APP 400 · Mobile apps

Mobile App Development Burnley

An app is worth building for a Burnley business when it removes a clipboard, a spreadsheet or a phone call that happens every day. That is a narrower test than most app proposals apply, and applying it early is what stops a project becoming expensive scenery.

Since 2003trading in Manchester
20,000+UK businesses helped
Collect M8Unit 3, 116 Bury New Road
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APP 400

Platforms and build

Every job is a fixed quote, agreed in writing before any work starts. No obligation.

All 45 app servicesOr tell us what you need and we will quote it.Discuss an app

What replaces what

We start by naming the thing the app is going to replace. If the answer is a paper job sheet, a WhatsApp group being used as a system of record, or a spreadsheet that somebody rebuilds every Monday, there is a real saving to measure and a clear definition of success.

If the answer is nothing in particular, the project has no anchor, and those are the ones that grow sideways and launch late. The full service is described on our mobile app development page for Manchester.

What this means for Burnley firms

Manufacturers and engineering businesses along the M65 corridor get the most from shop floor and field tools: job and batch records, stock movements captured where they happen, quality checks with photographs attached, and delivery signatures that do not need transcribing.

Trades across the borough want the same thing in a van: today’s jobs, the customer’s history, parts used and a signature before leaving. Service firms sometimes want a customer portal, where the real work is the integration behind it rather than the screens in front.

How we work with you

For anything staff will use, we come and watch a shift before designing a screen. Our Brierfield base is a short drive from Burnley town centre, which makes that easy to arrange, and it consistently changes the design for the better.

After that the project runs on a rhythm: a short video call weekly or fortnightly, clickable designs you open on your own phone, and test builds through TestFlight for iPhone and Play internal testing for Android. Day to day questions go by email, phone or WhatsApp.

Stages of the build

See the current method

We watch the task as it is done now and write down the steps, the exceptions and who is involved.

Prototype before code

Linked screens your staff can tap through and criticise while changes are still free.

Build in short cycles

Usually React Native, giving iOS and Android from one codebase, with a working build at every stage.

Test on the real devices

The handsets your people actually carry, which are older and slower than anything in a showroom.

Distribute or submit

Internal distribution for staff tools, or full store listings with privacy and data safety answers for a public app.

Keep it running

Annual operating system changes, fixes and additions under an agreed maintenance arrangement.

What is handed over

A prototype approved by the people who will use it before development starts
iOS and Android apps built from a shared codebase
Offline working with a clearly defined sync behaviour where the job needs it
An admin area for users, permissions and content
Distribution under your own Apple and Google developer accounts
Source code and every credential, held by you

Decisions to make before committing

An hour spent here saves weeks later:

Who opens it, how often, and on company phones or their own?
What must it connect to? A production, stock or accounts system usually dictates more of the design than anything else.
What happens with no signal, and what should the app show about work not yet sent?
Who adds and removes users when people join and leave?
Would a web app be enough? A progressive web app installs from the browser with no store approval, which suits internal tools.

Where the users are engineers and fitters, our field service app development page covers the detail, and where you want to test the idea before committing the full budget, see MVP app development.

Frequently asked questions

Our works orders are on paper. Is that a problem to start from?

It is usually the best place to start, because a paper form that has survived years of use already encodes what the business needs to record. We begin with that document and question each field rather than designing something new from nothing.

Will it work in a factory with no reception?

It has to, so offline operation is designed in from the start rather than added later. Records are stored on the device and sent when a connection appears, with the app showing plainly what is still waiting to go.

Can it connect to our production system?

Often, through an interface, a database view or a scheduled export, depending on what the supplier permits. We check that first and never work around their access rules. Where there is no route, we say so before you commit rather than after.

Who owns the app?

You do. It is published or distributed under your own developer accounts and the source code and admin access come to you. If you changed supplier, the next developer would inherit something they can work with.

How long does it take to get something usable?

A first version covering a handful of core tasks usually takes from several weeks to a few months, with store review adding time Apple and Google control. You get a timeline with milestones after scoping, before the build is agreed.

Also across east Lancashire and Greater Manchester

We build the same apps for businesses across east Lancashire and into Greater Manchester. The full picture is on our Manchester mobile app development page, with design covered on app design, and our local sign and web work is gathered on signs in Burnley.

Tell us what the app would replace and who would use it, and you will get questions, a suggested first version and a fixed quote: discuss your app, call 0161 315 1151 or message 07737 902425 on WhatsApp.

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