Apps that stop when signal does
Most apps assume a steady connection. On a rural site or in a mechanical room, they hang, lose half-entered data and send your crew back to paper and memory.
App development in Edmonton for crews working without signal
Web apps and mobile apps for Alberta teams who work in basements, yards and rural job sites. Offline-first by default: your crew keeps working when the signal drops, and everything syncs when it returns. We host your app's back end in Canada and quote the price before we start.
Updated
Operational software
$18,000 – $50,000
8–16 weeks · fixed quote first
What usually brings people here.
Paper and photos in group chats
Job notes, photos and sign-offs are scattered across texts and glove boxes. The office re-enters what it can find, and the rest is gone when someone asks about it six months later.
Off-the-shelf apps that almost fit
A generic field service app covers most of the job, then forces a workaround on the rest. Your team ends up using it half-way and keeping a spreadsheet beside it.
What you have when we are done.
Forms that work with no signal
Crews fill in forms, add photos and capture signatures on site with the connection off. Entries sit safely on the device and sync automatically when signal comes back.
One record instead of three copies
What the crew captures in the field lands in the same system the office uses to schedule, quote and invoice. No retyping, no hunting through messages.
Fast on older phones and weak networks
We design screens to load light and respond quickly on mid-range phones and slow connections, because the people using them are not sitting on office wifi.
An app your crew will actually open
Large tap targets, plain language and few steps per task. We test with the people who will use it, in the conditions they work in, before launch.
What is included.
- Web app for office and admin staff
- Mobile-ready app for phones and tablets
- Offline-first storage on the device
- Background sync with conflict handling
- Photo and signature capture
- Large-target interface for gloved hands
- User accounts and role permissions
- Admin screens your team runs itself
- Canadian hosting and automated backups
- Source code and documented handover
How it runs.
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01
Discover
We sit in on real jobs, note where signal drops, and watch what people do with paper and phones. We then list the tasks the app must handle and the conditions it must survive.
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02
Design
We sketch the key screens, decide between a web app and a mobile app, and design the sync rules. You tap through a clickable prototype before we build anything permanent.
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03
Build
We build the offline storage and sync first, because they are the hard part, then the screens on top. You get working builds to try on your own devices during the project.
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04
Launch
We roll out to a small crew first, watch real use, fix what breaks, and then open it to everyone. Training is short, hands-on and in the format your team prefers.
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05
Optimise
We review usage and sync errors after launch, and tune the screens people struggle with. Ongoing care is optional, from $300/month, cancel anytime.
In detail
Will the app still work when the signal drops?
App development for an Edmonton field team has to start from the assumption that the signal will fail on site. We build web apps and mobile apps for crews who lose bars in basements, mechanical rooms and rural yards, and design for that first. Operational apps cost $18,000 – $50,000, take 8 to 16 weeks and carry a fixed quote.
That suits oilfield and energy service crews, trades and inspectors, and anyone else filling in forms far from office wifi.
Do you need a web app, a mobile app or both?
Use a web app when staff work at desks: admin screens, dashboards and scheduling boards run in a browser with nothing to install. Add a mobile app when crews need the camera, signature capture or dependable offline storage. Most field projects use both, sharing one database. When a web app alone is enough, we recommend it.
| Option | Best for | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Web app | Office staff, dashboards and scheduling boards | Runs in a browser, updates for everyone at once, nothing to install |
| Mobile app | Crews who need the camera, signatures and offline storage | Installed on phones and tablets, saves work on the device, syncs later |
| Both, one database | Field and office working from the same records | A photo taken on site appears on the office screen once the phone reconnects |
All three sit in the same $18,000 to $50,000 band. A web app on its own usually lands lower in it.
What does offline-first actually mean?
An offline-first app treats the phone as the primary workspace, not the server. Every entry is saved on the device first, and a background process sends it when a connection is available. The crew never waits on a spinner, and a dropped signal never costs them a half-finished form.
The hard part is not storage. It is deciding what happens when two people change the same record while both are offline. We design those rules with you in plain terms: whose edit wins, what gets flagged for a person to review, and what is simply merged. Then we test with devices in airplane mode, not only on office wifi.
