FAQ
Questions people ask before hiring me
These are the questions business owners ask me before hiring CheLabs to build custom software, with straight answers. If yours is not here, call me and ask.
Ownership and risk
Do I own the code?
Yes. You own 100 percent of the code and the data. The repos, cloud accounts, domains and keys are in your name from day one, not mine. If we stop working together tomorrow, you keep everything and owe me nothing for it. That is written into the master services agreement, not just promised on a website. Another developer can pick it up without asking my permission.
What happens if you get hit by a bus?
Your software keeps running, because it runs in your cloud accounts, not mine. The code lives in your repo, built with common tools (SvelteKit, Postgres) that any competent web developer already knows. A product manager works on every build with me, so I am not the only person who knows how your system fits together. Connect builds also ship with a runbook, so your team is not dependent on me for the day-to-day. Nothing about your system depends on my accounts.
Can another developer take over what you build?
Yes, and they do not need my permission. You own the repo, so you can hand it to anyone. I build on mainstream tools on purpose: SvelteKit, Supabase/Postgres, Vercel, Azure, and Expo for mobile. There is no proprietary framework and no license fee to keep paying me. I would rather you keep working with me because the support is good than because leaving is hard.
Where does my data live?
In your own cloud accounts. Usually that means a Supabase Postgres database and an app hosted on Vercel, or Azure if your business already runs there. The accounts are in your name and bill to you at cost, so you can see exactly what hosting costs and nobody marks it up. Postgres is a standard database, so you can export your data any time, connect reporting tools to it, or move it somewhere else without asking anyone.
What's in the contract?
Two documents. A master services agreement covers the relationship: you own 100 percent of the code and data, every build has a 60-day warranty, and Utah law governs it. Then each project gets its own statement of work with a deliverables table, the fixed price, the timeline and the payment terms. Support and hosting after launch is a separate statement of work, so you can stop it without touching anything else. We sign an NDA before discovery, so you can show me how the business really runs.
What does the hosting run on?
Usually SvelteKit on Vercel with a Supabase Postgres database, Azure where a client already lives there, and Expo for mobile apps. The accounts are set up in your name and bill to you at cost. The support plan covers running and watching them, not a markup on the hosting. These are mainstream tools, so any good developer can work on your system later.
Cost
How much does custom software cost for a small business?
With me, it is one of four fixed prices: Connect $5,000, Consolidate $20,000, Replace $75,000 to $100,000, Exclusive from $250,000. Connect fixes one broken workflow between tools you already have. Consolidate collapses several tools into one app you own. Replace rebuilds the part of a big platform you actually use. Exclusive is me full time on your business. Most custom software shops will not publish a number until after several calls. I publish mine because you should know whether this is in your budget before you spend an hour talking to me.
Why are your prices fixed?
Because I have been the owner on the other side of an hourly invoice, and I hated the meter running. A fixed price puts the risk of my estimate on me. Discovery is where we pin down the scope, so the number you sign is the number you pay. If I estimate wrong, that is my problem to absorb, not a surprise on your next invoice. It also keeps both of us honest about what is in and out.
What happens if the scope changes?
Scope freezes when you sign. If something new comes up, I write it up as a change order at $200/hour with an estimate, and nothing starts until you approve it in writing. Small things that fit inside the original scope are just part of the build. You always see the cost of a change before it exists, so the fixed price stays fixed unless you decide otherwise.
What does paid discovery get me?
About two weeks of me mapping every tool, workflow and integration you run, with the people who actually use them. You come out with a fixed-price proposal: a deliverables table, a timeline, and my recommendation for which tier fits, even if it is a smaller one than you asked about. Discovery costs $2,500 for Consolidate and $7,500 for Replace and Exclusive. On Consolidate and Replace it is credited toward the build if you go ahead. Either way, you keep the proposal.
What do I pay after launch?
Every build has a 60-day warranty. After that, a monthly support plan is optional: $500 for Connect, $1,500 for Consolidate, $4,000 for Replace, $7,500 for Exclusive. It covers monitoring, fixes and a block of small changes each month, with a response time that matches the tier. Cloud costs bill to your own accounts at cost. Cancel with 30 days' notice; everything is already yours, so there is nothing to hand back.
Is this cheaper than what I'm paying for SaaS now?
