The same details, typed three times.
What it looks like
Booking software, a CRM and a spreadsheet each hold part of the record. Front-desk time goes on copying between them, and the copies drift apart.
Service 05 of 05Measured
Client portals, dashboards and internal tools for businesses in Dubai and the UAE. Off the shelf first.
Evidence · published When we build custom. Client portals, dashboards, marketplaces and internal tools when the off-the-shelf stack runs out of road. We recommend existing tools first. Custom work starts where they stop, and is quoted in fixed-scope phases. Published price list · Custom Systems · checked 1 Oct 2026 Open the evidence →Lucidarc Digital builds client portals, dashboards, marketplaces and internal tools for businesses in Dubai and the UAE when off-the-shelf software runs out of road. Each system is built in fixed-scope phases, priced one phase at a time, and connected to the CRM, WhatsApp and analytics you already run.
- Custom Systems
- AED 25k–150k+ (≈ USD 6.8k–41k+) · fixed-scope phases Evidence · published Custom Systems: published price. AED 25k–150k+ (≈ USD 6.8k–41k+) · fixed-scope phases. Client portals, dashboards, marketplaces and internal tools when the off-the-shelf stack runs out of road. Ranges are indicative; the audit sets the number. Ad spend is always separate and paid direct. Custom development is quoted outside the retainer. We contract in AED, USD, GBP or EUR. Prices exclude VAT. UAE VAT at 5% is added to the invoice where it applies. Published price list · checked 1 Oct 2026 Open the evidence →
Why it matters
Most businesses don't need custom software, and we'll say so. When the off-the-shelf stack runs out of road, such as a portal your clients sign in to or a dashboard across the group's companies, we build it in fixed-scope phases.
IllustrativeDrawn specimen · placeholder labels, not a client's data
- Sold as
- Custom Systems
- Builds
- Measured · supports qualified
- In the 90 days
- Outside the 90 days · quoted on its own
- Work
- 1 project, plus our own portal Evidence · published Projects using custom systems. Precision group: in progress. Plus our client portal, in use. Work index · checked 1 Oct 2026 Open the evidence →
- Priced
- One fixed-scope phase at a time
The instrument · drawn from the running code
Our own client portal, drawn.
The custom system we can show you in full is our own: the portal where our proposals are accepted and onboarding runs. This is its structure, with no client data. Evidence · published Client portal live. Proposals accepted online and onboarding in four steps: business and billing, access handover, brand assets and kick-off questions. Built and run by us. Build log · checked 24 Sept 2026 Open the evidence →
Real system · drawn
01Invitation
Invite-only accountsNo public sign-up. A client's team is invited by us and signs in with a verified email.02Proposal
Accepted onlineRead in the portal and accepted with a typed name and a tick. We record the time, the IP address and a SHA-256 fingerprint of that exact version. If it changes after sending, it can't be accepted until it's read again.03Onboarding
4 sectionsOpens once the proposal is accepted.- 01Business & billingLegal entity, tax registration and who receives invoices. Labels follow the client's country.
- 02Access handoverA checklist of 10 accounts. Clients invite our email; the portal never asks for a password.
- 03Brand assetsLogos, guidelines and photography, uploaded to private storage. Downloads only through a signed-in route.
- 04Kick-off questions10 questions, pre-filled from the client's growth plan when there is one.
04Kick-off
Kick-off callBooked once onboarding is done.05Running
Programme under wayMonth 1 · Foundation.
Activity log. Every step, from invitation to file upload, is recorded with who did it and when.
Staff view. We can open a client's portal to help, but only the client's own team can accept a proposal.
The leak it fixes
Where do off-the-shelf tools run out?
Where a job crosses tools that don't talk to each other: the same record typed three times, documents chased by email, or several companies with no single pipeline.
Clients chase documents by email.
What it looks like
Engagement letters, checklists and status updates live in inbox threads. A client can't see where their matter stands without asking.
B2B & industrialLeak
Several companies, several inboxes, no single pipeline.
What it looks like
A group of companies can't see its enquiries in one place, and a buyer can't find every product the group sells in one catalogue.
Explained · 1 question, each answered in its first sentence
Do you need a custom system, or a subscription tool?
Usually a subscription tool: a CRM, a booking system or a form builder covers most jobs, and we'll say so.
