Track 02 · Full-stack Java
Custom CRM and ERP development
A system built around how your business actually works.
Overview
Overview
ByteKnot Labs builds custom business platforms on a Java LTS and Spring Boot backend, a MySQL schema designed around your process, and a React or Next.js front end. That covers custom CRMs, ERPs, billing, HR and back-office systems, and customer and partner portals, with roles, audit trails, reporting and integrations with the tools you already run. No AI is required, and it is easy to add later on the same backend.
CRM · ERP · portals · Spring Boot · MySQL
You probably need this if
- Your team runs the business from spreadsheets that only two people understand.
- You pay for an off-the-shelf CRM and still work around it every day.
- Licence fees for seats you barely use have passed the cost of building.
- A legacy system works, but nobody dares change it.
- Someone built a CRM with an AI tool over a weekend, and now it holds real customer data.
Approach
How we build it.
- 01
Model the business first
We map your entities, workflows and permissions before designing screens. The schema and the API contract are agreed in writing.
- 02
Boring technology, on purpose
Java LTS, Spring Boot and MySQL have carried systems of record for two decades. Typed, secure, and maintainable by the next team.
- 03
Built for real volumes
Indexing, pagination and reporting designed for ten million rows, not ten. Load-tested before go-live.
- 04
Ready for AI when you are
Because it runs on the same backend as our AI-native products, lead scoring or an assistant is a feature later, not a rewrite.
Deliverables
What you get.
- Domain model and a MySQL schema designed around your process
- Spring Boot services with roles, audit trails and versioned migrations
- React or Next.js front end with a small design system
- Reports, exports and dashboards that hold up at real volumes
- Integrations: email, telephony, payments, accounting, messaging
- Data migration from spreadsheets or a legacy CRM
- Tests, CI pipeline, container images and documentation
Stack
What we build it with.
Chosen per project, benchmarked where it matters, and all of it something your team can run after us.
- Java 21 / 25 LTS
- Spring Boot 4
- Spring Security
- Keycloak
- Spring Data JPA
- Hibernate
- Flyway
- Spring Modulith
- MySQL 8.4 / 9.7 LTS
- React 19
- Next.js
- TypeScript
- Redis
- Kafka
- Testcontainers
Typical builds
What this looks like in practice.
Custom CRM
For a sales, field or service team whose process does not fit an off-the-shelf tool.
Order and billing
Orders, inventory, invoicing and payments in one system with a proper audit trail.
Inventory and purchasing
Stock, suppliers, purchase orders and costing, phased in one module at a time.
Customer portal
Self-service for customers or partners on top of the data you already hold.
HR and compliance back office
Onboarding, approvals, documents and reporting with role-based access.
Legacy replacement
Moving off an ageing VB, PHP or Access system without losing data or a day of trading.
How a project runs
Process
Discover, then Design, then Build, then Launch and hand over. A working build every week, on a staging environment in your cloud.
How a project runsTerms
Code in your GitHub, infrastructure in your cloud, nothing trained on your data, and everything yours when we leave.
Read the termsFAQ
CRMs and ERPs: questions
Last reviewed
How much does a custom CRM or ERP cost?
It depends on four things: the number of workflows and roles, the integrations, the data migration and the reporting. We give a fixed price for a fixed scope once the specification is clear, and the proposal states the number before work begins. After launch you pay for hosting in your own cloud account and, if you want us, a monthly retainer for support and upgrades.
How long does a custom CRM or ERP take to build?
Integrations and data migration move the date more than screens do. An ERP goes live one module at a time, starting with the one that hurts most, often finance or inventory. Scope and date are agreed before work starts, and you see a working build every week.
Do you build CRMs and business platforms without AI?
Yes. Half of our work is traditional full-stack Java: CRMs, ERPs, portals and back-office systems on Java LTS, Spring Boot and MySQL, with a React or Next.js front end. If a model would not earn its place, we build the platform without one.
Why build a custom CRM instead of using Salesforce or HubSpot?
Often you should use them, and we will say so on the first call. A custom CRM makes sense when your process or data model no longer fits an off-the-shelf tool, when licence costs have passed the cost of building, or when the CRM is part of the product you sell.
Can you extend Salesforce or HubSpot instead of replacing it?
Yes. Sometimes the right answer is a portal, a workflow or an AI feature that talks to Salesforce or HubSpot through their APIs, and the CRM stays where it is.
Why not Odoo, NetSuite or Microsoft Dynamics?
Often you should start there. A packaged ERP fits when your processes are close to its standard modules. A custom build makes sense when the part that sets you apart, such as pricing, scheduling or compliance, keeps fighting the package, or when licence and customisation costs keep rising. We will tell you which we would choose on the first call.
Can we build our own CRM with AI coding tools?
You can build a convincing prototype that way, and it is a good way to learn what you need. Running it as a system of record is different work: permissions, audit trails, backups, migrations, security fixes and someone on call when it breaks. We are happy to start from a prototype like that; it makes a clear specification.
Can you migrate data from our current CRM or spreadsheets?
Yes. Migration is its own deliverable: mapping, cleaning, a rehearsal run against a copy, and a cut-over plan with a way back.
Can AI be added to the platform later?
Yes. The platform runs on the same Spring Boot and MySQL foundation as our AI-native products, so scoring, summaries, drafting or an assistant are added as features with their own evaluation set, not as a rewrite.
Further reading
Before you decide.
Often paired with
Java modernisation
Legacy Java and Spring Boot moved to supported versions in small, tested steps, without a rewrite.
ExploreWeb applications
Portals, dashboards and SaaS front ends that load fast and read well for people, search engines and AI.
ExploreTaking on new projects
Planning work on CRMs and ERPs? Let's talk.
A short call, a written brief, and a straight answer on scope, price and timeline before any work starts. NDA first if you need one.