Custom Software Development for Government
Secure, accessible, and compliant digital systems that modernize how government agencies serve citizens and manage operations.
Government agencies at every level -- municipal, state, and federal -- face mounting pressure to deliver digital services that citizens now expect, while operating within procurement frameworks, security requirements, and accessibility mandates that commercial SaaS vendors rarely accommodate. The result is a familiar pattern: aging legacy systems held together by manual workarounds, citizen-facing processes that still require paper forms and in-person visits, and IT departments stretched thin trying to maintain systems built on technologies that vendors no longer support.
The commercial software market offers limited options for government. Enterprise platforms from Oracle, SAP, and IBM are designed for large federal agencies and come with multi-year implementation timelines and budgets measured in millions. Point solutions for permitting (Accela, Tyler Munis), records management, or citizen engagement solve individual problems but create integration challenges and vendor lock-in. And consumer-grade SaaS tools typically fail to meet government security standards, accessibility requirements, or data sovereignty mandates.
Custom software development offers government agencies a middle path: purpose-built systems that meet the exact requirements of your jurisdiction, comply with all applicable standards from the start, and can be maintained and evolved by your team or local vendors rather than creating permanent dependency on a single enterprise vendor. At Scale Labs, we specialize in building these systems for Washington State municipalities and state agencies navigating digital transformation.
Common Challenges in Government
Legacy Systems That Cannot Be Updated
Core systems built on COBOL, Visual Basic, or early .NET frameworks that no longer receive vendor support. The institutional knowledge to maintain them is retiring, but replacement requires navigating complex procurement and data migration challenges.
Paper-Based Citizen Services
Permit applications, license renewals, service requests, and public consultations that still require in-person visits, paper forms, and manual processing. Citizens expect digital self-service, and staff time is consumed by data entry rather than service delivery.
Accessibility and Compliance Gaps
WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, ADA requirements, FOIA obligations, and security standards like NIST guidelines are mandatory -- not optional features. Most commercial software requires expensive customization to meet these requirements.
Data Sovereignty and Security Mandates
Citizen data must be stored in the US, often in specific states. Government systems require security assessments, penetration testing, and compliance with frameworks that most SaaS vendors cannot or will not accommodate.
Why Commercial Platforms Struggle in Government Contexts
Enterprise government platforms like Tyler Technologies, Accela, and CityView address specific functions well but impose significant constraints. Licensing models charge per user, per transaction, or per module, making costs unpredictable and scaling expensive. Customization is limited to configuration options the vendor anticipated, and when your jurisdiction has unique bylaw structures, fee schedules, or approval workflows, you hit walls that require expensive professional services to work around.
The procurement challenge compounds the technology challenge. Government RFP processes often take 6-12 months before a contract is signed, followed by implementation timelines that stretch another 12-24 months for enterprise platforms. By the time the system goes live, requirements have evolved, staff have changed, and the political priorities that drove the project may have shifted. Custom development with agile delivery can deliver working software within the same procurement cycle.
Data sovereignty and integration requirements create additional friction with commercial vendors. Many SaaS platforms cannot guarantee US data residency, let alone state-level residency. And integrating with existing government systems -- property databases, GIS layers, financial systems, identity management -- often requires custom work regardless, negating the supposed advantage of buying off-the-shelf.
What Modern Government Software Looks Like
A modern citizen services portal gives residents 24/7 digital access to the services they need: applying for permits, paying fees, reporting issues, accessing public records, and participating in consultations. Behind the portal, staff see a unified queue of requests with automated routing, status tracking, and deadline management. The system connects to your GIS data, property records, financial system, and document management -- one interface for staff, one for citizens, one source of truth.
Internal operations benefit equally. Workflow automation replaces paper routing slips and email-based approvals. Document management with version control and retention scheduling replaces shared drives full of unnamed files. Reporting dashboards give department heads and council real-time visibility into service delivery metrics, permit volumes, and budget status without requiring IT to pull custom reports.
The architecture prioritizes sustainability. Open standards, well-documented APIs, and clean codebases mean your IT team or any qualified vendor can maintain and extend the system. No proprietary frameworks, no vendor lock-in, no hostage-taking. The source code belongs to your jurisdiction, and the system runs on infrastructure you control.
Our Approach to Government Technology Projects
We work within government procurement frameworks, providing the documentation, security certifications, and compliance evidence that procurement officers need. We have experience with Washington State municipal procurement processes and understand the approval structures, insurance requirements, and contractual terms that government projects require.
Our build methodology uses 4-6 week sprints with working demonstrations after each sprint. This gives council and management visibility into progress, allows requirements to be refined based on actual software rather than specification documents, and delivers usable components before the entire system is complete. Citizen-facing features can go live incrementally while back-office functionality continues to develop.
Accessibility is built into our development process, not bolted on at the end. Every component is tested against WCAG 2.1 AA standards throughout development, with screen reader testing, keyboard navigation verification, and colour contrast validation as part of our standard quality assurance. Bilingual support, if required, is architected into the content management layer from the start.
Outcomes That Matter for Public Service
Municipalities that digitize citizen services typically see 40-60% of routine transactions shift to self-service within the first year, freeing front-counter staff to focus on complex cases that genuinely need human attention. Permit processing times often drop by 30-50% when automated routing replaces manual file movement, and citizen satisfaction scores improve when people can check status online instead of calling.
The operational gains extend beyond efficiency. Digital records with proper audit trails reduce FOIA response times from weeks to days. Automated retention scheduling ensures compliance with records management requirements. And real-time operational dashboards give elected officials and senior staff the data they need to make informed decisions about service delivery and resource allocation without waiting for quarterly reports.
What We Build for Government
Citizen Services Portal & Digital Applications
Public-facing portal for permit applications, license renewals, fee payments, service requests, and public consultation -- with automated routing, status tracking, and integration with existing government systems.
Development & Building Permit Management
End-to-end permitting system covering application intake, plan review routing, inspection scheduling, condition tracking, and certificate of occupancy -- connected to GIS, property records, and your bylaw framework.
Internal Workflow & Document Management
Replace paper-based approval workflows and shared drive chaos with structured routing, automated deadline tracking, version-controlled document management, and records retention compliance.
Council & Committee Management Platform
Agenda preparation, meeting management, voting records, bylaw tracking, and public minutes publication -- streamlining the governance process from staff report preparation through to public record.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you handle government procurement requirements?
What security standards do you build to for government systems?
Can the system integrate with our existing GIS and property databases?
What happens if our requirements change after the project starts?
Ready to Modernize Your Government Services?
Whether you need to digitize citizen-facing services, replace a legacy internal system, or build a data platform for better decision-making, we build secure, accessible, compliant software for government agencies. Book a free consultation to discuss your modernization priorities.