Custom app development
Software for the jobs a platform will not do: business applications, AI assistants and chat agents, and the prototype someone built in an afternoon that now needs to run properly. Built securely, connected to your systems and supported in production.
When you need custom software
Most work fits a platform: automation on UiPath or Power Automate, workflow in your ERP, documents in SharePoint. Some does not. A process needs its own interface for staff or customers, an AI assistant needs to answer from your own information, or a legacy system with no API needs a modern front end. That is where we build.
AI has also changed how software starts. Teams now build working prototypes with AI tools in days. Getting one of those into production is a different job: security, access control, data protection, testing, hosting, monitoring and support. We take prototypes, whoever built them, and make them production-ready.
What you get
Built around your process
Applications designed for the people who use them, with role-based access and the steps your process actually needs.
Connected to your systems
APIs and automation connect the app to your systems of record, including older platforms that have no API.
Secure by default
Code security scanning, data protection and access control are part of the build, not an audit finding later.
Supported in production
Monitoring, fixes and enhancements after go-live, from the team that built it.
What we build
Typical custom development work:
Business applications
Role-based applications for requests, approvals, reviews and case work, often replacing unsupported workflow tools or spreadsheets.
Taking prototypes to production
Prototypes built with AI tools or low-code platforms hardened, tested, secured and moved onto supported infrastructure. See vibe-coded and low-code apps to production.
AI assistants
Assistants that answer from your own policies, products and knowledge, with access controls and a record of every conversation.
Chat agents for your website
Website chat that answers questions about your services, points visitors to the right page and captures enquiries for follow-up.
Modern front ends for legacy systems
A single, guided interface over older systems, using APIs where they exist and automation where they do not.
Websites built for search and AI answers
Fast, structured websites written so Google and AI assistants can read and quote them, measured with analytics from day one.
How we build
Low-code where it fits
UiPath Apps and Microsoft Power Apps when the application sits close to an automation or Microsoft 365, so it is quicker to build and easier to own.
Custom code where it does not
Modern web applications and services hosted on Azure or AWS, with automated testing, code security scanning and infrastructure as code.
AI models
Large language models from Anthropic, OpenAI and Microsoft, chosen for the task and grounded in your own information.
How we work
Define
We agree the problem, the users and what success looks like, and check whether a platform could do the job first.
Prototype
A working prototype in your users' hands quickly, so feedback shapes the build before much is spent.
Build
We build in short iterations with automated tests, security scanning and your systems connected from the start.
Run
The application goes live with monitoring and support, and we keep improving it as your needs change.
Our work
University of Auckland
Three critical University processes moved off an unsupported workflow platform onto secure, role-based applications orchestrated by UiPath Maestro.
1st UiPath Maestro go-live in New Zealand
Craigs Investment Partners
A closed trading platform with no APIs turned into one guided adviser experience, returning 40,000 hours a year to client-facing work.
40k adviser hours returned a year
Why Flex Consulting
We are a New Zealand automation consultancy with more than 150 projects delivered across over 15 industries, for organisations including Foodstuffs North Island, SkyCity, Craigs Investment Partners, Contact Energy, Chorus, the University of Auckland and Mercury.
Every engagement starts with a free, no-obligation consultation to find your highest-return candidates, followed by a pilot you can measure before you commit to scaling.
Questions we are asked
Should we build custom software or use a platform?
Use a platform when it fits: it is usually quicker and cheaper to own. Build custom when the process needs its own interface, has to join several systems in a way no product does, or is a source of advantage you do not want to standardise.
Can you take a prototype built with an AI tool into production?
Yes. We review the prototype, keep what works, and add what production needs: security, access control, testing, hosting, monitoring and support. Sometimes that means rebuilding parts of it properly.
Do you build AI chatbots?
Yes. We build AI assistants and website chat agents that answer from your own information, hand over to a person when needed, capture enquiries and keep a record of every conversation for review.
Tell us what you need built
Bring the idea, the prototype or the process that needs its own application. We will tell you plainly whether to build, buy or use a platform.