Business Automation for Small Companies Across the EU
Replace spreadsheet sprawl with software that fits how you actually work
Your team rekeys the same numbers, copies data between tools and holds the process together by hand. Before we talk about what could be built, we ask the cheaper question first: is there a standard product that does the job? For trades businesses with 5 to 50 employees that product is krafteq Handwerk — bought instead of rented, with an installation of its own. Where no standard product maps the process, krafteq builds it individually: in house, at a fixed price, after a short paid analysis in which we write down the scope — not you.
Cross-platform application delivered on time and within budget. First running system in use six weeks after the first requirement.
ChallengesThe automation gap hits smaller businesses the hardest
Large enterprises staff IT departments and buy heavy systems. A business with 20 or 40 people has neither, and falls through the software industry's net. The result is a gap between how the business really works and what its tools can do — and that gap costs time every day.
-
Ten tools, and manual work in between
The customer list in a spreadsheet, quotes from a text template, timesheets on paper, receipts in an inbox. Every piece of information lives somewhere else, and the connection between them is people retyping. Duplicate entry, typos, forgotten follow-ups — and nobody can say where a case currently stands.
-
For the decisive process there is nothing off the shelf
For most tasks standard software exists, and where it fits it is the cheaper choice — we say that even when there is nothing in it for us. The pain starts where a process is so specific that no vendor maps it. Then the workarounds pile up and the system becomes more fragile rather than more stable.
-
Fear of the open invoice
A development project billed by the hour, with months of lead time and no reliable ceiling, is not an option for a business of this size. That is precisely why manual routines survive — even though everyone knows it could be better.
-
If you do not build software, you cannot order it
An unspecified project cannot be honestly fixed-priced, and writing the requirements yourself is work nobody in the business was trained for. So we move that part to us: a short, paid analysis phase that ends with a written scope and a fixed-price offer. After that you may also stop — the result stays yours.
Our ApproachTwo routes — and the cheaper one first
First we check whether a standard product does the job. For trades businesses with 5 to 50 employees there is krafteq Handwerk: bought once instead of rented monthly, a dedicated installation per business, fine-tuning after go-live included — considerably cheaper than anything built individually.
If that is not enough, we build individually — in house, with the same toolchain as the product. It starts with a short, paid analysis: krafteq writes down the scope and attaches a fixed price for the build. After that, a fixed price per milestone instead of billing by the hour.
Your data stays in Germany (EU fallback available), and the operation runs with krafteq or with you. With custom work the source code can be handed over in full — it has no reuse value for us, which makes the rule simple: whatever we build for everyone stays our product; whatever we build only for you comes with you.
ProcessFrom the first conversation to software in daily use
The path from manual routines to one system runs in four steps. The first is free, the second small and paid, and only then do you decide about the build. No jargon, no black box, no open invoice.
-
Initial conversation — free
We look at your processes and settle the most important question first: does a standard product do the job, or does this need something of its own? If a standard product is enough, we say so — even when there is less in it for us. The outcome is an honest assessment, not a presentation.
After the conversation you know which route is the more economical one for your business.
-
Analysis — short, at a fixed price
krafteq writes down what is to be built: processes, data model, interfaces, boundaries. This is the work that otherwise lands on the customer and goes wrong there. At the end you hold a written scope and a fixed-price offer for the build — both are yours, even if you stop here.
A fixed price only becomes possible once someone has written down the scope — and we take that on.
-
Build — fixed price per milestone
We build in house, with the same toolchain as our product. After every milestone you see running software rather than a status report. Data transfer from existing spreadsheets and connections to systems such as accounting or email are part of it, as is the introduction for your team.
You pay per milestone, not by the hour — and you see what for as you go.
-
Fine-tuning and operation
Whatever does not fit in daily use, we adjust — fine-tuning after go-live is included, within the agreed scope. After that the operation runs either with krafteq (servers in Germany, security updates, backups, monitoring, support) or with you. New scope gets its own offer instead of quietly growing the invoice.
A system that keeps up — without a second project and without a subscription that never ends.
ServicesWhat your business software will do
Where we build individually, the cut follows your processes. Even so, a few areas recur in almost every business — that is the foundation we start from instead of beginning at zero.
Run jobs and projects
From enquiry to invoice in one system. No retyping between email, spreadsheet and accounting. The state of a case lives in one place — for you and for your team.
Keep customer data in one place
A single source for contacts, correspondence and case history. No more scattered information across email folders and spreadsheets.
Generate documents automatically
Quotes, invoices, reports and contracts at the press of a button. Templates with your branding, filled automatically with the right data. Minutes instead of hours.
Automate routines
Recurring tasks such as reminders, status notifications, approvals and order suggestions run by themselves. Your people work on what earns money.
Connect existing systems
Connections to your accounting, your email system, payment providers and industry tools — provided the vendor offers an open interface. Where that is not the case, we say so beforehand.
Add AI capabilities
Classify documents, draft text, search better — as an addition, when it pays for itself. Not an end in itself, but manual work saved.
Use it on the move and on site
A web application that runs on desktop, tablet and smartphone. Field work, workshop or office — the software is where the work happens.
Data protection as a first principle
GDPR-compliant from day one, servers in Germany (EU fallback available), role-based access, complete traceability, encryption in transit and at rest.
ResultsHow our clients work today
First work out what you actually need
In the free initial conversation we sort through your processes and say openly whether a standard product does the job or whether something should be built. For trades businesses with 5 to 50 employees there is already an answer.
- Free initial consultation
- Fixed price
- No obligation
Automation without the subscription treadmill
For small companies outside Germany, the decisive question around automation is rarely headcount — it is control. Hosting with European providers in Germany, with an EU fallback and a documented processor chain, means you can verify where your operational data sits, and with custom work the source code can be handed over in full, so there is no subscription that can be repriced overnight and no vendor that can hold your processes hostage. Automation you commissioned should stay with you, not become another line item that grows every year.
Automation also rarely lives on its own. When the underlying platform should be built as a proper product rather than a throwaway script, our custom business software service covers the full build end to end. Where the largest time savings come from language and paperwork, AI automation layers document classification and drafting on top of the processes we ship. And if keeping that entire stack under European control is the priority, our work on digital sovereignty sets out how we keep data, hosting and code inside the EU from the first day.
Business Automation for Small Companies Across the EU — let's tackle it
Let us discuss how we can solve this challenge for your organization.
“Custom software used to be something only large enterprises could afford — that has changed, because our toolchain brings the cost down. Even so, we ask first whether a standard product is enough: it is cheaper for the business, and we say so even when we earn less from it. And where we do build individually, we write down the scope before anyone names a price.”
