and the key screens before writing code, so you can react to something concrete. A clickable demo helps when the idea is still forming.
Build in small releases
Working software early, improved through your feedback. Testing covers ordinary cases, incomplete inputs and the odd exception.
Release and hand over
Version control, release coordination, documentation and training. You know what was built, how it runs and who looks after it.
I build software myself.
As external / fractional CTO at Kona Libre, I lead the technical work and develop the application myself. That covers development methods and planning, new features, testing and fixes, version control, release coordination and operational documentation. Client and project details are confidential.
I also do UI, UX and graphic design, including freelance work on 99designs, and my earlier career was in sales operations, CRM and customer-facing roles. So I ask how a screen will feel on a busy Tuesday, not only whether it works.
A sensible first step.
If the problem is clear but the solution is not, focused discovery looks at one defined process. It ends with a problem statement and solution plan, plus a clickable demo or technical proof when that helps answer the question.
Well-defined builds are quoted to scope, using the defined implementation day rate as the planning basis. The estimate includes development, coordination, testing, documentation and handover. Current prices are under Engagements & pricing.
Focused discovery and defined buildsA useful next step
What should the software do?
Describe the process and the people who will use it. A rough outline is plenty, and the first 30-minute conversation is free.
You’ll speak directly with me about the problem, the fit and a sensible next step.
Opens your email app with a few prompts.
hello@richardzoltantoth.com
Online meetings worldwide.
No VAT added — I’m not VAT registered.
View the full engagement terms.