BTSoftware studio · South Africa
Black Tumbler is a South African software studio that designs and builds web applications, automations and integrations, so your team spends less time on admin and more time on the work that pays.
No upfront cost. You pay once it's live and working.
From Jason Pretorius, the founder who built Valentry and CloudInsure, two live insurance software platforms.
Illustrative example. Every project is scoped to how your business actually works.
01Studio services
Re-typing data, chasing emails, juggling disconnected tools: these quietly cost time and money every week. We build focused software that fixes them, then keep it running.
Also available: technical consulting, hourly or fixed-fee.
Customer portals, admin systems, booking, inventory and reporting tools built around how your business works, not the other way round.
Take repetitive work off your team: document processing, notifications, approvals, data sync and scheduled reports.
Connect the tools you already pay for, including accounting, payments, CRMs and third-party APIs, so data moves without copy-and-paste.
Fast, accessible, responsive websites and landing pages that explain what you do and bring in enquiries.
Fixes, security updates, monitoring and steady improvements under a written support agreement, so your system keeps up as you grow.
02Work
Two insurance platforms created by Black Tumbler's founder, each handling the kind of documents, workflows and compliance demands many businesses run on.
Insurance brokerage platform
One place for a brokerage's clients, cases and documents, with renewals, compliance visibility, reporting and AI-assisted policy analysis built in.
Insurance intelligence for brokers
Policy analysis that returns clause-referenced findings, designed so a broker reviews and signs off every result.
03How we work
A discovery conversation about what's slowing you down, what it costs you today and what a good outcome looks like.
A written scope, a fixed price and a clear definition of “done”, agreed before any work starts. There's nothing to pay at this stage.
Working software at agreed milestones and a careful launch with documentation and training. You're invoiced once it's live and your team is using it.
No deposit and no upfront cost. The agreed price is invoiced once the software is delivered and working for your team. Changes to scope are agreed in writing before they are built.
04Why Black Tumbler
Black Tumbler is founder-led by Jason Pretorius. You speak directly to the engineer designing and writing your software, with no account managers in between.
We start with what the software must change in your business, then pick proven technology that fits, rather than whatever is fashionable.
Scope, cost, timeline and risks are agreed in writing up front, and you hear about progress before you have to ask.
Secure, tested and maintainable code with documentation, so the system stays an asset rather than a liability.
05Black Tumbler Labs
Alongside client work, Labs researches and develops Black Tumbler's own software. An idea only gets built once it has a real customer, a real problem and evidence that people would pay to solve it.
Validate first. Customer conversations before code.
Stay focused. One problem solved well before anything else.
Feed the studio. Reusable foundations and lessons that make client projects better.
06FAQ
A custom software developer builds tools around how your business already works: portals, internal systems, automations and integrations between the apps you use. The goal is to remove manual admin, such as re-typing data, chasing approvals and assembling reports, that off-the-shelf software doesn't handle well.
Not always. If an affordable off-the-shelf product fits how you work, use it. Custom software makes sense when you're paying for several tools that don't talk to each other, working around a product's limits or doing repetitive work by hand. We'll tell you honestly which applies before you commit.
Mostly small and medium-sized businesses that need software but don't have an in-house development team. We also help founders build an MVP, and larger organisations that need a defined project, integration or internal tool delivered.
It depends on scope, so every project gets a fixed, written quote before any work starts. Any third-party costs, such as hosting or paid services, are listed in the quote too.
No. There's no deposit and no upfront cost. You're invoiced for the agreed price once the software is delivered, meets the agreed definition of done and your team can use it. Ongoing support, if you want it, is a separate monthly agreement.
Smaller automations and websites can take a few weeks; larger applications take longer. Your quote includes a timeline with milestones so you know what is delivered when.
Ownership is set out in your contract before work starts, covering what is built specifically for you and any reusable components we bring to the project. No grey areas.
Yes. Connecting existing tools such as accounting software, payment providers, CRMs and spreadsheets is often the fastest way to remove manual work.
You can take out a maintenance agreement covering fixes, security updates, monitoring and improvements. It spells out what's included, response targets and how extra work is priced.
We use AI tools to research, build and test faster, but every line of code is reviewed by a person and we stay responsible for its correctness and security. Client data and confidential material are handled according to our agreement with you.
We design systems with South Africa's POPIA in mind, ask only for the access a project needs and agree confidentiality terms where required.
07Start a project
Describe the problem in a few sentences. We'll reply to arrange a short discovery conversation and let you know honestly whether custom software is the right fix.
