Bespoke software for UK businesses

The software your business actually runs on.

Most business software is unglamorous, and most of it doesn’t quite work. This is the kind we build: dashboards that replace spreadsheets, booking systems that stop double-bookings, websites that actually load.

This site covers the work, the pricing, the studio and how to get in touch — browse it in whatever order suits you, and you’ll know whether we’re the right fit.

See what we’ve built →Get in touch

£0

Unquoted extras

Fixed

Price, agreed before we start

Plain English

No techy talk

Where to start

no set order — jump to what matters

Live ProjectsTwo of the four things here are real systems in daily use — an internal operations dashboard built for Meridian1st, and labscloud.uk, which is one of ours and therefore open all the way down. The other two are demos you can click around yourself; nothing you do to them is saved.You’ll knowWhether we build things people actually use, not just look at.Read more →

What we buildThe typical seven kinds of job I offer, in two groups: the things we build to a fixed scope, and the things we look after once they're running. Every build is quoted as a single fixed price for finished, working software — agreed in writing before any work begins, and paid in three stages as the project progresses. If anything changes the scope, you'll hear about it and agree a new figure before it's actioned, never after.You’ll knowWhether the thing you need is something we actually do.Read more →Notes from the studioNotes on bespoke software, dashboards, automation and running a one-person studio for UK businesses. Written when there's something worth saying rather than to a content schedule — what a real job actually involved, why a decision went the way it did, and plain-English answers to the questions clients keep asking before they commit to anything.You’ll knowHow we think about the work, before it costs you anything to find out.Read more →Start hereGet in touch and tell us what you're trying to achieve. From there: a short call — 15 to 30 minutes, video or phone — to talk through the project, followed by a fixed quote in writing and a clear plan for the first few weeks. No obligation to proceed.You’ll knowExactly what happens after you press send.Read more →

A word from

Harry

Founder & CEO

HORATIODigital Studio · Leeds

Every business runs differently, but most software is still built to run the same for everyone. Off-the-shelf tools make your business bend to fit them — I build it the other way round.

I started Horatio Digital Studio because I believe every business deserves software shaped around how it actually works, not sold a platform and told to work around the gaps. That’s bespoke software that adds real value from day one, built by the person who’ll still be there when you need it changed.

A taste of the studio

There is no account manager. There’s a direct line to the man who builds it.

I am a software engineer based in Yorkshire. You brief us, I build it, and I am the one who answers the phone if there's an issue. The blog is where I write that sort of thing down properly — how jobs actually run, and why.

Read the blog →