How do you handle traceability requirements for food and agricultural products?
We treat it as a workflow problem first. Lot tracking captures receiving, processing, and shipping events through scanner and scale integrations, maintains the chain from source to customer, and produces documentation on demand, so a recall question gets answered in minutes. Your compliance advisors define the requirements. We build the system that produces the proof. Traceability that lives in spreadsheets tends to fail on exactly the day it matters, so make the recall query part of any vendor demo.
How long does a software rescue take?
The review phase is quick: our Discovery runs 2 to 3 weeks, with kickoff 7 to 10 business days after signing, and anything actively bleeding (crashes, data loss, exposed credentials) gets stabilized first once work begins. The modernization itself depends on how much of the system needs replacing, which is exactly what the review prices out phase by phase. Be wary of anyone promising a full rescue timeline before they've read the code, since the honest answer starts with what the review finds.
What happens in a code review of an existing product?
With read-only access to your repositories, we map the architecture, data model, test coverage, security posture, and deployment process, then report what's solid, what's fragile, and what's dangerous in plain language with a phased, line-item plan. Nothing gets changed during the review, so there's no risk to the running product. It's worth insisting on this step with any partner, because the review is where a rescue quote stops being a guess and becomes a number you can hold someone to.
How much does legacy software modernization cost?
Scoped honestly, it starts small: our $1,199 fixed-price Discovery reviews the existing code and returns line-item pricing, so you know the real number before committing to anything. From there, patch work is priced per fix, incremental modernization spreads cost across phases while the platform keeps running, and a full rebuild lands in the same ranges as new software of similar scope, typically $25k to $75k for a focused MVP-scale product. Budget 15 to 20 percent of build cost per year for maintenance afterward so the platform never needs rescuing again.
Should I patch my software or rebuild it from scratch?
Patch when the architecture is sound and the problems are local, modernize piece by piece when the core works but parts are past their support window, and rebuild only when the foundation itself (data model, test coverage, stack) fights every change. A quick gut check: walk the system and count what you'd keep. Keeping most of it points to a patch, keeping only the data and the lessons points to a rebuild. Ask any partner you're evaluating to show you that keep list before they quote either path.
What is a software rescue?
A software rescue is taking a system you can no longer move forward (a stalled build, an aging platform, a codebase nobody on your team understands) and getting it back under control through a code review, stabilization, and a deliberate plan to patch, modernize, or rebuild. It rarely means throwing everything away. The existing system is the most accurate requirements document you'll ever have, so a good rescue starts by reading it, and any partner who quotes a rescue without reviewing the code first is guessing with your money.
How much does it cost to build custom software around an ERP?
Custom projects at Iron Forge start at $25,000, and a focused first build typically runs $25,000 to $75,000 depending on scope and the depth of the ERP integration. Plan on roughly 15 to 20% of the build cost per year in maintenance to keep integrations healthy as the ERP and your product evolve. Before you commit, a fixed price discovery engagement defines the scope and produces line-item pricing and a timeline, so you're deciding with a real number instead of a range.
What is a hybrid ERP and custom software approach?
A hybrid approach keeps a commercial ERP as the system of record for finance, inventory, and orders, then adds custom software on top for the workflows that set you apart, connected through the ERP's APIs. Think of a customer portal reading live order data, a field app writing back to inventory, or a quoting tool built around your pricing logic. You avoid rebuilding solved problems like accounting, and you avoid bending the ERP into shapes it was never meant to hold. For most growing companies this is where the decision lands.
When should you replace an ERP instead of building around it?
Replace an ERP only when it's failing at its own job as the system of record: the vendor has sunset the product, the version you're on can't be safely upgraded, or the financial and inventory data can no longer be trusted. If the ERP still keeps accurate books, build around it instead. A custom layer connected by API ships one workflow at a time, keeps the business running while it does, and costs far less than a rip-and-replace project that freezes everything else while it's underway.
What's the difference between an ERP and custom software?
An ERP is a suite of standardized modules you buy, built for the back-office problems every company shares: accounting, inventory, purchasing, payroll. Custom software is built around your specific workflows and becomes an asset you own. The practical difference is fit. An ERP asks your team to adopt its processes, while custom software adopts yours. Sort your workflows by which ones would suffer from standardized handling: the commodity ones belong in an ERP, and the ones that win you customers usually justify a custom build.
What does it take to scale a pilot into a production system?
More than most pilots are built to survive. Turning a proof of concept into something the wider business runs on means hardening it for real usage, meeting the security and data standards a central IT team will accept, and documenting it well enough to hand over. This is the gap where most corporate innovation dies, because a demo that works is not a system anyone can adopt, and it's exactly the work we specialize in.
How do you keep executives and stakeholders aligned during a build?
With short feedback loops and progress an executive can actually read. Corporate innovation teams answer to sponsors, dual reporting lines, and shifting priorities, so we work in a cadence that produces working software rather than status decks, and we keep useful work moving when an approval stretches out or a sponsor changes direction. A partner who has only worked with founders will build you something good and then be surprised when it stalls in your process.
How do you get onboarded through enterprise procurement?
We've been through it before, which is usually the difference between weeks and months. That means signing your master services agreement, carrying the insurance your legal team requires, completing vendor risk questionnaires, and working inside your change control and approval gates without needing to be walked through each step. Ask any partner whether they've been onboarded as an enterprise vendor before, because if procurement is new to them, that learning curve becomes your delay.
Can you work with our SSO and identity provider?
Yes. New applications should authenticate through your existing single sign-on rather than standing up a separate login for your IT team to govern. We work with standard enterprise identity providers and SSO protocols, and we scope authentication during planning so access, roles, and permissions are settled before development starts instead of being retrofitted later.
How does a development agency get through our InfoSec and vendor security review?
By expecting it and preparing for it, rather than treating it as red tape at the end. A partner who has been through enterprise reviews before can answer a vendor security assessment directly, produce what reviewers actually ask for (data flow diagrams, access controls, audit logging, evidence of secure development practices), and support a penetration test near the end. Watch how a firm reacts when you first raise security. The ones who have done this can tell you what your reviewers will flag before you ask.
How is enterprise web development different from building a startup MVP?
The engineering is similar; everything around it is not. An enterprise build has to authenticate against your identity provider, connect to systems of record that predate the project, pass an InfoSec review, and clear procurement, none of which a startup MVP faces. Budget for that surrounding work from the start, because it usually determines the timeline more than the code itself does.
Can the software integrate with the systems we already use?
Yes — custom software's biggest advantage is fitting into your existing stack. We integrate with enterprise systems, payment and accounting tools, and custom APIs as part of the build.
Do you build internal business tools as well as customer-facing products?
Yes — we build both, from operations and automation tools that save internal time to revenue-generating products your customers use. Many clients start with one and expand to the other.
Can you integrate with our existing systems?
Yes — we routinely integrate with platforms like SAP, Shopify, WooCommerce, Oracle NetSuite, QuickBooks, and DocuSign, as well as custom and third-party APIs. Integrations are scoped during planning so there are no surprises mid-build.
