Built by someone who has to use it on Monday.

How this started

The print shop came first. Orders arrived as folders of loose files with a note about sizes, and every one of them needed someone to lay artwork onto a roll, work out the length, quote it, and send a proof back. That is a good hour a day that no customer ever sees.

The first version of the gang sheet builder existed to get that hour back. It worked, so the next job got the same treatment, and then the one after that. At some point there were enough of them that other shops started asking.

What that changes

A tool written by someone who has to use it on Monday morning ends up different from one written to a specification. The awkward parts get found early, because they are annoying to the person who wrote them. Features that sound good and turn out not to be used quietly disappear.

It also means the pricing is set by someone who pays for apps himself. A percentage of every order looks harmless until a store gets busy, so nothing here works that way.

What you can expect

• Email answered by the person who wrote the code, usually the same day
• A flat monthly price with no cut of your orders
• Your files, code and accounts handed over, not held
• Plain answers, including when the answer is that a tool will not help you

Where it is going

More tools, one at a time, each shipped only once it has been earning its keep somewhere real. The tools page lists what exists, what is being built, and what is still only a plan, marked so you can tell which is which.