Orders retyped at every handoff
An order arrives by email, gets typed into a spreadsheet and is typed again into the accounting system. We connect those steps, or replace them with one system your dispatchers and sales team share.
Software development for Chicago businesses
Chicago software development at a fixed price, from a Toronto team
Chicago businesses that have outgrown spreadsheets, shared inboxes and tools that don't talk to each other come to Ojastra for software development they can own. We are a Toronto team working entirely remotely, and we agree one price before work starts.
Toronto is one hour ahead of Chicago, so every call lands inside your working day. You own the code from the first week, and a working demo arrives every week, so you are never asked to pay for progress you can't see.
Fixed price. You own the code. A working demo every week.
Where Chicago companies get stuck
Warehouse software that fights your process
Packaged transportation and inventory tools assume everyone runs their yard the same way. We build around your lanes, customers and paperwork instead.
Quotes that don't compare
One shop prices an app at $15,000 and another at $100,000, and neither explains the gap. Our blueprint ends in a single fixed number with the scope written down.
The Monday-morning report
A finance or operations lead merges exports for hours before every meeting. A small dashboard fed directly from your systems takes the chore away.
Systems that move freight, orders and numbers
Logistics and dispatch tools
Load boards, driver check-ins, proof-of-delivery photos and status pages for customers, shaped around how your team already moves freight.
Manufacturing and distribution back offices
Quote-to-order screens, inventory counts, supplier portals and production schedules that retire the shared spreadsheet and the whiteboard.
Finance and operations dashboards
Reports that pull from your accounting system, CRM and spreadsheets, so the numbers are ready before the meeting starts.
Mobile app development for Chicago customers
Ordering, booking and account apps for iPhone and Android, built from one codebase where that saves you money.
Integrations for QuickBooks, Shopify, Stripe and your ERP
The systems you already pay for kept in step, so each fact is entered once and shows up everywhere.
AI for repetitive inbound work
Orders keyed in from emailed PDFs, quotes drafted from your price sheet and leads answered in minutes, with a person reviewing anything that matters.
Working with a Toronto team from Chicago
Chicago is built on moving and making things. Freight runs through its rail yards, highways and O'Hare, manufacturers and distributors fill the region around it, and finance and trading firms sit downtown. Software for those businesses is mostly about handoffs: a load, an order or a trade confirmation passing from one person to the next without being retyped. That is the kind of system we like to build.
Chicago is an hour behind us, so a 10 a.m. call for you is 11 a.m. in Toronto. The weekly demo is a video call with a link you can click yourself. We are not a Chicago office and won't pretend to be. What you get is a Toronto team with native English, business and contract habits close to your own, and a build you own outright.
Our costs are in Canadian dollars, which usually works in a US client's favor, and we quote in US dollars on request. Our nearshore software development page explains how cross-border projects run day to day.
What it costs
Fixed prices in Canadian dollars. The blueprint fee is credited in full when you go ahead with the build.
| What you get | Price (CAD) | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| BlueprintWorkflow map, key screens, fixed quote and build schedule. 100% credited to the build. | $1,500 | About 1 week |
| One automation or integrationCalls answered and booked, quotes from your price sheet, orders keyed into your ERP, two tools synced. | $5K–$12K | 2–4 weeks |
| Internal tool that replaces spreadsheetsOps dashboard, job tracker, CRM, inventory or scheduling. | $12K–$40K | 4–10 weeks |
| Customer-facing web or mobile appBooking, ordering, client portal or marketplace. | $20K–$60K | 6–12 weeks |
| Care planHosting, monitoring, fixes and small changes. | From $500/month | Monthly |
Prices are shown in Canadian dollars. We will quote your project in US dollars on request, and the number stays fixed after the blueprint. See all prices.
How we work
1. Plan
A free written plan within 48 hours, then a one-week blueprint ($1,500, credited to the build) that ends in one fixed price and a schedule.
2. Build
A working link to click every week. Milestone payments, no hourly surprises. Scope changes are priced in writing before we build them.
3. Care
You own the code and accounts from day one. Optional care plan from $500 a month for hosting, fixes and small changes.
Software we built and run
pickup.kitchen
Our own live ordering and meal-plan platform for food businesses.
- Each kitchen gets its own storefront on a subdomain or custom domain
- Stripe payments and a Shopify POS integration
- Live order tracking, delivery routes and a driver app
Naina
An AI coaching app we took from idea to paid MVP.
- Upload screenshots, get a score and the top fixes
- Email one-time-code sign-in and a paid pass
- AI output checked by its own test suite
Questions owners ask us
What does custom software development cost for a Chicago business?
One automation or integration, such as turning emailed purchase orders into ERP entries, usually costs $5K–$12K CAD and takes two to four weeks. A tool that replaces a shared spreadsheet runs $12K–$40K CAD over four to ten weeks. Ask for US dollars and we restate the figure that way.
Are you a software development company in Chicago?
No. We are a Toronto company with no Chicago office or staff, and we say so up front. Chicago clients get video calls in their own time zone, a weekly demo they can click through, and the same fixed price a Toronto client would get.
Why would a Chicago company hire app developers and software developers in Canada?
Toronto keeps almost the same business day as Chicago, we work in native English, and Canadian contract and business norms will feel familiar. You also own the code and the IP, and because our costs are in Canadian dollars, a US budget tends to go further.
Can you build a mobile app for my Chicago company?
Yes. A customer-facing web or mobile app is typically $20K–$60K CAD over six to twelve weeks. Where it saves money we build iPhone, Android and web from one codebase, so you buy one build instead of three.
Do you offer IT consulting for Chicago companies?
Our consulting covers software: which of your tools to keep, how to connect them and what is worth building. We don't run help desks or manage laptops and networks. If a software problem is behind your search, the free written plan sets out an approach, a price range and a timeline within 48 hours.
Who owns the code?
You do, in writing, from day one. The repository sits in your GitHub account and the hosting runs in accounts under your name, so if you ever part ways with us there is nothing to hand back.
Related
Tell us the problem. Get a written plan in 48 hours.
No call needed. You get the approach, a price range and a timeline in writing, free.