Simple CRM for a local service business
Track leads, customers, quotes, follow-ups, job status, notes, and next actions in one clean app.
See CRM & Client PortalsDiscuss a Similar ProjectBased in BC · Serving Fraser Valley & Metro Vancouver
Custom CRMs and business apps for BC, built around how you actually work.
Plainwork Studio builds custom CRMs, client portals, and business apps for small businesses across Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver - software you own, with no monthly per-seat fees.
Built around your workflow, not around generic templates.
(778) 957-4711Call, text, or WhatsApp
Job tracker12 open
JOB-1042Site visit · Burnaby
In progressJOB-1041Quote · Northshore
SentJOB-1040Invoice · Acme Ltd
PaidInternal tool
Tue, May 123 booked
9:00Sarah K.
10:30,
1:00M. Tran
3:30J. Patel
Booking
SK
Sarah K.
Catering · Lead
sarah@…
604 555…
Follow up Tue
CRM
Revenue18%
$48.2k
Dashboard
Form sent
Auto-reply
Added to CRM
Workflow
Sound familiar?
Work gets messy when the tools do not fit the business.
Many businesses run on spreadsheets, notes, email threads, manual follow-ups, and tools that almost-but-don't-quite fit. That works for a while, until customer requests get missed, staff lose track of work, and the owner has no clear view of what is happening.
Scattered customer information
Customer details live in inboxes, phones, sticky notes, and spreadsheets. Nobody has the full picture in one place.
Manual booking and follow-ups
Appointments and quote follow-ups still happen by phone tag and email threads. Things slip, and customers notice.
Tools that almost fit
You're paying monthly for software that almost matches your workflow but forces awkward workarounds in the parts that matter most.
Too many spreadsheets
The 'system' is a tangle of shared sheets that breaks every other week, and only one person really understands it.
No clear dashboard
You can't see how the week or month is going without exporting things and stitching them together by hand.
Staff workflow confusion
Different people use different tools and notebooks. Onboarding a new hire takes weeks because nothing is written down.
Repetitive admin eating the week
Hours every week disappear into copy-paste, follow-up emails, file routing, and updates that should run themselves.
Unclear customer status
Clients keep emailing 'where are we at?' because there's no shared place to see where their job actually stands.
What we can build
Examples of what we can build
Example concepts, not completed client work. Each one links to the service page where we cover that kind of project in more depth.
Matter management app for a law firm
Intake, matters, deadlines, document storage, secure client messaging, and a clean staff workspace.
See Custom Business AppsDiscuss a Similar Project
Client portal for a professional office
Allow clients to submit requests, upload documents, check status, and communicate through a structured workflow.
See CRM & Client PortalsDiscuss a Similar Project
Repair shop intake and status app
Customer intake forms, job tickets, technician notes, quote approvals, and customer status updates.
See Custom Business AppsDiscuss a Similar Project
Personal scheduler for a consultant
Manage appointments, tasks, reminders, client notes, and follow-ups in one private workspace.
See Booking & SchedulingDiscuss a Similar Project
Inventory and order dashboard
A focused app for tracking products, reorder points, suppliers, and order status across one or many locations.
See Dashboards & ReportingDiscuss a Similar ProjectStart small
You don't need a big software project.
The most useful business tools we build usually start as one small thing. One form. One dashboard. One workflow. One portal. One tracker. Fix the most painful part first, then add to it once it's earning its keep.
One form
A single intake or quote-request form that lands somewhere your team will actually see.
One dashboard
A clean view of this week's jobs, bookings, or leads, without exporting a spreadsheet.
One workflow
Automate a single hand-off, new lead, finished job, paid invoice, that keeps getting dropped.
One customer portal
A private link where a client can check status, upload documents, or approve a quote.
One internal tracker
Replace the messy shared spreadsheet your team already lives in with a tool that fits.
How we work
A simple process from idea to working tool.
- 1
Discovery
We learn what problem you are trying to solve, who will use the app, and what the current workflow looks like.
- 2
Plan
We map the screens, data, user roles, and main features needed for the first version of the app.
- 3
Build
We build the app using a fast, modern development workflow with human review and testing at every step.
- 4
Review
You test the app with real data. We refine the layout, wording, forms, workflow, and user experience.
- 5
Launch & Improve
We help launch the app, then improve it based on how your team and customers actually use it.
About
A practical software studio, not a big agency.
We work directly with the owner or operator. No account managers, no hand-offs, no months-long discovery phase. The goal on every project is the same, give your team a tool that's clearly better than what they're using today, and ship it fast enough that you actually see the difference.
FAQ
Common questions
Own vs rent
Why not just buy Salesforce or HubSpot?
Off-the-shelf CRM platforms work for some businesses. For a small BC operation, they often rent you features you'll never use, on a bill that grows every quarter. A custom-built CRM flips that math.
Off-the-shelf CRM
Rented
- Monthly per-seat fees, forever - the bill grows every time you hire
- Features you don't use, configured around someone else's process
- Your workflow bends to fit the tool
- Your data lives on a vendor's platform
Plainwork
Owned
- Built once around your real process, then it's yours
- Only the features you actually use, nothing more
- The tool fits your workflow, not the other way around
- You own the code, the database, and the data
Tell us what you want to fix, build, or improve.
One short call. We'll listen, ask a few questions, and tell you whether it's a one-week tweak, a small first version, or a bigger project worth planning properly.