Custom builds
We build club software for your sport
Every app in the HQ family started the same way: a club that could not find software fitting how their sport actually runs, and got tired of working around one that did not.
- Four apps built so far
- Founding clubs shape version one
- Cheap or free while we build
You are not paying us to start from nothing
This is the part that makes a custom build affordable. Most of what your club needs is the same as every other club, and that half is already written, tested and running in real clubs today.
Already built
Members, roles, renewals, payments, messaging, reporting and permissions. The eighty percent. You get it on day one because it already exists.
Built for you
The vocabulary and the rules of your sport. What you book, what gates it, what the season looks like, and the one awkward thing everyone works around.
Built after launch
The things nobody predicts until a real season runs through it. Every HQ app is still being built, which is the point of it being a product rather than a project.
The part that already exists is worth seeing before you commit to anything. Every feature is written up in what an HQ app does, the money side is covered in pricing, and if you are still weighing this against an off-the-shelf platform, read our guide to club management software first.
How it works
Four steps, and you can stop at any of them.
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A conversation, not a brief
You tell us how the club actually runs, including the bits that embarrass you. The spreadsheet with the macro nobody understands. The rota that lives on a noticeboard. That is the useful material.
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We find the awkward part
Every sport has one thing that breaks generic software. Seats in a boat. A ticket on a duty. An inspection before a launch. Naming yours is most of the work, and we will tell you honestly if we cannot see one.
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We build it on the engine
Your sport gets its own app, its own name and its own front door, on top of the shared foundation. Your club is in it from the first working version, telling us what is wrong.
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You run a season on it
A full season finds everything a demo never will. Founding clubs get it cheap or free through that period, because you are doing the finding.
What we need from you
Less than you would think, but the bits we do need are not optional.
- One person on the committee who will answer questions and make decisions.
- Your existing spreadsheets, exactly as they are. Do not tidy them up first, the mess is the requirement.
- Honesty about what actually goes wrong, rather than what should happen in theory.
- The patience to run a first season while it is still being finished.
When we would say no
We would rather tell you now than take a year of your committee's time.
- Your sport is already well served by something that fits. We will say so and point you at it.
- What you want is a website. That is a different job and other people do it better.
- Nobody at the club has time to be involved. A build with no club in it produces generic software, which is the thing we are trying to avoid.
- You need it live next month. Building for a new sport properly takes a season, not a sprint.
Questions before you get in touch
Do you actually build a new app, or configure an existing one?
A new app, with its own name and its own front door. It sits on the same engine as RowHQ and SailHQ, so the eighty percent every club shares is already built and tested. What gets built for you is the part that is specific to your sport.
How much does a custom build cost?
Founding clubs get it cheap or free while it is being built, because you are shaping the product and finding the problems. After that it moves onto the same per member pricing as every other HQ app, free under 20 active members.
What if our sport is tiny?
That is usually a good sign rather than a bad one. Small sports are the ones general platforms ignore, and a club running the wrong software feels it every week. We would rather build for a sport nobody has bothered with.
Do we own it, or do you?
We own and run the software, the same as any other app. Your club owns its data and can export it in full at any time. What you get is a product that keeps being developed, rather than a one off build that ages badly.
How long does it take?
It depends entirely on how much of your sport is already covered by the engine. A sport that mostly needs a different vocabulary is quick. One that needs a whole new concept, like a flying list or a launch log, takes longer. We will tell you which yours looks like before you commit to anything.
What happens if it does not work out?
You export your data and leave, at no charge. We would rather find that out early than have a club stuck on something that does not fit.
Tell us about your club
What sport, roughly how many members, and the one thing that eats the most time. That is enough for us to tell you whether there is an app in it.
A person reads every one of these, and you will get a straight answer either way.