Not always, and I will tell you on the first call. Add up what you pay each month for the tools the new system would retire. Then add the hours someone spends re-typing data between them. Compare that with the build price and the support plan. If your stack costs under about $500 a month and nothing gets re-typed by hand, keep what you have. My view is that owning beats renting after year two, and most of the savings come from the hours, not the subscriptions.
Alternatives
Why not just use Zapier or Make?
For one or two simple hand-offs, use them. They are fine. The trouble starts when a dozen zaps are holding the business together. Zapier is duct tape: when a field changes in one tool, a zap fails quietly, and you find out when a customer calls. Per-task pricing climbs as you grow, and nobody owns the whole picture. Connect replaces that with integrations built for your workflow, alerts within 15 minutes when a sync fails, and a runbook. It costs $5,000, once.
Why not hire a developer in-house?
If software is your product, you should. If it is not, one full-time developer costs more in a year than a Consolidate or Replace build, and you are asking one person to be the product manager, designer, database person and hosting person at once. When they leave, the knowledge leaves with them. With me you get a fixed price, a product manager on every build, code you own, and an optional support plan you can cancel with 30 days’ notice.
Why not an offshore agency?
You can, and the hourly rate will be lower. You pay for it in other ways: time zones, writing detailed specs yourself, and rework when something was lost in translation. I am not the cheap option and I do not try to be. I run discovery myself, you talk to the person responsible for your build, and the price is fixed before any work starts. If the lowest hourly rate is what matters most, I am the wrong choice, and I would rather tell you that up front.
Why not just pick a better all-in-one tool?
If one exists for your business, buy it. If Jobber does the job, buy Jobber. I mean that. The problem is that all-in-one tools are built for the average business in your industry, and you pay for all of it while your team uses 10 to 15 percent. You end up bending your process to fit the tool, then adding three more tools for the parts it does not do. Custom makes sense when the way you work is part of why customers choose you.
Can't I build this myself with AI now?
For a simple internal tool, maybe, and I would encourage you to try. AI writes code fast. I use Claude Code on every build, so I know exactly how much it helps. The hard parts are not typing code. They are knowing what to build, designing data that will still make sense in three years, wiring integrations that fail safely, keeping customer data secure, and maintaining it after launch. That is the work you are paying me for, and AI does not take responsibility for any of it.
How it works
How long does a build take?
Start to launch: Connect 3 to 4 weeks; Consolidate 4 to 8 weeks after discovery; Replace 2 to 3 months after discovery; Exclusive 3 to 6 months. Consolidate, Replace and Exclusive start with about two weeks of paid discovery, as long as you can get me in front of the right people. The fastest build I offer is Connect at 3 to 4 weeks, so if you need it in two weeks, I am not the right fit. You see working software every week on the larger builds, so you are not waiting until the end to find out what you bought.
How much of my time does it need?
I need one person on your side who owns the process. That person should be able to give me about two hours a week and make decisions without a committee. During discovery I also need time with the people who do the work every day, because they know where things break. After that, we meet weekly, bi-weekly, or only when a question comes up, whichever suits you. If nobody can own it, I will tell you to wait until someone can.
Do you work with my existing tools or replace them?
Both, and the tier is mostly that choice. Connect keeps every tool you have and fixes how they talk to each other. Consolidate replaces the parts of your stack your team uses every day with one app, and keeps the integrations that still work. Replace rebuilds the slice of a big platform you actually use, so you can cancel the platform. My rule: if a tool earns its keep, it stays and I connect to it. I do not rebuild things that already work.
What tools have you integrated with?
Spark, the app I built for BigDog Solar, works with NetSuite and Trello, and I migrated their payments off a legacy system into NetSuite. The Peterson Zeyer Law project, in discovery now, connects Google Drive, Gmail and Jotform. My own products connect to Google Calendar and Google Sheets. At Unique Communications I built network monitoring over SNMP, deployed at US Air Force bases. If your tool has an API or can export data, I can usually work with it. If it has neither, I will tell you during discovery, before you pay for a build.
Which industries do you know?
Law firms, home services, solar, and clinical research sites, from real work rather than a marketing list. I built a field sales app for BigDog Solar used by 150+ reps. At CenExel Clinical Research I supported about 2,000 users across 18 sites. I ran a bin-cleaning business for five years and built software for that trade. I am in discovery with a law firm now. Before all of that, I spent 15 years at Unique Communications building telecom and billing systems for the US Air Force and Army.
Do you build mobile apps?
