Questions about custom software

Cena Advisory is an experienced Australian software and mobile team. The team has 20+ years of development experience. The people you speak to are the people who design and build the work. Read more on the About page.

We design and build custom software and mobile apps for Australian businesses. That includes web apps, portals, APIs, integrations, and iOS and Android apps. See custom software development and mobile app development.

Cena Advisory is based in Melbourne, Australia. We work with clients across the country, and we take meetings and calls. The studio note is custom software development in Melbourne. Contact us at felix@cenaadvisory.com or on the Contact page.

The work is done in Australia. We are a Melbourne software and mobile team. We work with clients Australia-wide. You speak to the people who design and build the software, on calls and in meetings. We do not run an anonymous offshore bench. Twenty-plus years of development experience sits with the people on those calls.

We take meetings and calls. We work with businesses around Australia, and we are happy to meet in person or on a call. You talk to the people who design and build the work.

Email felix@cenaadvisory.com or use the contact form at https://www.cenaadvisory.com/contact/. Cena Advisory will get on a call to talk through the project. You do not need a long brief to start. The steps for how we build custom software are on How we work.

It depends on whether the current system is already doing its job. If it is, we usually sit on top of it: a portal, an API, a workflow, or a mobile layer that talks to the diary, CRM, ERP, or shop you already pay for. If the current system is the problem, a greenfield build is the honest path. Cena Advisory does both. We will say which one the work actually needs. More detail is on custom software development.

No. Cena Advisory designs and builds custom software and mobile apps for Australian businesses, including new greenfield products and software that sits with tools you already use.

Cena Advisory does not replace software that is already doing its job. We will say so if a new system is the better path, and we will say so if the honest answer is to keep what you have and add one extra piece.

Yes. A lot of useful software sits on top of systems you already run: CRM, accounting, booking, payroll, or an internal database. We build the layer that talks to those tools through their APIs so staff are not copying data between screens. More is on API and system integrations. Xero is one example of an accounting system we can integrate with, not a partnership claim. If a current tool is the problem rather than the foundation, we will say so and talk about a new build instead of forcing an overlay. When the CRM itself will not bend to how your team sells or delivers work, that is custom CRM and workflow tools.

Buy when a shelf product already fits the job and you can live with its limits. Integrate when the tools you already pay for are sound and you only need a layer between them: a portal, an API, a workflow, or a mobile shell. Build custom when the gap is the product itself, the workflows, data, or UX that no off-the-shelf option covers honestly. Cena Advisory helps you pick the honest path after a conversation. When the choice is still fuzzy, a two-week discovery turns it into a written spec you keep. More detail is on custom software development and how we work.

A SaaS product is someone else's software. You pay a subscription, you work inside their limits, and you usually do not own the product. Custom software is built for your workflow. For a paid engagement with Cena Advisory, you own the source code we write and you own the repository. That is normal Australian contractor work, not a product licence. Custom is the right path when the gap is the product itself: the workflows, data, or UX that no off-the-shelf tool covers honestly. SaaS is the right path when a shelf product already fits and you can live with its limits. Sometimes the honest middle is to keep the SaaS tools you already pay for and add a custom layer on top. We help you pick after a conversation. More detail is on build versus buy versus integrate, and on custom software development.

If the current system still does the job, keep it and add a layer on top for the gaps. Modernise when the product is sound but the stack or workflow is holding you back. Rewrite only when the system is at the end of its life and the cost of staying is higher than starting clean. We will tell you which path we would take after we have seen the work, not before. A two-week discovery is how that decision gets a spec you keep. Buyers sometimes call the cost of staying technical debt, and ask how to manage or reduce it. The honest answer is still keep, modernise, or rewrite after we have seen the work, not a retainer pack.

Yes. For a paid software or mobile app engagement with Cena Advisory, you own the source code we write. You own the repository. That is normal contractor work in Australia: we are not licensing you a product you do not control. Third-party libraries and platforms keep their own licences. The same point is on How we work. Cloud and app-store account ownership is covered at Who should own the repository, cloud, and app store accounts?.

You should own the places that would lock you in if the relationship ended. For paid work with Cena Advisory, you own the source code we write and you own the repository. That is normal Australian contractor work, not a product licence. Third-party libraries keep their own licences. Ask any company, including us, who holds the cloud and app-store accounts before you sign. Those logins should sit in an account you control, not one you cannot recover.

Cena Advisory quotes custom software development for Australian businesses after we understand the work. Small first versions are often tens of thousands of dollars, not hundreds. Email felix@cenaadvisory.com or use the contact form at https://www.cenaadvisory.com/contact/.

Cena Advisory quotes iOS and Android app development after we understand the product. A staff app with a handful of screens is a different job to a consumer app with accounts, payments, and two stores. Email felix@cenaadvisory.com to start.

A staff or internal business app is a smaller product: known users, a handful of screens, and one workflow that has to work well. A consumer app is a different job. It usually needs accounts, App Store and Google Play listings, support for people you have never met, and often payments, notifications, and a public brand. That extra surface is what moves the cost, not a secret rate card. Cena Advisory quotes after we understand which of those you actually need. We do not publish a price list. Email felix@cenaadvisory.com or tell us about the project.

