E-commerce & Retail software development
Online stores and retail software built to sell more and run smoother.
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Tell us about your e-commerce & retail project. We reply within two hours.
The challenge
Retailers lose sales to slow, clunky checkouts and lose hours to inventory and orders spread across disconnected tools.
We build online stores, custom checkouts, inventory tools, and retail dashboards that convert visitors into customers and keep the back office running. From a first store to a large catalog, we build for growth.
Who this e-commerce & retail software development page is for
This page is for retailers and brands in Canada that have outgrown a basic store setup: several locations or warehouses, a POS and an online store that disagree on stock, wholesale and retail channels, or an inventory management software need that no plan on the market matches. It is also for founders launching a store that needs custom logic from day one.
Systems e-commerce & retail businesses already run, and what we connect to
Custom software rarely starts from nothing. These are the systems we usually find in place, and the integration approach we take with each.
- Storefront platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce, extended by app or API rather than replaced
- POS systems (Square, Lightspeed, Clover and others) for in-store sales and stock
- Accounting platforms for sales, tax and cost of goods
- Shipping and fulfilment services, including 3PL warehouses
- Marketplaces and wholesale channels with their own order feeds
- Email and SMS marketing tools that need clean customer and order data
Build, buy or connect: what usually makes sense in e-commerce & retail
We recommend off-the-shelf software whenever it fits. Custom development earns its cost only where the row says so.
| Need | Off-the-shelf | Custom build |
|---|---|---|
| Storefront and checkout | Buy. A hosted platform with a good theme beats a custom cart for most stores. | Build when the buying flow itself is unusual: configurators, quotes, B2B pricing tiers, subscriptions with complex rules. |
| Cloud based inventory management software across stores and warehouses | Works if your locations, units and kits fit the vendor model. | Build when you have kits, bundles, multiple units of measure, consignment or serial tracking the vendor cannot represent. |
| Order routing and fulfilment rules | Basic rules exist in most platforms. | Build when orders must split by warehouse, stock, carrier or customer type. |
| Reporting across channels | Each channel reports on itself. | Build a single dashboard that pulls every channel into one view of margin and stock. |
What a first release usually includes
We scope a first release that a real team can use within weeks, then add phases. For e-commerce & retail projects that first release typically contains:
- One inventory record per SKU with live counts across store, warehouse and online
- Sync of stock and orders between POS, storefront and accounting
- Low-stock and reorder alerts with supplier lead times
- A back-office view of orders by channel and status
- Barcode scanning on a phone for receiving and counts
What drives the cost
We do not publish prices because these drivers change the number more than anything else. Your quote is fixed-scope and written after discovery.
- Number of channels and systems to keep in sync, and how good their APIs are
- Catalog complexity: variants, kits, bundles, units of measure, serials
- Whether you need B2B features such as price lists, net terms and approval flows
- Data cleanup before launch, which is often the biggest hidden cost
- Peak-season load and how much reliability testing that demands
Timelines for e-commerce & retail software, and what moves them
Ranges below are typical for the scope described on this page. They are not a promise for your project; the right-hand column is what makes a project land at the short or long end.
| Phase | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery and data audit | 1 to 3 weeks | How clean the current product and stock data is |
| First release (inventory sync, alerts, dashboard) | 6 to 12 weeks | Number of channels and catalog complexity |
| Custom storefront or B2B portal | 8 to 14 weeks | Design depth, pricing rules and payment flows |
Privacy and compliance in Canada
- Customer data is covered by PIPEDA or the provincial private-sector law. Quebec Law 25 also requires that a site serving Quebec customers offer privacy-respecting defaults and clear consent for tracking.
- Card data stays with your payment processor; keep your own servers out of PCI DSS scope.
- Marketing email and SMS must follow CASL, with consent records and unsubscribe handling.
- Sales tax rules (GST, HST, PST, QST) differ by province and product. Use a tax service or platform rules and have your accountant confirm. Confirm with counsel where needed.
This is general information, not legal advice. Laws and regulator guidance change; confirm your obligations with counsel and your regulator before launch.
Common mistakes we help you avoid
- Letting two systems both own stock counts, so neither is trusted
- Migrating a messy catalog as-is and then paying to fix it in the new system
- Replacing a hosted storefront with a custom cart to solve a problem an app or integration could have fixed
- Ignoring returns and exchanges in the inventory design
Illustrative example
Illustrative example, not a client story: a retailer with two stores, a warehouse and an online shop sells the same item twice because the POS and the storefront do not share counts. A custom inventory hub becomes the single stock record, syncs to the POS and storefront every few minutes, and alerts a buyer when a SKU drops below its reorder point. Counts are done on a phone with a barcode scanner instead of a clipboard.
E-commerce & Retail software we build
How we build e-commerce & retail software
A simple, transparent process from first call to long after launch.
Free quote & plan
Tell us your idea. We reply within two hours with a clear, fixed-scope quote and a plan, at no cost and no obligation.
Design & build
A senior team designs and builds your product in focused phases, with regular updates so you always know where things stand.
Launch & grow
We launch, hand over code you own, and stay on to improve it as your business grows. We are in it for the long term.
Common e-commerce & retail software questions
Do you build inventory management software for small business?
Yes. For a single store an existing app is usually enough, and we will tell you so. Custom work makes sense once you have several locations, kits or bundles, wholesale customers, or systems that need to stay in sync.
Can the inventory system be cloud based and work on phones?
Yes. We build web-based systems hosted in Canada that run in any browser, with a phone-friendly interface for scanning, receiving and counts.
Should we replace Shopify or WooCommerce?
Usually not. Most needs are met by extending the platform with a custom app or integration. We recommend a custom storefront only when the buying flow itself cannot be built on the platform.
Do I own the software?
Yes. Everything we build is yours, documented and handed over with no lock-in. You receive the source code, the infrastructure setup and the documentation.
How do you quote?
After a short discovery we send a written, fixed-scope quote for the first release. Later phases are quoted separately so you only commit to what you need next. We do not publish prices because the drivers above change the number a lot.
Related pages
Build e-commerce & retail software that works
Tell us your idea and get a free, fixed-scope quote. It takes two minutes and there is no pressure.