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How much are workarounds and inefficiencies costing you?We stop the bleeding.

This sound like you? ↓
TL;DR 30 sec

Custom software for shops, suppliers and production businesses that have outgrown the spreadsheet, the old program that only runs on one aging computer, and the subscription software they are tired of renting.

  1. 01we build the tool

    The daily hand-work

    We find the work your people do by hand that software should be doing — retyping, copying between systems, chasing the binder — and we build the tool that does it.

  2. 02you own it

    The aging computer

    We get you off the old computer in the corner that’s on its last legs — software you can't upgrade and subscriptions you don't control. Your data, your code, on your own hardware if you want it there.

  3. 03priced up front

    One improvement

    We start with one improvement, priced up front, with a plain way to tell whether it paid for itself.

Built for parts suppliers, fabricators, machine shops, warehouses and job shops. Southern California — on-site when it helps.

Pick the shop that looks most like yours

    Hours of hand work back / yr
    0hrs
    Estimated dollars back / yr
    $0
    Single points of failure retired
    0
    Before how it runs today
      After one improvement at a time

        We are not a line item. We're the thing that removes one.

        Every project we take on has to answer one question before anything is built: what does this cost you now, and what will it cost after? If we can't show the second number is smaller — in hours, in fees, in risk — we'll tell you, and we'll tell you what to do instead.

        That's why we don't start with a replacement program for your whole business. We start with the one task that keeps making someone say "there has to be a better way to do this." One improvement, scoped and priced, with the before-measurement written down so we can both see whether it worked.

        We also build and sell our own software — the programs on our homepage are ours, finished, and running on other people's machines today. We know what it takes to ship something people rely on.

        • 01

          You know the price before we build. One clearly defined piece of work, costed, with its dependencies stated.

        • 02

          You know how we'll measure it. Minutes per quote, days of stock-out, dollars per month — agreed up front, checked after.

        • 03

          You keep what we make. Custom code, your data, documentation and a handover plan, on terms agreed before we start.

        • 04

          You're not locked in. Ongoing support is available and optional. If you'd rather run it yourself, we hand you the keys.

        Death by a million papercuts

        Nobody writes a check for retyping. That's why it never shows up as a line item — and why it's usually the cheapest thing to fix. Move the sliders to your shop.

        Example figures — yours will differ
        2
        40
        38
        340
        ESTIMATED COST PER YEAR
        $16,700/ yr
        Hours of hand work per year
        333 hrs
        Cost of that time
        $12,667
        Subscriptions, annualised
        $4,080
        Working days assumed
        250
        This counts only the time and the fees. It doesn't count the typo that ships the wrong part, the rush freight, the day the old computer doesn't boot, or the customer who didn't call back. Bring your real numbers to the fit call and we'll do this properly.

        Three ways we help. Pick the one that hurts.

        Most shops have all three. We start with whichever one is costing you the most this quarter.

        "We type the same thing into three places."

        Connect what's disconnected

        Quoting, job tracking, inventory, purchasing, scheduling, reporting — built around the way your team already works, and built to hand off to each other. An approved quote becomes a job. A received PO updates the shelf. Nobody retypes.

        Where it earns its place, we bring it to the point of work: barcode scanners, label printers, a tablet on the rack.

        What you get backThe hours. Fewer wrong parts. A straight answer when a customer calls.
        "If that machine dies, we're in trouble."

        Stop waiting for the other shoe to drop

        A working program shouldn't become a liability because its vendor disappeared or its operating system is fifteen years old. Right now that computer is a single point of failure for your whole operation — and everyone knows it. We assess the legacy program, migrate the data we can reach, and rebuild the workflows that matter on supported hardware, with a staged transition and a way back if something's off.

        Feasibility depends on what data, access and rights exist. We tell you which before you spend anything.

        What you get backA business that doesn't hinge on one aging PC. Security updates you can actually install. Sleep.
        "We pay $340 a month for one report."

        Own it instead of renting it

        If you pay recurring fees for software and use a sliver of it, a custom internal tool is often the better long-term fit. We build around the functions you actually use, and structure the project so you own the code, the data and the documentation.

        Where it matters, it runs on your own workstations or server — including private AI that searches your manuals and pulls data off forms without sending anything outside the building.

        What you get backThe subscription. Your data in your hands. No surprise redesigns or price hikes.

        How it starts

        You don't need to replace everything at once. You need one thing to get better, and proof that it did.

        0115 minutes

        A conversation

        Show us the outdated program, the repetitive process, the disconnected system or the recurring fee. We'll tell you whether it's a fit.

        02scoped

        A focused review

        Where it fits, a paid review or small pilot: we watch the work happen, measure it, and find the practical improvement.

        03one thing

        One clear improvement

        A proposal for one defined piece of work — price, dependencies and the way we'll measure success — before anything is built.

        04handover

        Yours to keep

        Training, documentation, data exports and a handover plan. Support if you want it, independence if you don't.

        Start with the task that keeps making you think "there has to be a better way."

        Fifteen minutes. What the task is, what it costs you now, and whether there's a practical next step. No pitch deck.

        hello@ctrlcolab.com
        Southern California · on-site in the industrial parks we're near

        A sentence or two is plenty — no confidential details yet; we'll agree how to handle those before you send them.

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