inparlor.

/ Blog

Notes on building and growing modern businesses.

Operating notes from a software development agency: engineering decisions, AI integrations, product strategy, and the unsexy details behind what ships.

Pillar guides
Pillar guide11 min

Business intelligence for SMBs: 2026 guide

How SMBs move from spreadsheet chaos to real BI dashboards in 2026: data-model basics, build-vs-buy, Power BI vs custom, costs, and what reporting changes.

Read the guide
Pillar guide12 min

Business process automation playbook 2026

A 2026 business process automation playbook for SMBs: how to find automatable workflows, pick integration patterns, add AI safely, and measure real payback.

Read the guide
Pillar guide12 min

Custom CRM vs Salesforce vs HubSpot

When a custom CRM beats Salesforce or HubSpot: five-year TCO math, the seat-license trap, migration paths, and the honest build-vs-buy test for 2026.

Read the guide
Pillar guide13 min

Customer & B2B portal development guide

How to scope, architect, and budget a customer or B2B portal in 2026: portal types, build-vs-SaaS, auth and permissions design, real cost and timeline numbers.

Read the guide
Pillar guide11 min

Mobile apps 2026: native vs cross-platform

A practical 2026 decision guide to native vs cross-platform mobile apps: React Native, Flutter, and native trade-offs, real cost dynamics, and when each wins.

Read the guide
Pillar guide12 min

Odoo ERP implementation guide for SMBs

When Odoo beats NetSuite and SAP for SMBs, how to pick modules, the five implementation phases, the failure modes that sink projects, and 2026 budgets.

Read the guide
Pillar guide12 min

Software maintenance & support: 2026 guide

Why software rots, the 60% maintenance rule, retainer models, the security patching cadence, and the four signals that it's cheaper to rebuild than maintain.

Read the guide
Pillar guide9 min

Building and scaling a B2B SaaS in 2026

How modern US B2B SaaS companies are built and scaled in 2026: stack, pricing, GTM motion, hiring sequence, and the operating shifts from $1M to $50M ARR.

Read the guide
All posts

Everything we've published.

/ Get the next one

One operating note a month. No drip sequences.

Send us your email; we send one substantive piece a month plus the occasional working playbook we don't publish elsewhere.

Monthly notes on shipping software. No fluff, unsubscribe any time.