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Integrations & Custom Tools
Connections between your practice-management, accounting and CRM systems, plus small internal tools, so data is entered once and every system agrees.
Build · Client portals and internal apps
Custom app developers in Melbourne for established businesses
App Development is Pylon Digital's custom app development for established businesses: client portals, booking and job tools, internal tools and web apps built around the systems you already run. We are Melbourne app developers who design, build, host and support each app, and we know the practice-management systems law, accounting and advisory firms use.
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Is it right for you
Who it's for
App Development suits established businesses and 10–100 person firms that have outgrown spreadsheets, email threads and workarounds, but will not find what they need in an off-the-shelf product. The usual trigger is a process clients or staff complain about, such as re-entering the same details on three screens.
- Law firms that want a client portal showing matter progress, documents to sign and secure messages
- Accounting firms that want clients to upload documents and approve work in one place, not by email
- Advisory firms that need a simple internal app for proposals, pipeline or engagement approvals
- Clinics, trades, retailers and not-for-profits that need a booking, job or member portal
- Businesses whose core system leaves a gap staff fill by hand
What kinds of apps do businesses build?
Most apps an established business or professional firm needs fall into three groups: portals for clients, tools for staff, and connections that make several systems behave as one. Each one replaces a manual process that sits between the systems the business already runs.
- Client portals: booking, matter or job progress, document upload and signing, secure messages and invoices in one signed-in place.
- Internal tools: new-client and conflict-check forms that write to several systems at once, write-off approvals, and a single search across matters, jobs and contacts.
- Workflow apps: engagement letters, proposals and approvals that follow your own steps, using AI automation only where a step needs reading or drafting.
How does app development fit with integrations and websites?
An app, an integration and a website are three views of the same client data. The integrations work moves data between systems, the app gives clients and staff a screen to work in, and the website is where new clients first find you. Because one team builds all three, a new enquiry reaches the portal and the practice-management system without anyone re-keying it.
What we build
Portals and tools that sit on your systems
Clients see their matter or job, sign documents and message the firm in one place, while staff keep working in the practice-management system they already use.
Deliverables
What you get
You get a working app and everything needed to run it, documented and handed over.
A written scope
The users, screens, data and systems the first version covers, agreed in writing, with anything left for later listed separately.
A clickable prototype
Your team tries the main screens before any build starts, so changes are cheap and the app matches how you work.
The app itself
A web app that works in any modern browser and on phones, designed to meet WCAG 2.2 AA, with sign-in for staff, clients or both.
Connections to your systems
Links to your practice-management, booking, accounting and Microsoft 365 systems through each vendor's API, built with our integrations work.
Access control and logging
Each user sees only what their role allows, and every sign-in, upload and change is recorded in an audit log.
Handover and documentation
A plain-English guide to what the app does, the data it holds and where it runs. Code and data ownership is set out in your proposal.
Process
How it works
Every app starts small: the smallest version that solves the real problem, built in stages you can see, then extended once people use it.
- Step 0145 minutes, free
Discovery call
We talk through the process, who uses it and which systems hold the data today.
- Step 02Agreed in writing
Scope and prototype
We check each vendor's API, write the scope and build a clickable prototype of the main screens for sign-off.
- Step 03Timeline in your proposal
Build in stages
We build and show working screens at agreed checkpoints, testing with sample data before any client data is used.
- Step 04Timeline in your proposal
Test and launch
We test access rules, accessibility and speed, pilot with a few users, then open it to everyone.
- Step 05Terms in your proposal
Run
We host, monitor and update the app, and make changes as your needs grow.
Integrations
Systems we work with
Apps sit on top of the systems your business already runs rather than replacing them. Connections between systems are built through our integrations work.
- Microsoft 365
- Microsoft Entra ID
- SharePoint
- Xero
- Xero Practice Manager
- Actionstep
- LEAP
- Clio
Security & data residency
Where your data goes, and who can see it
Client portals and internal apps hold personal and confidential information, so security is designed in from the first screen, not added at the end. Every app stores its data in fully GDPR-compliant data centres, and only the people you approve can reach it.
