LanceTek
One-person software company · UK

Software for the work nobody wants to do.

LanceTek builds custom tools, automates repetitive admin with AI agents that ask before they act, and runs the servers underneath. One engineer, fixed prices, plain English.

Start a conversation See services and prices
  • Fixed-price quotes
  • You own the code
  • Talk to the person doing the work
DWG 01 · An enquiry, handledRev C
  1. 01

    Email arrives

    A customer asks for a price in your shared inbox.

  2. 02

    Agent reads and drafts

    Checks your stock list and prices, writes a reply in your tone.

  3. 03

    You approve

    Nothing leaves without a person saying yes. Edit, send or bin.

  4. 04

    Sent and logged

    Reply goes out; the quote is filed against the customer.

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What I do

Three things, done properly.

Most small firms don't need a platform. They need one awkward job taken off someone's desk, built so it keeps working after I've gone.

01 / Custom software

Tools shaped to how you already work

Booking systems, job trackers, customer portals, internal dashboards. Replacing the spreadsheet everyone is scared to touch.

  • A written scope before any code
  • Weekly demo on a real link
  • Full source code, in your account
  • Hand-over notes a stranger could follow
from £4,000Details
02 / Agentic automation

AI that does the admin, and asks first

Agents that read inboxes, sort documents, draft replies and update records, with a person approving anything that matters.

  • Start with one process, measured
  • Approval steps where judgement counts
  • A log of every action it takes
  • A plain off switch
from £1,800Details
03 / DevOps & self-hosting

Servers you understand and can leave

Hosting, backups, monitoring and updates, on cloud or on hardware you own. Fewer monthly subscriptions where that makes sense.

  • An audit of what you run today
  • Backups that are tested, not assumed
  • Monitoring that alerts a human
  • Documented, so anyone can take over
from £750Details
How working together goes

No surprises, in four steps.

You always know what is being built, what it costs and when you'll see it. If it stops making sense, we stop, and you keep everything so far.

  1. Week 0 · free

    A call

    Thirty minutes about the job, the people who do it now, and what “better” would look like.

  2. Within 5 working days

    A written scope

    What I'll build, what I won't, a fixed price and a date. One or two pages, no jargon.

  3. Weekly

    Build in the open

    A short demo every week on a link you can click. Changes are discussed, never sprung on you.

  4. At the end

    Hand-over

    Code, passwords, documentation and a walkthrough. Ongoing care is optional, not a trap.

What the work looks like

Plain screens. Clear decisions.

This is the shape of a typical automation: the agent does the reading and drafting, and the person stays in charge. Shown with sample data, not a client's system.

DWG 02 · Enquiry queueIllustrative screen
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  1. The queue is the product.Not a chatbot. A list of jobs, each with a status, that anyone in the office can pick up.
  2. Drafts show their working.Every draft says what it checked, so you can trust it or correct it in seconds.
  3. Approve, edit or reject.Three buttons. The agent learns nothing on its own; rules change only when you decide.
  4. Every action is logged.Who approved what, and when. Useful for audits, and for your own peace of mind.
From the Journal

The tools, and why.

Notes on the software I use to build for clients, written for the people paying for it rather than the people configuring it.

When self-hosting actually saves a small firm moneyA worked comparison of subscription and owned-hardware costs over three years.

Explainer

n8n, reviewed for people who'll never open itWhy I use it for client automations, and the two cases where I don't.

Review

Why every agent I build has an approve buttonThe design rule that keeps AI automation useful, safe and boring.

Field note

All Journal entries

Next step

Got a job that eats your week?

Tell me about it in a few lines. You'll get a reply from me within one working day, and an honest view on whether software is the answer.

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