Custom software for small businesses.
Orynix is a one-person software studio in San Francisco. I build software for small businesses when spreadsheets and shared inboxes stop being enough. I also build SaaS products and AI features for small tech companies.
In-person work is possible anywhere in the Bay Area.
What I build
I build the software small businesses currently run on spreadsheets, inboxes, and memory.
Custom internal software
Quoting, scheduling, job tracking, client portals.
Integrations
Getting two systems you already pay for to agree about what happened.
I also take on
SaaS product builds
A v1 that people can sign up for and pay for: multi-tenant, auth, billing, an admin you can actually use, deployed.
AI features, and prototypes that need to survive production
Built with an eval set, defined behavior for when the model is wrong, and a known cost per request. Or the version where the demo works and the real thing loses data, forgets who is logged in, and falls over on the second user.
Every project starts with a paid assessment.
A week of paid work, not a free proposal.
- 01
Assessment
One week. I go through how the work runs now, what the software has to do, and what it’ll cost to build. At the end, you get a written document you could hand to someone else and have them build from. The $2,000 comes off the build price if you go ahead with me.
- 02
Build
We agree the scope and the price before anything starts. The code sits in your repository from the first commit, so you can see where it stands whenever you want.
- 03
Launch and support
I deploy it and hand it over. If you want me to keep looking after it, that’s what the monthly retainer is for.
What things cost
Durations are counted from kickoff.
The assessment
Every engagement starts here. I don’t quote a build I haven’t assessed.
See what one looks like- Price
- $2,000
- Duration
- One week
Booking and scheduling
For businesses that take appointments.
- Price
- $6,500
- Duration
- 3 weeks
Quoting and job tracking
For trades and contractors that quote jobs before the work starts.
- Price
- $6,500
- Duration
- 3 weeks
Client portal
For firms that share documents, messages, and updates with clients.
- Price
- $7,500
- Duration
- 3 weeks
Custom builds
From $15,000, scoped in the assessment.
Support retainer
$650 / month
Changes, fixes, and the small things that only turn up once people are using it. Billing starts at launch.
There is one of me.
Orynix is one person. That’s the whole arrangement, and it’s worth being plain about what that gets you and what it costs you, because it doesn’t suit every project.
An opinion, while you’re here: most small businesses should not commission custom software at all. If something off the shelf covers most of what you need, buy it. Custom is for the part that’s specific to how your business actually works. I say that during the assessment, which does mean turning work down, and occasionally means telling someone their project is a spreadsheet that needs tidying.
What that gets you
- You deal with the person writing the code.
- Once we’re working together, questions usually get answered the same day.
- Whoever scopes it is whoever builds it, so nothing is lost in the handover.
What it costs you
- One project at a time means waiting for a start date.
- No SLA, no on-call, no 24/7 cover.
- If I’m sick, the work pauses. There’s nobody to pick it up.
- Work that needs four people by next quarter should go to a company that has four people.
Questions
Why aren’t there any case studies?
Orynix started in 2026 and there is no client work I can publish yet. Inventing some would be easy and would tell you nothing.
The assessment is how you judge the work before committing to a build, and there is a full worked example on this site.
What happens if you’re sick or unavailable partway through?
You own the repository from day one. If I can’t complete the work, it stops there, and you keep everything built plus the documentation. Any milestone you have paid for but not received is refunded.
I’ll make the handover as painless as I can, including being available to whoever picks it up, at no charge.
Who owns the code?
You do, from day one.
How does payment work?
The assessment is paid in full upfront. Builds are 50% at kickoff and 50% at handover. The retainer is monthly, starting at launch.
What happens when a fixed-scope project needs more scope?
The original scope, price, and date stand. Anything new is quoted as its own piece of work and agreed in writing before I start it.
This is most of what the assessment is for.
What if I’m not happy with the result?
I rework it against the written scope at no extra cost until it matches. One round of interface revisions is included in every package.
What if the delay is on my side?
The end date moves one business day for each business day that access, data, decisions, or feedback are outstanding.
The full list of what I need is at the foot of the services page. Feedback within two business days is the one that slips most often.
Can a package be changed?
Yes. Any change is quoted as a separate fixed price and agreed before work starts.
Can you work on site?
Yes, anywhere in the Bay Area. For internal software it usually makes the assessment better. An hour watching someone actually do the job beats a week of me guessing at it from a call.
What don’t you take on?
SLAs and on-call. Hourly staff augmentation. Being the only person who understands something the business cannot run without.
People push back on the last one. But one outside person holding a critical system is a bad arrangement for you.
The next step is the assessment.
Tell me what the work is and what it runs on now. A paragraph or two is plenty.