Software that takes the busywork off your desk.

Built by one engineer you can actually talk to. LanceTek builds custom tools, careful AI automations and dependable self-hosted systems for small businesses. You deal with the person who writes the code, from the first call to the handover.

Describe your problem See services and prices

Taking on new projects. First conversation is free and comes with no pitch.

invoice-intake / flow.svg
Example automation flow Supplier invoices arrive by email. An AI step reads them and extracts the supplier, amount and due date. Anything uncertain goes to a person to check. Approved invoices are posted to the accounts system and logged. Shared inbox accounts@ AI read step extract + score Confident? ≥ threshold yes Draft in accounts no Person checks it approved every step logged · nothing is paid automatically Example automation flow: inbox, AI read step, confidence check, then either a draft in accounts or a person checks it first. Shared inbox accounts@ AI read step extract + score Confident? ≥ threshold yes no Draft in accounts Person checks it approved every step logged nothing is paid automatically
Illustrative example: the shape of a typical invoice-intake automation.

Three kinds of work, and the support to keep them running.

Most projects mix more than one. Each comes with a written scope and a fixed or capped price before any work starts.

Custom software

Internal tools, customer portals and the small web apps that replace a fragile spreadsheet. Built to be maintained by someone other than me.

from £3,500

AI automation

Agents that read, sort and draft the repetitive work: emails, documents, data entry. A person stays in charge of anything that matters.

from £1,800

DevOps & self-hosting

Servers, backups, deployment and monitoring, in the cloud or on a box in your office. Your data, on systems you own and understand.

from £1,200

Ongoing care

Updates, backup checks, monitoring and a set number of hours each month for small changes. Cancel with a month's notice.

from £180 / month

What each service includes, and how the prices are worked out →

Small steps, written down, with a price you agree before anything is built.

  1. A plain conversation

    Thirty to forty-five minutes on a call. You explain what is slow, risky or annoying; I ask a lot of questions.

    free · week 1

  2. A written proposal

    What I would build, what I would not, the risks, and a fixed or capped price. Yours to keep, even if you go elsewhere.

    within 5 working days

  3. Build in short rounds

    Working software every week or two, on your real data where it is safe to do so. You see progress, not status reports.

    typically 2–8 weeks

  4. Handover you can live with

    Documentation in plain English, the code and passwords in your name, and optional care afterwards. No lock-in.

    end of project

Proof as working artefacts, not glossy case studies.

Every project produces things you can inspect: diagrams, logs, runbooks and the code itself. Here is the kind of thing you will receive.

  • A system diagram on one page, so anyone can see where your data goes.
  • A runbook: how to restart it, restore it and who to call.
  • Logs of what any automation did and why, readable without a developer.
  • The source code, in a repository your business owns.
See the stack and the homelab
backup-drill.log
# monthly restore drill — sample output, illustrative
$ ./drill.sh --target office-nas --pick random
→ snapshot     2026-11-01 02:00
→ restoring    /shared/accounts/2026-Q3  (scratch volume)
→ verifying    checksums against source
✓ files match
✓ database dump opens, row counts match
✓ offsite copy present, encrypted
→ report sent to owner@ and logged

drill passed · next drill 2026-12-01
Illustrative example: the plain-text report a client receives after a monthly backup drill.

The tools I use, and why I would use them for you.

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