Yes. I build mobile apps with Expo, which gives you one codebase for iPhone and Android. Spark, the app I built for BigDog Solar, is used by 150+ sales reps in the field, with 15 admins working on the web side of the same system. A mobile app makes sense when your people work away from a desk: in the field, in a truck, at a customer’s door. If everyone sits at a computer, a web app is cheaper and does the job.
What do you use to build?
SvelteKit for the app, Supabase and Postgres for the database, Vercel for hosting, Azure when a client already lives there, and Expo for mobile. Claude Code is in the build loop on every project. I say this plainly because you should be able to check it: these are mainstream tools with large communities, so any good developer can pick up your code later. I chose them because they let a small team ship real software in weeks.
Do you use AI to write the code?
Yes, on every build. I use Claude Code, and it is a big part of how a small team ships in weeks instead of months. It writes a lot of the first draft. I decide what gets built, design the data, and review what it writes and test it. Think of it like a very fast junior developer who never gets tired. You still need someone senior who knows what good looks like, and that is my job.
About Brett
Who actually does the work?
I do, with a small team. I lead every engagement and run discovery myself, so the person you explain your business to is the person responsible for the build. A product manager works alongside me on every project. Developers join when a project is large enough to need them. I will never pretend CheLabs is bigger than it is, and I will not hand your project to someone you have never met.
How many clients do you take at once?
6: three Consolidate, two Replace and one Exclusive at a time, with Connect in a rolling queue. Exclusive is one client at a time: while it runs, I do not start other builds. I cap it because I lead every build and run every discovery, and past that number the quality would drop. The pricing page shows how many slots are open in each tier right now.
Why do you have a waiting list?
Because I would rather make you wait than do a worse job. I lead every engagement myself, and there are only so many I can do well at once. A waiting list keeps that promise honest. It is not a sales tactic: if a slot is open, you can start as soon as discovery is done. If the wait is longer than your business can afford, I will tell you, and I may point you to Connect, which runs in a rolling queue outside the cap.
How does the waiting list work?
I take three Consolidate, two Replace and one Exclusive at a time, with Connect in a rolling queue. When a tier is full, you join its waiting list. I work through it in order and tell you roughly when your slot opens. Connect runs in a rolling queue, so it is usually the fastest way to start. Exclusive is one client at a time: while it runs, I do not start other builds.
Where are you located and do you work remotely?
I am in Alpine, Utah, and I work with clients anywhere. Discovery, check-ins and reviews happen over video. Wherever you are, I lead the engagement and run discovery myself. CheLabs is a Utah company, and our contracts are governed by Utah law. You can call me at 702-372-2373 before deciding anything. That is my cell, and if it goes to voicemail I call back the same day.
What's your background?
Twenty years building software for other people’s businesses. Most recently I was VP of Platform Enablement at CenExel Clinical Research, where I built the department and supported about 2,000 users across 18 sites. At Nerd United I was VP of Engineering over two startups. When it ended, I became SVP of Product & Engineering at Foundations United, over 60 engineers. I spent 15 years at Unique Communications, including as CTO, building systems deployed at every US Air Force and Air National Guard base. I also founded, ran and sold Wash A Bin in Las Vegas, so I have been the small-business owner buying software too.
Fit
How do I know if I need this?
Look for three signs. Someone on your team re-types the same information into two or more tools. A spreadsheet sits in the middle of everything and only one person understands it. You pay for tools with dozens of features and use a handful. If any of those is true and it costs you real hours every week, it is worth a 30-minute call. If none of them is true, you probably do not need me, and that is a good place to be.
What size business is this for?
Small businesses where at least about five people touch the systems every day. Below that, even a $5,000 fix rarely pays for itself, and you are better off using the tools you have. Exclusive, at from $250,000, is for larger companies paying for a big platform across many teams. I do not do enterprise procurement cycles. If buying software at your company takes six months of committees, we will both be frustrated.
When should I not hire you?
When fewer than about five people use your systems every day. When your stack costs under roughly $500 a month and nothing is re-typed by hand. When nobody on your side can give me two hours a week and make decisions. When you need it in two weeks. When you want a cheaper copy of a tool that already exists (if Jobber does the job, buy Jobber). And when you want to rent the result. Everything I build is yours.
Still have a question?
Ask me directly. Thirty minutes, free, and you will get the same straight answers.
I take 6 build clients at a time. When they are full, you join the waiting list.
Or call me
702-372-2373