Your software only does 60–70% of what you need?Own software that fits 100%.
Your people do the rest by hand, and the price goes up when the vendor decides. We build software around how your business actually works, and you own all of it.
- 100+
- products shipped
- 3 in 100
- applicants make the team
- 3×
- voted SA’s best software development company (MyBroadband, 2024–2026)
- Lesaka
- Tiger Wheel & Tyre
- Romans Pizza
- City Lodge
- Absa
- Old Mutual
- DP World
- Peermont
- Hyundai
- Nestlé
Your people are doing the other 30–40% by hand
Off-the-shelf software is built for the average business, and yours isn't one. The rest lands on your people: spreadsheets to track what the system can't, workarounds to get the job done anyway, and extra systems that have to be kept in step.
“It'll fix 60% of my problems, but I need to also now go and buy four other systems.”
“None of them do exactly what I want, and none of them are willing to customise it.”
“We've spent years sticky-taping things together.”
“They've suddenly doubled their pricing.”
Then the contract comes up for renewal, and the search starts again, for another product that fits most of the way.
Owning your software used to be the expensive option
Building your own took years and big budgets, so renting made sense, even for a partial fit. Today our experienced engineers lead with AI on every project and build 2–4× faster, so owning software that fits all of your business is now within reach of companies that used to rent.
"I would never even say what I say now five years ago. It was not possible five years ago. If I plan properly, I can actually achieve that for maybe even less than what I'm paying now." A business leader, on a call with us
- 01
You pay to build it once. After that, you pay for hosting, support and the changes you choose. There's no licence to renew.
- 02
Growing doesn't grow the bill. No fee per user or per transaction, so adding people costs next to nothing.
- 03
You can finally move forward. The next idea, the automation your team keeps asking for, AI when you're ready: it all goes in when your business decides, instead of waiting on someone else's roadmap.
Planned backwards from your renewal date
Building software is a very different job from buying it, so we do the parts you shouldn't have to.
- 01
We write the requirements with you, and give you a number you can plan around. You show us how the business works today, including every workaround. We turn it into a plan, decide with you what to keep and what to build, and estimate it from that plan, so the number you take to your directors is one that holds.
- 02
We build it alongside what you have. Your current system keeps running while the new one comes together. Your people try working software every two weeks, so it fits how they work before anyone has to switch, and we connect it to the systems you're keeping, working with whoever looks after them today.
- 03
You switch over, and it's yours. We move your data across, check it, and switch over when your team is ready, before the renewal if the plan allows. The code, the data and the documentation are yours, with no licence fee to us and no lock-in to us either.
Businesses that chose to own it
- 01
Lead Laundry & Catering. For 28 years they've sold, installed and serviced laundry equipment, with 53 technicians in the field. When the licences for their field service system headed for about R1 million a year, they chose to own one built around how they work, connected to the finance system they already run. The build is making great progress.
- 02
City Lodge Hotel Group. Relaunching its brand, the group chose its own platform over an off-the-shelf one. Its teams now update almost every part of the site themselves, without a developer.
Read the City Lodge story → - 03
Codehesion. We did it too. Our project management, time tracking and leave now run on one system we built around how we work, in place of the separate tools we used to rent.
Who is Codehesion?
Codehesion is a software development company of 65+ engineers, designers and analysts, founded in 2017 and based in Centurion, Gauteng. We build, rescue and modernise software for companies like Lesaka, Tiger Wheel & Tyre, Romans Pizza and City Lodge. MyBroadband readers have voted us South Africa's best software development company three years running.
Not quite your situation?
What people ask us first.
Is owning our own software really cheaper than renewing?
Often, but not always. If you pay per user or per transaction and keep growing, owning usually costs less over a few years. If a tool is cheap and already fits, keep it. Discovery works out the real numbers for your business, set against what you pay today.
Is the software ours, or do we pay you a licence?
It's yours: all the code and IP, from day one. You pay to have it built, then for hosting, support and any changes you choose. There's no licence fee and no charge per user.
How do we spread the cost?
Most clients pay monthly for the team building their software, and scale the team down once it's live. From then on it's your platform to add to, one piece at a time, whenever the business is ready.
Will the estimate hold?
We plan before we build, so the estimate is built from the plan itself. We also recommend a first release that covers what matters most, then building on it, so you see working software early and the scope stays in your hands.
We can't write a technical specification ourselves. Is that a problem?
No. Most of our clients can't, and shouldn't have to. You explain how the business works, and we do the writing.
We're not in the business of hosting software. Who runs it?
We can. Our DevOps engineers set up and run the hosting and keep it lean, so it doesn't quietly become a big monthly bill of its own. Or we set it up in your own cloud account.
Can it connect to the systems we're keeping, and work with our own developer?
Yes. We connect to the finance, ERP, CRM and payment systems you already use, and work alongside whoever looks after them for you.
What happens to our data?
We move it across from your current system, check it, and run both side by side until your team is confident.
Isn't switching risky?
It's planned to be uneventful: built alongside what you have, tried by your team as it grows, and switched over when you're ready, ideally before your next renewal.
Will our people actually use it?
They shape it. The people who use the current system every day see working software every two weeks, so by the switch it already works the way they do.
How long does it take?
It depends on what you need, and you'll know before you commit. Planning around your renewal date is part of Discovery.
Can we add AI to it later?
Yes. We lead with AI on every project, and software you own can take on automation and AI when you're ready, without starting again.
What if our needs change later?
That's the point of owning it. Changes happen on your schedule, by us or by your own developers.
The renewal date arrives and you don't renew. Your people stop working around the system, and the next change is a request to your own team, not to a vendor.
100% of what you do, in software you own. Let's talk.
Tell us what your software costs you.