Software for the process you still do by hand.
Every business has one process that runs on paper, a shared spreadsheet or one person's memory, and it costs a person's week every week. Backhaul replaces that process with a small tool built for it, at a fixed price, running on your own server, and you own the code.
This covers document workflows, integrations, scripting, alerting, reporting and small internal tools. It does not cover public web apps, mobile apps or marketing sites.
Small tools with a clear before and after.
Document intake and filing
Scan or receive documents, split and read them, file them where they belong, and make every page searchable. Example: the construction billing system below.
Automated emails and outbound documents
Prepare emails, statements or reports from filed records, grouped and attached correctly, for a person to review and send. Nothing goes out without a human approving it.
API integrations
Connect two systems that have no built-in link. Example: pull records from an accounting or field-service platform and create tickets, emails or reports in another system.
Scripting and automation
Repeatable tasks written as scripts with logging, dry-run modes and documentation, so your own staff can run and trust them. Example: nightly exports, user provisioning, report generation.
Alerts and notifications
Watch for the conditions that matter and tell the right person by email, Teams or SMS, with the noise tuned out. Example: a failed job, a full disk, an invoice batch that did not process.
Reporting and dashboards
Pull numbers from the systems you already run into one view that updates itself.
With every build.
- Source code and documentation
- The tool running on your own server or a host you choose
- A backup and restore plan for it
- A written handover
- An optional monthly support plan
Why infrastructure engineers build better tools
The people writing the software have spent 10 years keeping enterprise systems recoverable. Tools are built with logging, backups, restore tests and update procedures from the start, because the same people are on the hook when something breaks.
Batch 0413 did not process. 3 pages could not be read. Assigned to Accounts.
$ nightly-export --dry-run[08:00:02] reading 3 projects[08:00:03] would write 128 rows to reports/2026-10.csv[08:00:03] dry run: nothing written, log saveddone sample runFiling and billing for a construction company.
invoices a day, the design capacity, scanned to billing email the same day.
The problem
- The company billed clients from paper across many active projects, up to 2,000 invoices a day, roughly 4,000 pages.
- Staff matched each invoice to the right client and project by hand.
- Billing emails were built one at a time, which slowed invoicing and delayed payment.
- Finding a past invoice for a client question meant digging through paper files.
- Cloud document tools would have added per-user or per-page fees and moved client data offsite.
What was built
- Staff scan invoices in batches on the copier they already have.
- The system splits the batch and reads each invoice, and files it to the right client and project.
- It prepares Outlook billing emails with the invoices attached, grouped by client and project.
- Accounts receivable reviews each email and sends it. The system never sends on its own.
What it does for the business
- Invoices go out the same day they are scanned.
- Nothing is sent twice or missed. Each invoice is marked once its email has been drafted.
- A digital file exists for every project. Any word on any page is searchable: invoice number, amount, site address, vendor.
- The original scan of every invoice is kept with a record of when it was processed, ready for audits and disputes.
- Client and project records stay inside the building on the company's own server.
- Adding or closing a project takes minutes. Closed projects keep their history.
- Nightly backups with regular restore tests.
- Documents and records export to standard files at any time. No lock-in.
Beyond invoices
The same system files any paper a construction office handles: contracts, change orders, delivery tickets, permits, inspection reports and safety forms. Start with billing and add other paperwork when ready.
Costs, stated plainly
The system has licence fees, a monthly support plan and its own server hardware. Costs are quoted after scoping.
Watch, write down, build, hand over.
Discovery.
One session watching the current process.
Written spec and fixed quote.
You know the cost before work starts.
Build.
Weekly check-ins.
Handover.
Source code, documentation, and hosting on your infrastructure or a provider of your choice. You own everything.
Is your process a good fit?
- It runs the same way every time.
- It involves copying data between systems.
- It lives in a spreadsheet that one person understands.
Looking after backups and recovery instead?
Backup health checks, disaster recovery, and migration off VMware.