Frequently Asked Questions
Questions About Working With eXcelisys, Answered
Straight answers about what we build, how we bill, who owns the work, and how we rescue projects that have gone sideways.
About Our Services
We specialize in connecting the tools your business already depends on — FileMaker, QuickBooks, Airtable, Salesforce, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Zapier, payment gateways, and more. We also build custom API integrations, so if a service exposes an API, we can almost certainly connect it to your existing systems. If your data is siloed and you’re moving it manually between tools, that’s exactly the kind of problem we solve every day.
Yes — this is one of our most common requests. Whether you’re working with aging .fp5 or .fp7 files, an unsupported FileMaker version, or a solution that’s simply outgrown its original design, we’ve handled migrations at every level of complexity. We’ll assess what you have, preserve what’s working, and bring it forward to a modern, maintainable state.
Related: Migrations & Conversions
Absolutely. Custom database apps are our core specialty — quoting systems, inventory management, case tracking, CRM-style tools, and anything in between. We build solutions that fit the way your team actually works, not the other way around.
Related: Custom Database Design | FileMaker Development | Airtable Development
Yes. We build authenticated web portals for HOAs, professional service firms, contractors, and other organizations that need role-based access, document storage, and client-facing interfaces. Many of these portals also connect to third-party services via API — pulling in live data, triggering workflows, or syncing with tools your team already uses. If your business needs a secure login environment where different users see different things, we can design and build it.
Related: Custom Web Application Development | HOA Websites
Yes. We regularly integrate payment processing, procurement workflows, and e-commerce checkout into custom solutions, along with syncing transaction data into QuickBooks and other accounting platforms. Getting money moving cleanly through your system is something we’ve done many times.
Related: Integrations | E-Commerce Development
Working With Us
Every project is scoped individually. Once we understand what you need, we’ll provide a detailed estimate range — often with options and phased development plans — so you can make informed decisions about pace, priority, and budget before any work begins. Our pricing is flexible, with volume discounts available for larger block-time purchases.
Related: How We Charge | Contact Us for a Free Estimate
We don’t do fixed-price quotes. All work is done for hire by the hour — you pay only for the time actually worked, nothing more. What we provide instead of a quote is a detailed estimate range, often broken into options or phases, so you can see what different levels of investment get you and decide how to proceed. In some cases we can set a not-to-exceed threshold for a defined phase, but the core model is hourly — which means you stay in control of the pace and the spend throughout the engagement. No surprise invoices, no locked-in scope you can’t adjust.
Related: How We Charge
All of our work is billed on a time-and-materials basis — we don’t lock clients into fixed-price or contracted commitments. Rather than locking you into a fixed scope, we provide detailed estimate ranges — often with options and phased plans — so you can control the pace and prioritize what gets built when. You can purchase time in blocks, which gives you flexibility over your budget without sacrificing visibility into where things are headed. Some engagements include a not-to-exceed threshold for a defined phase, but the model is always time-and-materials at its core — which means you’re never paying for scope you didn’t need.
Related: How We Charge
Timeline varies by project size and current team capacity, but we know some clients are already in a bind when they reach out. Let us know your deadline upfront — if it’s a factor, we’ll tell you honestly whether we can meet it.
Related: Contact Us
Work performed is billed for time invested. If a project is cancelled mid-stream, you’re billed for work completed to that point. We’ve never had a client feel burned by this because we communicate openly as we go — but we’re happy to walk through the specifics before you commit.
Related: How We Charge | Contact Us
Your Solution, Your Ownership
Yes. Everything we build for you belongs to you. You retain full ownership of your data, your database structure, your codebase, and any custom logic we develop.
Related: Why Choose eXcelisys?
Absolutely. We build solutions with the expectation that you — or another developer you choose to hire later — will need to work in them. You won’t be locked into us. We document what we build and hand it over cleanly.
Related: Our Development Process
Yes. We don’t run ticket systems or route you through account managers. You work directly with the people doing the actual work. No telephone games, no project handoffs to someone who wasn’t in the original conversation.
Related: Meet the Development Team | Why Choose eXcelisys?
Our Experience & Qualifications
eXcelisys has been in business since 2001 — over two decades of custom software development. The technologies we specialize in have changed and evolved, but the team has been deep in this work long enough to have seen most problems before.
Related: About Us | Why Choose eXcelisys?
We’re happy to get specific. Our core expertise is FileMaker/Claris (we hold Claris Certified Developer credentials), Airtable, WordPress, and custom web application development. If you’re evaluating us for something specific, just ask — we’ll give you a straight answer about what we’ve done and whether it’s a fit.
Related: FileMaker Development | Airtable Development | WordPress Services | All Technologies
Yes. Our Solutions Services Consultants know the technology. When you reach out, you’re talking to people who have hands-on experience with the same kinds of problems you’re trying to solve, not someone reading from a script.
Related: Consulting & Coaching | Contact Us
Rescue & Repair Work
Yes. We do this regularly — half-built integrations, broken WooCommerce setups, legacy solutions that need stabilizing, or custom apps with logic no one can untangle anymore. We’ll assess what you have, tell you what’s salvageable, and give you a path forward.
Related: Upgrades and Enhancements | Website Repair | Database Support
Absolutely. Whether it’s a calculation that won’t behave, an integration that breaks intermittently, or a solution that’s drifted out of sync with how your business actually runs — we can dig in and fix it.
Related: Support & Maintenance | Website Repair
Yes — we handle net-new builds just as often as rescue and migration work. Whether you need a purpose-built database application, a scalable web platform, or a custom tool that doesn’t exist yet, we can take it from concept through deployment. Most modern builds also include API integrations from the start — connecting your new solution to the other tools and services your business runs on.
Related: Design & Development Services | Portfolio
Still Have a Question?
Tell us what you’re working with and what’s not working. You’ll hear back from someone who knows the technology — not a sales script.
eXcelisys, Inc. | Custom Software & Web Development | Since 2001 | excelisys.com