Custom Software Development in Oakland, CA
Most of the work we do in Oakland is for operators running a physical business: logistics, warehousing, a dispatch board, a clinic front desk, a crew in trucks or on a floor rather than at a desk. We build the tool that replaces the whiteboard or the paper log, and we wire your phone line, CRM, calendar and billing system into one chain so a job doesn't have to be typed into three places by hand. Pricing runs $2,500 for a single fix up to $15,000 and beyond for a ground-up platform, with the real number set in a free audit. We're based in Sacramento and come on-site by arrangement; day-to-day work happens over video and shared documents.
Software for a business that runs on a floor, not a desk
Two problems repeat across warehouses, dispatch operations and clinics in Oakland. These are the ones we hear most.
A tool for dispatch, intake or the warehouse floor
The whiteboard nobody outside the building can see, the paper intake sheet re-keyed at the end of the shift, the dispatcher's spreadsheet that only makes sense to the person who built it. We replace that with one screen built for a phone or a tablet, not a desktop-only app someone has to walk back to an office to use.
The chain from phone to CRM to calendar to billing
A call comes in, gets logged in the CRM by hand, scheduled on a separate calendar, then billed in a third system nobody synced. We build the connections between those systems so one action, a call answered or a job closed, updates everywhere it needs to without a second person retyping it.
What this costs, in three real sizes
Instead of a rate card, here are three sizes of job we actually get asked to price in Oakland.
One dispatch board, one intake form, or one integration between two systems you already run, like syncing your scheduling calendar with your billing software.
The full chain: phone system, CRM, calendar and billing wired together, or a warehouse tool with roles for drivers, dispatchers and the office, tested against a live shift before we call it finished.
A full operations platform built around your specific workflow, replacing several disconnected tools at once and delivered in milestones you can watch running on the floor.
One thing, wired end to end.
- A single integration between two systems you already pay for
- A small internal tool that retires a shared spreadsheet or whiteboard
- An intake or scheduling flow that runs without a person minding it
Several systems, one chain.
- Phone, CRM, calendar and billing wired into one path
- A dispatch or warehouse tool with roles and reporting
- Tested against a live shift, not just a demo account
A platform the operation runs on.
- An application shaped around how your operation actually runs
- Multi-system assembly with deployment, monitoring and backups
- Delivered in milestones you can see running, not one launch date
Small fixes outside a project are billed hourly at $150 to $200, and a support plan from $300 a month keeps the system running after launch instead of leaving you with a surprise bill. Full detail on every service we offer is on the pricing page; the build itself is described under custom software.
A typical job, walked through
A pattern, not a named client.
A wholesale distributor near the Port takes orders by phone, keys them into a warehouse system by hand, then re-enters the same order into a separate billing tool at the end of the day. Nothing about that setup is broken exactly, it just costs someone two hours a day and produces the occasional order that gets billed wrong because it was typed three times. The fix connects the phone intake straight to the warehouse system and the billing tool, so one entry moves through automatically and the only manual step left is the one that actually needs a human, checking a large order before it ships. That's a connected-systems job, $6,000 to $15,000, usually running six to ten weeks including testing against a real week of orders.
Who calls us in Oakland
What gets asked for depends on the industry. These four repeat the most.
Logistics & the Port of Oakland
Dispatch boards, load tracking, and integrations between a TMS, a phone line and a billing system so a container's status doesn't live only in one dispatcher's head.
Manufacturing & light industrial
Production tracking tools that replace a whiteboard, inventory counts synced between the floor and the office, and maintenance logs that survive a shift change.
Healthcare practices & clinics
Scheduling and intake tools wired to your EHR and phone system, and patient-facing portals for forms and results that cut down on front-desk calls.
Construction & trades
Job-costing tools, crew scheduling that a foreman can update from a truck, and integrations between estimating software and the accounting system.
