BizLifeOS
Web + iPhone app
A business life OS with calendar, tasks, invoices and books. The web app is in early access; the iPhone app is built with React Native and Expo and is not in the App Store yet.
React NativeExpoSupabaseStripe
App Development
iPhone, web and desktop apps, built around how you work
We build apps for small businesses and founders: field apps your crew opens on a phone, customer-facing iPhone apps, web apps that install to the home screen, and desktop tools for the office. Style Marking is based in Central Minnesota and builds for clients across the US.
Choosing
Which kind of app do you actually need?
Most businesses asking for "an app" need one of four things. Picking the right one up front saves months and a lot of money.
1. A web app that installs to the home screen
It opens from an icon like any other app, works on iPhone and Android, and updates the moment we ship a fix, with no app store review. Our storm-day route app is built this way and lives on a phone home screen. It's the best fit for tools your own crew or office uses.
2. A native iPhone and iPad app (SwiftUI)
Best when the app has to feel at home on Apple devices or use what only native apps can: home-screen and lock-screen widgets, the Apple Watch, or tight camera and location features. Faith Line is SwiftUI and WidgetKit across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch from one codebase.
3. A cross-platform app (React Native with Expo)
One codebase for iPhone and Android when customers will download the app from the stores. The BizLifeOS mobile app is React Native with Expo on a Supabase backend, sharing its accounts and data with the web app.
4. A desktop app (Electron)
For office tools that work with local files, run without internet and keep sensitive data on the machine. Fischer Books, our bookkeeping app, is Electron with a local SQLite database and encrypted backups.
Not sure which you need? That's what the free quote call is for. We'll recommend the simplest option that does the job, even if it's the smaller build.
Proof
Apps we built for ourselves first
Honest status on every one. Nothing here is a mockup.
Faith Line
iPhone, iPad, Mac & Watch
A free Bible-verse widget app: daily verses on the home screen, lock screen and Apple Watch from one Swift codebase, with no accounts and no network needed. Not in the App Store yet.
SwiftUIWidgetKitwatchOS
Fischer Books
Mac desktop app
Our own bookkeeping app for three sets of books: statement import, rules-first categorizing, a watched receipts folder, encrypted nightly backups and a CPA package.
ElectronSQLiteTypeScript
Storm-day route app
Installable phone web app
Lives on a phone home screen like any app. Done and skip taps queue on the phone when signal drops and sync when it comes back, so nothing is lost mid-storm.
PWALeafletOSRMNetlify Blobs
What's Inside
What goes into a business app
The screens people see are half the work. These are the parts underneath that make an app dependable.
Sign-in and accounts
Email and password, Google or Apple sign-in, and invite-only access for staff, with password resets that work.
Per-user data rules
Database rules (row-level security on Supabase) so a customer or employee only ever sees their own records.
Works with bad signal
Actions queue on the device and sync when signal returns, so a tap in a dead zone isn't a lost record.
Payments
Stripe checkout, subscriptions and a billing portal where customers update cards without calling you.
Alerts
Push notifications, texts or emails to the right person, with a tap-to-call or a link straight to the record.
An admin side
The screens you need to fix a record, export data or see what happened, so you're never stuck waiting on a developer.
Getting an app into the App Store
An App Store app is published under your business's own Apple Developer Program membership, and every release goes through Apple's review. We prepare the builds, screenshots, privacy details and review notes, and we plan the launch date around review time rather than promising a day Apple controls.
Plenty of business apps never need the store. A home-screen web app reaches your crew the same day, updates without review, and costs less to keep running. We'll tell you which path fits during the quote.
How an app project runs
- Map the job. Who uses the app, on which devices, what they do in it, and what has to work offline.
- An early working build. You get a working first version on your own phone with test data, and we adjust it as you use it.
- Real data and launch. We move your records in, invite your users, and publish to the store if the app needs it.
- The monthly plan. Hosting, operating-system updates, fixes and the changes you ask for, covered by the services you chose.
How Pricing Works
A set build price, then a monthly plan
Every project gets a set price for the initial build, then a monthly plan for only the services you need, priced to compete with the big names. Request a free quote and you'll know the full scope and price before work starts.
The buildQuoted up front from a written scope: the screens, automations, integrations and data moves we agreed on, and what is out of scope.
The monthly planOnly the services you use, such as hosting, monitoring, backups, updates and the changes you ask for. Add or drop services as the business changes.
FAQ
Straight answers
How much does it cost to build an app?
Every project gets a set price for the initial build, then a monthly plan for only the services you need, priced to compete with the big names. Request a free quote and you'll know the full scope and price before work starts.
Two things move the build price most: how many different screens and user types the app has, and whether it has to go through the App Store.
Should my app be native or a web app?
If customers will find it in the App Store, or it needs widgets, the Apple Watch or deep phone features, go native or cross-platform. If it's for your own crew or office, an installable web app is usually the faster, simpler choice: it opens from a home-screen icon, works on iPhone and Android, and updates without a store review.
Do I need an Apple developer account?
Only for the App Store. An App Store app is published under your business's Apple Developer Program membership, which Apple bills yearly, and each release goes through Apple's review. A home-screen web app needs neither.
Can the app work without cell signal?
Yes, if we design for it. Our route app queues every tap on the phone and sends it when signal returns, and desktop apps like our bookkeeping tool keep their data on the machine. We decide what must work offline during the scope.
Can you take over an app someone else built?
Often, if we can get the source code and access to the accounts it runs on. We review it first and tell you honestly whether to keep building on it or start fresh.
Do you build Android apps?
Yes, through React Native with Expo, which shares one codebase with the iPhone version, or as an installable web app that runs on Android phones.
Related
Keep reading
Have an app idea or a tool your crew keeps asking for?
Tell us who will use it and what it needs to do. We'll recommend the simplest kind of app that fits, then send a written scope, a set build price and the monthly plan.
Prefer email? admin@stylemarking.com