Custom software development, Sydney
Custom software from a Sydney studio that builds its own products too
Most software agencies have only ever built other people's products. We run four of our own, with our own money on the line, and we take on a small number of client builds a year alongside them. That changes how we work: we scope like it's our budget, we build with AI agents inside a reviewed process because that's how we ship our own products every week, and we tell you when the right project is smaller than the one you asked for.
Based in Sydney. Clients in Australia and the United States.
Let’s TalkWhy work with a product studio
We build our own products
Handl, Mortar, Arbeo and TaliCMS are ours. Every engagement gets the same product thinking: discovery before code, honest scoping, and a build that holds up after launch because we know what it costs when it doesn't.
AI-assisted, properly
AI agents do a large share of the building. Every change starts as a written spec, passes tests in CI, is reviewed by a different model from the one that wrote it, and a person decides what ships. Faster than a conventional build, without the "it seemed to work" risk.
A straight answer on cost
AI made writing code cheaper. It didn't make discovery, product decisions, review, integrations or data migration cheaper, and those are most of a real project. We'll tell you where your budget actually goes before you commit it.
What we build
- SaaS products — from validated idea to launch, including billing, multi-tenant data and the AI features your customers now expect
- Internal tools and platforms — the system your business runs on when off-the-shelf software has stopped fitting
- Marketplaces and portals — two-sided platforms, customer portals, member platforms
- Integrations — accounting (Xero, QuickBooks), payments, CRMs, industry data feeds, single sign-on
- Replatforming — moving a product or site off WordPress, a legacy stack or an agency build, with the data and the search rankings intact
- AI inside your product — assistants, agents and connectors so your customers' AI tools can work with your software, built with permissions and approvals from the start
Work we've delivered
Real Estate Jobs Australia
A two-sided job marketplace for the Australian real estate industry: AI-assisted job ads, candidate matching, a compliance Career Passport, employer pipeline and pay-on-publish billing. Designed and built end to end.
Our WorkRealworks (REIQ)
The web presence for the Real Estate Institute of Queensland's document and e-signing platform, built so the institute's own team can run it.
Our WorkHandl
Our own AI-native financial ops product for agencies: invoicing, payments, multi-currency reporting, and a connector so an agency's AI assistant can work with its live data. Built and run by the same team you'd work with.
Our WorkWho We Work With
- Founders with a validated idea who need a technical partner, not a quote for the biggest possible version
- Australian businesses whose operations have outgrown spreadsheets and off-the-shelf tools
- Teams with an existing product that needs replatforming, an integration, or AI features that work with the tools their customers already use
- Organisations that want a small senior team and a clear process, not an agency account manager
Our Method
How We Work
- Discovery first. Your users, your data, your assumptions. We'd rather find out the scope is smaller now than after the build.
- Written specs, fixed scope or time and materials. You get the spec before the quote, and a clear way changes are handled.
- Build, review, launch, then after. AI agents build; two models review; you decide what ships. Launch is a separate day from deploy, and we plan the handover from the start.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does custom software development cost in Sydney?
Less for the code than it did two years ago, and about the same for everything else. Implementation of well-specified work is now the cheapest part of a build. Discovery, product decisions, specs, review, integrations and data migration cost what they always have, and they're most of a real project. Where the money actually goes and what it costs to hire a studio.
Do you work with clients outside Sydney?
Yes. We're based in Sydney and most of our client work is in Australia and the United States. Discovery and reviews run remotely; written specs and a shared ticket board mean nothing depends on being in the same room.
Do you build with AI?
Yes, inside an engineering process. AI agents build against written specs, tests run in CI, every change is reviewed by a different model from the one that wrote it, and a person decides what ships. We've written up how that works and why it matters for anything that handles money.
Fixed price or time and materials?
Either, depending on how well the scope is known. Fixed scope when discovery has pinned it down; time and materials when it hasn't and you'd rather not pay for our uncertainty. How we handle both.
Why a product studio rather than an agency?
Because we've paid for our own mistakes. We know what a vague spec costs, what an unreviewed money feature costs, and what it's like to run software after launch. That's the judgement you're hiring.
Our Products
From Ideas to Market-Ready SaaS
We don’t just write code — we build software businesses. Each of our products solves a defined problem and is supported by our design, AI, and GTM expertise.
Handl Billing
Your AI Billing Partner for Digital Agencies
60%fewer payment disputes via client transparency
Arbeo Jobs
Applicant Tracking Without the Complexity
Sharper candidate matches, less screening
TaliCMS
A CMS built for U.S. real estate associations.
Content updates without a developer
Mortar Design
The Visual Workspace for Interior Designers
Projects that stay on track
Insights
Learn From How We Build
We document what we learn as we design, launch, and grow products. Explore insights on AI in software development, lean product design, and GTM strategies.
Let’s Work Together
Dazlab is a Product Studio
Our products come first. Consulting comes second. Whichever path you take, you’ll see how a small team can deliver outsized results.