Compare · Subscription, configured platform or custom build: where each fits
Custom work starts where those stop, such as a portal your clients sign in to, or one view across several companies.
| A subscription tool | A configured platform (no-code, CRM workflows) | A custom build | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fits when | The job is common and the tool does it as it stands | The job is common but your steps aren't | No tool covers the job, and it's done every day |
| How it's paid for | A subscription to the vendor | Setup, then the platform's subscription | Fixed-scope phases; with us, AED 25k–150k+ (≈ USD 6.8k–41k+) · fixed-scope phases |
| Who maintains it | The vendor | The vendor, plus whoever configured it | Whoever built it, under a written scope |
| The risk | Your process bends to the tool | Workarounds pile up | Building what a tool already does |
Our working view, not a survey. We recommend the first two columns whenever they do the job.
What you get
What can a custom system include?
The pieces below, each scoped and priced as its own phase.
If it isn't in a phase's written scope, it isn't included.
- 01A written scope for each phase: what it does, what it won't do, and a fixed price.
- 02Client portals: sign-in, documents, approvals and a status your clients can see.
- 03Dashboards that join data your tools keep apart, such as pipeline across companies or source to sale.
- 04Marketplaces and catalogues, when one store has to list several businesses' products.
- 05Internal tools and AI knowledge hubs over your own products, documents and services.
- 06Integration with the CRM, WhatsApp and analytics you already run.
How it runs · phase by phase
How is a custom system built?
One fixed-scope phase at a time: write the scope, build the smallest useful version, use it, then decide the next phase.
One fixed-scope phase at a time, outside the 90-day system.
Custom systems run in phases rather than weeks, because the scope sets the timeline.
Scope
Write it down
What the system must do, who uses it, what it connects to, and what existing tools already cover. Sometimes the answer is that you don't need us.
Phase one
The smallest useful version
Built to a fixed scope and a fixed price. You use it before anything else is built.
Review
Decide the next phase
What's used, what isn't, and what the next phase should be, agreed with the person on your side who owns the system.
Next phases
One at a time
Each phase scoped and priced on its own. Custom development is quoted outside the programme and the retainers.
Proof · real projects
What custom systems have we built?
One for a client, in progress, and our own client portal, in use. Evidence How the footnotes work. Prices, counts, statuses and figures in our page copy carry a footnote like this one. It opens the evidence: the published price list, a project page, a dated log entry, or a measured figure with its source and period. Where nothing is measured yet, the page says so and gives the date. Lucidarc Digital editorial rule · checked 1 Oct 2026 Open the evidence →
Results appear here only once they're measured and agreed.
Fig. 3 — precigasket.com · desktop · captured 2 Oct 2026 A custom AI knowledge hub over the group's products and services, and one e-commerce platform for the whole group, being built part by part and not yet public. The new precigasket.com site is live.
In progress Evidence · published Precision group. In progress. An industrial group, one connected system: a new website for Precision Gasket (live), automated lead handling and CRM, a custom AI knowledge hub, and one e-commerce platform for everything the group sells. Project page · checked 1 Oct 2026 Open the evidence → · checked 1 Oct 2026
Invite-only · drawn above, no client data shown
Lucidarc client portal
Our own system · Dubai
Our own system, in use: invite-only accounts, proposals accepted online with a fingerprint of the exact version, and onboarding in four steps.
In use Evidence · published Client portal live. Proposals accepted online and onboarding in four steps: business and billing, access handover, brand assets and kick-off questions. Built and run by us. Build log · checked 24 Sept 2026 Open the evidence →
See the drawing ↑
PlaybooksThere's no playbook for custom systems. Each one starts from what your current tools can't do, and we'd rather write that down with you than illustrate it.
Price and scope · published
How much does a custom portal or dashboard cost?
With us, Custom Systems is AED 25k–150k+ (≈ USD 6.8k–41k+) · fixed-scope phases: each phase has a written scope and a fixed price before work starts.
It sits outside the 90-day system and the retainers.