A staff app is for people you already know: your team, your contractors, a clinic floor, a warehouse. Sign-in, a few jobs they do every day, talking to a system you already have. A customer-facing app is for the public: app stores, accounts, support, and the extra surface that comes with that. Cost is usually lower on the staff side because the audience and the feature set are smaller. The right first version is the one that matches who will actually open it.

Yes. We design and build iOS and Android apps for staff, customers, and products that need to work well on a phone. Detail is on the mobile app development page.

We use one codebase for iOS and Android when that is the honest choice, usually Ionic and Capacitor. We write native when the product needs it: heavy camera work, tight platform APIs, or a store listing that will not forgive a shared shell. A staff app with a handful of screens is often a good fit for one codebase. A consumer product with deep iOS or Android behaviour may not be. We will say which path we would take before we quote. Detail is on mobile app development.

Yes. Cena Advisory does not lock the work to a single industry. We build custom software and mobile apps for Australian businesses across sectors.

No. We are based in Melbourne and we work with clients across Australia. We take meetings and calls, including in person when that is useful. Location is not a filter.

Most first builds are weeks to a few months. We quote once we understand the work. A two-week discovery is one way to get a fixed-price number. Some projects are clear enough to quote a build from a conversation. The steps are on How we work.

An MVP here means a first version that real users can run, not a slide deck. It is the smallest product that proves the workflow: the pages, data, and integrations that matter, with a clear list of what is out of scope. For a staff app that is often a handful of screens for people you already know. For a customer-facing app it is usually larger because accounts, stores, and support land earlier. Cena Advisory gets to that first version through a conversation, or through a two-week discovery when the scope is still fuzzy. Discovery produces a written spec, a sketched path, and a fixed-price build quote. We do not publish MVP price bands on the website. Email felix@cenaadvisory.com or use the contact form when you want a real number. The steps are on How we work. See MVP software development on custom software, and mobile app development.

A software discovery is a short, paid piece of work that turns a fuzzy project into a spec, a sketched path, and a fixed-price build quote. Ours runs two weeks. You keep that spec even if you hire someone else to build it. We do not publish a discovery price on the website because a number without the scope is a guess. Email felix@cenaadvisory.com or use the contact form and we will quote the discovery from the conversation.

A fixed-price, two-week discovery produces a written spec (pages, data, integrations, and what is out of scope), a clickable or sketched path through the first version, and a fixed-price build quote. You keep the spec even if you hire someone else. That is the point of paying for discovery. Some projects skip discovery and go straight to a build quote when the work is already clear. The steps are on How we work.

You need a discovery when the project is still fuzzy: unclear screens, unclear integrations, or disagreement about what a first version should include. Then a two-week discovery turns that into a written spec, a sketched path, and a fixed-price build quote. You keep the spec even if you hire someone else. You can often skip discovery when the workflow is already clear, the tools are known, and a first version can be named on a call. In that case Cena Advisory quotes a fixed-scope build from the conversation. We will say which path fits after we have heard the work, not before. The steps are on How we work. Email felix@cenaadvisory.com or use the contact form to start.

Cena Advisory quotes discovery and builds as fixed-price, fixed-scope work once the scope is clear. A two-week discovery is a fixed price and produces a written spec plus a fixed-price build quote. Some projects are already clear enough to quote a fixed-scope build from the first conversation, without a discovery. Time and materials means you pay for hours as the work unfolds; that can suit research-heavy or open-ended work, but it needs a clear cap and a written list of what is in and out. Ask any studio which model they are using, what is excluded from the number, and what happens if the scope changes. We do not publish an hourly rate card or a fake price table. Email felix@cenaadvisory.com or use the contact form when you want a real quote.

Start with the problem, not a vendor list. Ask who will actually write the code, who owns the repository, whether the work is done in Australia, and whether they will sit on top of tools you already pay for or push a full rebuild. A useful studio will get on a call, tell you when overlay is enough, and put a two-week discovery on the table when the scope is still fuzzy. You keep that spec even if you hire someone else. Ignore award badges and invented headcount. Talk to the people who would build the work. Cena Advisory is an experienced Australian software and mobile team based in Melbourne. Email felix@cenaadvisory.com or use the contact form.

Ask who writes the code after the first call. Ask who owns the source repository, and who holds the cloud and app-store logins. Ask whether they work onshore in Australia. Ask whether they will integrate with systems you already pay for, or only replace them. Ask what a discovery produces, and whether you keep the spec. Ask how a first version is quoted, and what is left out of that number. Ask what happens after launch, in writing, before you sign. Cena Advisory answers most of those on this FAQ: you own the code from a paid engagement, the people on the call are the people who build, and discovery is two weeks with a spec you keep. We quote after we understand the work. We do not publish a fake price table.

No. At Cena Advisory, the people who talk to you are the people who design and build the software. That is on the About page.

We read it and we reply. The next step is a call to talk through the project. Use the Contact page, or email felix@cenaadvisory.com.