How a project runs, in three parts
Watch the shift, then price the job
We look at how the work actually happens on a real shift, not the version written down in a manual, and come back with a written scope and one fixed price.
Build it, then test it against a live shift
The tool gets built with your accounts and your data from day one, and before we call it done, we run it against a real day on your floor, not just a demo dataset.
Hand it over, in writing
You get the code, every credential, and a written explanation any dispatcher, foreman or office manager could follow, plus an optional support plan for what comes next.
Inherited a system nobody documented
If a previous developer left behind a tool nobody can explain, or a project stalled halfway through, start with an audit of what's actually running before paying for anything new. See software project rescue.
Keeping it running after launch
A tool that breaks mid-shift costs more than the support plan that would have caught it.
Monitoring and small fixes
Uptime monitoring, minor edits, security updates, and a fast response when something breaks mid-shift. Fits a tool that's stable and doesn't change often.
Ongoing development
Everything in Care, plus new integrations as your operation adds vendors or equipment, and DevOps attention on the servers underneath.
Serving Oakland, honestly
IG Digital Lab doesn't have an office in Oakland. We work with operations across the city, the Port of Oakland corridor, Jack London Square, West Oakland's industrial blocks, downtown, from our Sacramento base, with on-site visits by arrangement for kickoff, milestone reviews and launch day.
It's about a two-hour drive, close enough that walking a warehouse floor or watching a dispatch shift in person is realistic, not just a line we say. We schedule that for discovery and milestone demos; sprint updates and day-to-day questions run over video and shared documents, the same setup we'd use for a client much farther away.
Software is one of seven things we do. For a website or customer-facing app, see web design in Oakland. For a native or cross-platform app, see mobile app development in Oakland. For AI answering calls or running a workflow rather than a tool your team uses directly, see AI automation in Oakland.
Also in Oakland
Start with a free audit
Thirty minutes on what your crew does by hand, which systems don't talk, and where the hours go on a shift. You leave with a written summary of what could be built, in what order, and a price range to plan around. The notes are yours whether or not you hire us.
How we buildFrequently asked questions
What Oakland operators ask before signing off on a build.
What does custom software cost for an Oakland operation?
One process, like a dispatch board or an intake form, runs $2,500 to $6,000. Wiring several systems on your floor together, phone lines, CRM, scheduling, billing, into one chain runs $6,000 to $15,000. A ground-up operations platform starts at $15,000. We don't quote any of it until we've watched how the work actually happens, and that audit is free.
How fast can this be running?
A single tool is typically working inside three to six weeks. A multi-system chain takes six to twelve weeks, partly because we test it against a live shift before calling it done. A full platform ships in milestones, so a piece of it is running on your floor well before the whole thing is finished.
Half our team is on the floor or in a truck, not at a desk. Does this still work for us?
That's the normal case, not the exception. Interfaces get built for a phone or a rugged tablet first, with big touch targets and a layout that survives gloves and bad lighting, and the office view is the one that gets the desktop treatment. If a dispatcher needs to see the same job a driver just closed out, that's the integration we build, not an afterthought.
What happens if one of the systems in the chain, like our phone provider or our billing software, gets replaced later?
We build the connections as separate pieces rather than one tangled script, so swapping out the phone system or the billing tool means rebuilding one link, not the whole chain. That's part of what the documentation we hand over is for: your next vendor, or your own IT person, can see exactly where each piece plugs in.
What happens to the system if we ever stop working with you?
It keeps running, because it was never set up to depend on us. The code lives in a repository your company owns, hosting runs on your own accounts, and the handover documents explain how everything fits together. A support plan is there if you want continued attention, but nothing breaks the day you decide not to renew it.
Tell us what your crew does by hand.
A free 30-minute audit, a written summary of what the software would replace, and a price range before you commit to anything. We'll come to Oakland for it if that gets you a faster answer.
Or call and text (916) 618-0502. Office at 3550 Watt Ave, Suite 408, Sacramento, CA 95821.
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