Five signs your business has outgrown spreadsheets
Spreadsheets are the right tool until the day they become the most expensive tool you own. Here is how to recognize that day.
Read moreAbout - I’m Travis Hayes. I build software around how a business actually works.
I've spent more than a decade building order management systems, billing automation, ERP and API integrations, ecommerce systems, and internal business tools.
That experience taught me to start with the workflow. I look for the places where people repeat the same task, information gets lost, or errors and delays cost the business money. Then I determine whether the right answer is an integration, a focused application, a change to an existing system, or something you can buy instead.
I started Pineflux to do that work for small businesses. I handle each project from the first conversation through launch, so the person learning how your business works is also the person designing and building the solution.
What I know well
Orders, inventory, and fulfillment. Systems that keep orders moving and give sales, operations, warehouse, and field teams the same information.
Integrations and data flow. Connections between ERP, accounting, ecommerce, CRM, inventory, and other systems that currently depend on exports or duplicate entry.
Billing and workflow automation. Tools that reduce repetitive preparation, reconciliation, reporting, and administrative work.
Internal business applications. Focused applications, dashboards, and portals for workflows packaged software does not handle well.
Existing platforms. I also customize and extend established platforms, including Shopify, BigCommerce, and WordPress. That can mean adding functionality, connecting another system, or improving a workflow without replacing the whole platform.
Travis Hayes
Founder
How I decide what to build - Custom software has to earn its cost
I look at the time a problem consumes, the errors it creates, how often it happens, and what changes as the business grows.
- Follow the recurring cost. Repeated data entry, manual reconciliation, missed handoffs, and unreliable reports are expensive because they happen again every day, week, or month.
- Use what already works. Sometimes the answer is a custom application. Sometimes two existing systems need to be connected. Sometimes a product you can buy already solves the problem.
- Start with the smallest useful change. The first scope should solve a meaningful problem without trying to rebuild the whole business at once. Results can guide what comes next.
Selected writing
Notes for business owners dealing with spreadsheets, disconnected systems, and software decisions: when to improve what you have, when to buy, and when custom work makes sense.
What a systems integration actually does
A practical explanation of what a systems integration does, when connecting business software is worth the cost, and what to ask before a project starts.
Read moreTell me what is slowing your business down
A short description of the workflow, the systems involved, and the current workaround is enough to start. I'll reply within one business day.
Based in
- Seattle, WA
Working remotely with clients
across the US