Custom Systems
AED 25k–150k+ (≈ USD 6.8k–41k+) · fixed-scope phases Evidence · published Custom Systems: published price. AED 25k–150k+ (≈ USD 6.8k–41k+) · fixed-scope phases. Client portals, dashboards, marketplaces and internal tools when the off-the-shelf stack runs out of road. Ranges are indicative; the audit sets the number. Ad spend is always separate and paid direct. Custom development is quoted outside the retainer. We contract in AED, USD, GBP or EUR. Prices exclude VAT. UAE VAT at 5% is added to the invoice where it applies. Published price list · checked 1 Oct 2026 Open the evidence →
Client portals, dashboards, marketplaces and internal tools when the off-the-shelf stack runs out of road.
Always separate · the 90-day system, retainers, VAT
- The 90-day system
- Not included. The programme is built on existing tools; a custom system is scoped and priced on its own.
- Retainers
- Custom development is quoted outside the retainer.
- VAT
- Excluded from every price; UAE VAT at 5% is added where it applies. Evidence · published Prices exclude VAT. Our published prices exclude VAT. Where VAT applies, the UAE standard rate of 5% is added and shown on the invoice. Published price list · UAE VAT law (Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017) · checked 2 Oct 2026 Open the evidence →
Ranges are indicative; the audit sets the number. Ad spend is always separate and paid direct. Custom development is quoted outside the retainer. We contract in AED, USD, GBP or EUR. Prices exclude VAT. UAE VAT at 5% is added to the invoice where it applies.
Choosing who does this
How to choose a custom software developer in the UAE
Run these 6 checks on anyone you're considering, us included; each is one we meet.
Our full checklist also says where we're still building.
01
They'll say when you don't need them
Ask what existing tool could do the job. A developer who never says "use a subscription" is selling hours.
02
A written scope for each phase
What it does, what it won't do, and a fixed price, agreed before work starts.
03
A small first version you use
The smallest useful version first, in your hands before the next phase is scoped.
04
Systems they run themselves
Ask to see something they built and still use. Ours is the client portal described on this page.
05
Integration with what you run
Ask how it connects to your CRM, WhatsApp and analytics, and who confirms what connects before the price is set.
06
Honest limits
Ask what they won't build. For clinics, we build administrative tools only, never clinical software.
Fit
Who needs a custom system, and who doesn't?
You might, if you can name exactly where your current tools stop and the system would be used every day; you don't if a subscription already does the job.
A good fit if
- You've tried the off-the-shelf tools and can name exactly where they stop.
- The system would be used every day, by your team or by your clients.
- Someone on your side can decide what the next phase is.
Not a fit if
- A subscription tool already does the job. Use it.
- You want one fixed price for a system nobody has scoped. We price one phase at a time.
- You need clinical software. We build administrative tools only.
Who we do this for
Which businesses do we work with on custom systems?
Businesses across the UAE in three sectors: premium clinics, professional services, and B2B and industrial suppliers.
Each sector page, and each business-type page under it, shows how the work changes for that kind of business.
Clinics & healthcare
Administrative tools that join booking, CRM and front-desk records. Never clinical software.
Professional services
Client portals for documents, approvals and matter status.
B2B & industrial
Group-wide pipelines, product catalogues and knowledge hubs across several companies.
Questions
Questions about custom systems, answered first.
The questions UAE businesses ask about custom systems, each answered in its first sentence.
When does a business need a custom system?
When the tools you can subscribe to stop short of a job you do every day: a portal your clients sign in to, a view across several companies, or a catalogue several businesses share. If a subscription does the job, we'll say so.
How much does a custom portal or dashboard cost?
Custom Systems is AED 25k–150k+ (≈ USD 6.8k–41k+) · fixed-scope phases. Each phase has a written scope and a fixed price before work starts.
Is it part of the 90-day system?
No. The 90-day system is built on existing tools. Custom development is scoped and quoted separately.
What have you built?
Our own client portal, where proposals are accepted online and onboarding runs in four steps. For Precision group, an AI knowledge hub and one e-commerce platform across the group's companies, in progress.
Can it connect to our CRM or ERP?
We confirm what connects during scoping. Integrations are part of the phase they belong to, and priced with it.
Do you build clinical software?
No. For clinics we build administrative tools only, such as joining booking, CRM and front-desk records. Clinical systems are outside what we do.
Do we have to start with the free audit?
No. The audit checks your public website, not your internal tools. For custom work, book a call.