Open-Source Customisation · Custom Software
Borrow, don't build
Proven open-source tools built into your custom software, so you get dependable chat, files, reporting and logins without paying to reinvent them.
The features nobody should write twice
Ask for a custom system and, somewhere in the spec, you will find chat notifications, document storage, a reporting screen and a login page. None of them are the reason you are building the system. All of them take real time to do well.
File sharing is a good example. It sounds simple. Then you need permissions, versioning, share links that expire, a desktop app, a phone app, and somebody to keep all of that secure. Nextcloud has had years and a large community to get that right. Building it into your system through its API is a few days of work. Building it from scratch would be months, and it would still be less dependable.
So we build what makes your business different, and plug in proven tools for everything else.
Seven things we would rather not build from scratch
Licences checked against each project's own licence file on 9 October 2026. They can change, so we check again before every job.
Mattermost
Your system posts alerts, approvals and updates into chat channels your team already reads, through Mattermost's webhooks and API. We use Mattermost for our own team chat.
Licence: Source code AGPL-3.0, with exceptions; Mattermost's own compiled builds are MIT. Free editions have limits; paid plans available.
Nextcloud
Your system stores documents in Nextcloud and creates share links through its API, so versioning, permissions and the desktop and phone apps come for free.
Licence: AGPL-3.0.
Metabase
Charts and dashboards inside your system without building a reporting module. Our sister company, Adept Data Services, builds Metabase into its publishing software, Avio and Adeptis.
Licence: AGPL outside its "enterprise" folder. Simple guest embedding is in the free edition; interactive embedding needs a paid plan.
DocuSeal
Contracts and forms sent and signed from your own system, through DocuSeal's API. Documenso is a good alternative.
Licence: AGPL-3.0 (both). DocuSeal's basic API is free self-hosted; signing embedded in your own screens needs its paid Pro plan.
Keycloak
User accounts, two-factor login and single sign-on with Microsoft or Google, handled by Keycloak instead of hand-written login code.
Licence: Apache-2.0, which is one of the most permissive licences there is.
FreeScout
A shared support inbox your system can raise tickets in and read from. Built on Laravel, which we work in every week.
Licence: AGPL-3.0. Its API comes as a paid add-on module.
Easy!Appointments
Appointment booking with staff calendars, connected to your system through its API. Built on CodeIgniter, another of our everyday frameworks.
Licence: GPL-3.0.
When borrowing is the right call, and when it is not
Borrow when
- The feature is standard: chat, files, sign-in, signatures, dashboards
- Getting it wrong would be a security problem
- You need it working this quarter, not next year
- Your team would recognise the tool, or already uses it
Build it yourself when
- The feature is the thing that makes your business different
- You only need a small slice and the tool would be a lot to run
- The licence does not fit how you plan to use it
- Nobody will be responsible for keeping it updated
The honest summary: a borrowed tool is another thing to keep updated. That is a fair trade for something like single sign-on, and a bad one for a feature you could write in an afternoon. We will tell you which side of that line each part of your system sits on.
What people ask us
Almost always, for the features on this page. Building file sharing, single sign-on or a reporting module properly is a project in its own right, and the open-source versions have years of fixes and security work behind them. Connecting to one is usually days of work rather than months. The cost that does not go away is keeping it updated, and we plan for that from the start.
Not usually in the way people fear. The AGPL is about changes to the AGPL software itself: if you modify it and let people use your modified version over a network, you may have to share those changes with them. Running the tool unmodified as a separate service and talking to it through its API is generally a different situation. We check the licence against how you plan to use it before we start, and for anything unusual we will suggest you get legal advice.
Usually on a server you control, alongside your own system, often in the UK. Some of the projects also sell a hosted version if you would rather not run it yourself. Either way, your system talks to it the same way.
Because we connect through the tool's API rather than changing its code, updates are normally routine. We test the connection against new releases and can look after updates for you as part of support.
Want an open-source tool customised rather than built into something else? See open-source customisation.
What does your system need to do?
Send us the spec, or just the rough idea, and we will tell you which parts we would borrow.
Most of the saving on a custom build comes from deciding early what not to write. That is a conversation we are happy to have before you commit to anything.
We reply within one working day.
