Software engineering studio
Systems built on the workflow you actually run, by the engineers you meet on the first call. You own the code and the accounts.
Proof before payment
Serving businesses across North America
How it works
You see it working on your own workflow before you pay for it.
We build the first working piece on your real workflow in 10 to 14 days. You pay for it only when it passes. This is a guarantee, not a trial. The scope, price and pass criteria are agreed and signed upfront, so both sides know exactly what “done” means before any code is written.
You walk us through a process that costs your team hours. The engineers on the call are the ones who would build it, and they tell you there and then whether it's worth building.
A written proposal within 48 hours of the call. It defines what we build, what it costs, and the tests it has to pass. Both sides sign before work starts.
We build the first part of the system on your real workflow and data, with a working demo every week.
If it meets the agreed acceptance criteria, the invoice is due. If it doesn't, you owe nothing, or we re-scope it with you.
We build out the rest of the system in agreed stages, then keep it monitored, maintained and improving.
Custom vs. off the shelf
They're fine for one person's tasks. When a process touches clients, money or compliance, you need software that follows your rules, stops when data is missing, and has an engineering team accountable for it.
What we build
Each build includes tests, monitoring, written docs, and a recorded walkthrough. We use AI where it measurably beats a fixed rule, and leave it out everywhere else.
A manual process such as intake, approvals or follow-ups, replaced end to end. The system runs on its own and asks a person when a decision is needed.
Review queues, dashboards and admin panels built for your team's actual steps, instead of the ones a platform allows.
Your CRM, inbox, spreadsheets and accounting software kept in sync, with a written rule for what happens when two records disagree.
Reading documents, sorting requests and drafting replies, with structured outputs, an evaluation set and a fallback for every step.
How engagements are structured
Prices are set per project after the discovery call, and written into the signed scope.
Stage 1
The first working piece of your system, built on your real workflow in 10 to 14 days.
Stage 2
We build out the rest of the system in agreed stages, then operate and improve it.
Capability samples
Illustrative scenarios, not client case studies. Client work stays confidential. We publish named work only with written permission.
Sample I · Document operations
BeforeRequests arrive as emails and PDFs. Staff re-key the details into templates and check each other's work.
The systemEach request is parsed into structured fields and a draft is generated from your approved template. Missing facts are flagged, not guessed.
The safeguardNothing is sent until a person approves it. Every draft links back to its source email.
You ownThe pipeline, the templates, the evaluation set and the review queue.
Sample II · Systems integration
BeforeThe three systems drift apart, and someone spends a day each week reconciling them by hand.
The systemA sync service keeps records aligned and sends only true conflicts to a short review queue.
The safeguardEvery change is logged. A disputed value is never overwritten without review.
You ownThe sync service, its rules, its logs and the conflict dashboard.
Sample III · Coordination
BeforeSchedules and confirmations are spread across email, chat and a shared sheet.
The systemOne board lists every open item. It sends reminders when deadlines approach and a short summary each morning.
The safeguardThe system never confirms, cancels or reschedules on its own. A person makes each of those decisions.
You ownThe board, the reminder rules and the full history.
Our commitments
A proposal within 48 hours of the discovery call. The price changes only if you change the scope.
The proof build is invoiced only after it passes the criteria we both signed.
Once the work is paid for, the code sits in your repository, the services run on your accounts and the data stays in your systems. Nothing is locked to us.
A working demo every week during the build.
A person signs off wherever a mistake would cost money or a client relationship.
Every AI step has an evaluation set and a fallback. Where a fixed rule is more reliable, we use the rule.
Written docs, a runbook and a recorded walkthrough, so any qualified team could take over.
We sign an NDA on request and never show your work publicly without written permission.
Who we are
Luceat is a team of software engineers. The people on your discovery call are the people who design and build your system. There is no handoff to sales or account managers.
The team brings experience in electrical engineering and signal systems, investment and financial institutions, full-stack product engineering and production AI. In practice, we check that the numbers reconcile, and we design every system to keep running after handover.
We take a few projects at a time, so the same people stay on it from the first call through launch.
Fit
No. Before we start, we both sign a scope with a fixed price and specific acceptance criteria. If the build meets those criteria, the invoice is due. The only case where you pay nothing is when we don't deliver what we signed up to deliver.
The written acceptance criteria do. We draft them with you during scoping, in plain language, and test against your own cases, such as past requests, real records or sample documents you pick. If a criterion is ambiguous, we fix the wording before signing, not after building.
You owe nothing for the proof build. You can stop there, or ask us to re-scope with criteria we're both confident in.
Each proof build has a fixed price, set after the discovery call and written into the scope you sign. The retainer that follows is a fixed monthly amount, also agreed in writing. We don't bill hourly.
The proof build delivers one working piece. Most systems need several more stages, plus monitoring and changes as your process evolves. The retainer covers that with a dedicated engineering lead, agreed response times and a monthly review, instead of a new negotiation for every change.
Yes. Once you've paid for an accepted proof build, the code, documentation and accounts are yours to keep, run or hand to another team.
For simple tasks, you should, and we'll say so on the call. Custom software makes sense when a process needs your specific rules, has to handle missing or conflicting data safely, and touches clients, money or compliance.
No. We're a team of software engineers. AI is one component we use when it measurably beats a fixed rule. Many of the systems we recommend use no AI at all.
Usually. Most of our work connects existing CRMs, inboxes, spreadsheets, accounting and document systems. We confirm access and APIs during scoping, before anything is signed.
We sign an NDA on request, work inside your accounts wherever possible, store only the data the system needs, and never show your work publicly without written permission.
Start here
Bring one workflow that costs your team hours every week. By the end of the call, you'll know whether we'd build it, and roughly what the acceptance criteria would test.
Prefer to write first? Use the form, or email contact@luceat.dev. We reply within two working days.