Custom software development

Custom software here means web applications, portals, back ends and APIs that you cannot buy off the shelf. Typical cases are line-of-business applications that replace an internal process, customer portals connected to existing systems, and interfaces between pieces of software that refuse to talk to each other.

We build with what we run ourselves — Python/Django on the back end, Vue and Nuxt on the front end, Kubernetes underneath. Not a modular kit, but not an exotic stack that nobody can touch after us either.

It starts with an initial call of about 30 minutes. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing; afterwards you know roughly what your project will cost and how long it will take.

After that we work in stages rather than towards a distant deadline. You see something running early and can correct course while that is still cheap. We answer enquiries within 24 hours on working days.

We bill by time and materials at EUR 150 net per hour, usually under a service contract. A contract for work under section 631 of the German Civil Code is only an option in special cases — where the scope is clearly defined and will not change.

The range runs from EUR 1,200 for a proof of concept to EUR 100,000 for a full-grown platform, the duration from one day to several months. Where your project falls within that, we tell you after the initial call — not before.

Software that nobody runs is half a product. We host our projects ourselves on our own Kubernetes clusters in German data centres — from EUR 10 a month for a small application.

For you that means one point of contact for development and operations, no finger-pointing between agency and hoster, and data that never leaves Germany.

A line-of-business application cannot be built from a requirements document. The knowledge of how a process really runs sits with the people who do it every day — and it rarely comes out in full over a video call. That is why we come to you for requirements gathering and for workshops.

From Bogel near Nastätten, Koblenz is about 25 km away; Limburg an der Lahn, Wiesbaden and the rest of the Rhein-Lahn district are part of our regular catchment area. A morning at the machine, in the warehouse or at the desk of the future users usually saves more time than it costs.

Day-to-day development then runs remotely, and we look after clients outside the region in exactly the same way. Proximity is an offer, not a condition.

Lucksmith e.K. is an owner-managed software company in Bogel in the Rhein-Lahn district, about 25 km from Koblenz. Registered in the commercial register of the Koblenz local court under HRA 22701, founded in 2014. The owner is Dennis Acker.

We work mostly remotely; on-site meetings are possible. We serve clients regionally and across Germany.