A quick test: switch your phone to airplane mode and try your current app. Whatever breaks is the list we start from.
Built for gloves, glare and older phones
A field app in Alberta has to survive cold hands, bright sun and a phone that is three years old. Tap targets are large, text is high contrast, and each task takes as few steps as we can manage. Screens stay light so they load on slow connections, and drafts save automatically if a call interrupts.
- Few steps per task. If a form needs ten taps, we ask why.
- Plain labels. Your crew's words, not ours.
Where is app data hosted, and who owns it?
Field apps collect photos, names, locations and signatures, which is personal information under Alberta PIPA. When we host your app, its back end and data run on Canadian infrastructure, and we document what is collected, where it lives and who can see it. You own the code, data and accounts, with a documented handover.
That documentation is ready for a privacy impact assessment. This is general information, not legal advice. Records your crews capture are only useful if someone reads them, so field data can feed office reporting through our data analytics and dashboards work, and repetitive office hand-offs can move to business automation.
Price, timeline and what we need from your team
A single-purpose app, such as a site inspection or time capture tool, sits toward the lower end of $18,000 – $50,000 and the shorter end of 8 to 16 weeks. An app that connects scheduling, quoting, safety forms and your accounting software sits toward the top. We settle the scope in Discover and fix the price before Build.
Expect a few hours in Discover with a crew lead and an office administrator, a review of working builds every couple of weeks, and a handful of people willing to test on their own phones before launch. Beyond that, we carry the work. When an app grows into a full operations system, it overlaps with custom software development and we scope the two together.
Describe your job site to us and we will reply within 24 hours.
Asked before they write.
How much does app development cost in Edmonton?
Our operational software band is $18,000 – $50,000 CAD, which covers most web and mobile apps for business use. A focused single-purpose app lands toward the lower end. You receive a fixed written quote before any work starts, so there is no hourly surprise.
What is an offline-first app?
It is an app that saves everything on the device first and syncs to the server later. The crew can keep working with no signal, and nothing is lost if the connection drops mid-task. It is the opposite of an app that needs a live connection for every tap.
Do I need a mobile app or will a web app do?
If staff work at a desk, a web app is usually enough and costs less. If crews need the camera, signatures or dependable offline use in the field, you will likely want a mobile app too. We recommend the cheaper option when it meets the need.
Can the app connect to our existing software?
Usually, yes. We can connect to accounting, scheduling and CRM tools that offer a documented interface, so field entries flow into systems you already use. We check what each tool allows during Discover, before we quote, so the price reflects it.
How long does it take to build a field service app?
Expect 8 to 16 weeks. A single-purpose app is faster. One that covers scheduling, forms, photos and sync with your office systems takes longer. We deliver working builds along the way so you can test on your own devices before launch.
Who owns the app once it is built?
You do. The source code, database, hosting accounts and documentation are handed over to you. Ongoing care is optional, from $300/month and cancel anytime. If you ever want to move to another developer, you can, and the documentation makes that practical.
Often paired with this.
Custom software
$18,000 – $50,0008–16 weeks
Glasshead Tech does custom software development in Edmonton, building the systems Alberta companies run daily operations on: quoting, scheduling, job costing, safety documentation, field capture, client portals and booking. Builds cost $18,000 to $50,000 CAD and take 8 to 16 weeks, with a fixed quote before coding starts. You own the code, data and accounts at handover.
Data and dashboards
From $4,5003–6 weeks
Glasshead Tech sets up data analytics for Edmonton businesses as one trusted view of the few numbers that run the company, pulled automatically from accounting, job costing, CRM, e-commerce and spreadsheets. It is built in Power BI or as a custom dashboard, from $4,500 over 3–6 weeks, priced in writing before any work.
Automation
From $2,5002–4 weeks per workflow
Glasshead Tech builds business automation for Alberta companies, so nobody re-keys data between the tools they already pay for: quotes become invoices, web enquiries land in the CRM with an owner, and reports assemble on schedule. Each rule-based workflow costs from $2,500 CAD, takes two to four weeks and is quoted fixed before work starts.
Describe the job site, and we will describe the app.
Tell us where your crews work and what they write down today. We reply within 24 hours with questions, a rough scope and where it would sit in our price band.