- Sign-in and access
- Staff sign in with your Microsoft 365 accounts where possible, clients with multi-factor authentication, and role-based access control limits what each person sees.
- Audit log
- Sign-ins, uploads, downloads and changes are recorded, so any record can be traced to a person and a time.
- Where data is stored
- App data is stored in fully GDPR-compliant data centres. Our security and data residency page explains how we protect it.
- Secure build practice
- HTTPS everywhere, security headers, dependencies kept up to date and access rules tested before every release.
- Privacy
- Apps collect only what the process needs, and the handover documentation records what personal information each app holds, where it is kept and who can see it.
Pricing
Pricing guidance
Pricing model: Quoted
Quoted per project after scoping, with the price in writing before the build starts. The price depends on the number of screens and user types, the systems the app connects to, and whether clients as well as staff will use it. Hosting and support after launch are set out separately in your proposal.
Illustrative scenario: a 30-person property law firm fields the same "where is my matter up to?" calls every day, and contracts go back and forth by email. A client portal shows each client their matter stage, read from the practice-management system, the documents waiting for their signature and secure messages from their lawyer.
Commitments
What you can hold us to
These are the working rules behind every engagement, from the first discovery call to the monthly Run service. Ask us on the call how each one works for the system you have in mind.
Scope and price in writing first
Every build is scoped and priced in writing before work starts, so there are no open-ended hours.
A person approves what agents send
Our AI agents draft; a person at your firm approves what they send. The After-hours Receptionist answers live only from wording your firm approves in advance.
Every agent action logged
Every action an agent takes is recorded in an audit log, so you can see exactly what it did.
GDPR-compliant data centres
Client data in the systems we build and run is stored in fully GDPR-compliant data centres.
Accessible, fast websites
Websites are designed and tested against WCAG 2.2 level AA and Google’s Core Web Vitals “good” thresholds.
Built and run under one roof
A build can move straight onto a monthly Run service with us, so it is not handed over and forgotten.
Melbourne and Victoria
Areas we serve
We are based in Melbourne and work with businesses across Melbourne, Geelong and Victoria, on site by arrangement or remotely.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Are you app developers based in Melbourne?
Yes. Pylon Digital is a Melbourne AI, app and web development company, and we work with established businesses and professional firms across Australia. We design and build each app, then can host, monitor and update it after launch, so one team stays accountable rather than a separate support provider.
Do you build mobile apps as well as web apps?
Most apps a business needs are best built as web apps: they work in any browser and on phones, need no app store and update for everyone at once. Where a native iOS or Android app is genuinely needed, for example for offline use or device features, we scope and quote it separately after the discovery call.
What is a client portal, and does our business need one?
A client portal is a secure website where clients sign in to see their matter or job, upload and sign documents and message your team. It suits businesses that answer many status calls or chase documents by email. Many practice-management and booking systems include a basic portal, so we check what yours already offers before recommending a custom build.
Should we build a custom app or buy off-the-shelf software?
Buy when a product already does the job well, because it will be cheaper to run. Build when the process is specific to your business, when products force staff into workarounds, or when you need several systems to act as one. We tell you in scoping if an existing product fits, even when that means no build.
How much does custom app development cost?
Apps are quoted per project after scoping, with the price in writing before the build starts. The price depends on the number of screens and user types, how many systems the app connects to, and whether clients as well as staff use it. Starting with a small first version keeps the initial cost down and the risk low.
Who owns and runs the app after launch?
Ownership of the code and the data is set out in your proposal before any work starts. After launch we can host, monitor and update the app on a monthly basis, so the people who built it keep it running. Every app is documented at handover, so your team knows what it does, what data it holds and where it runs.
Secure by design. Set up correctly. Fully managed.
Talk to us before you commit to anything
Start with a free 45-minute discovery call. We look at your systems and priorities, then recommend a first step with a fixed scope, or tell you if we are not the right fit.
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