Tramline
Custom SaaS · Logistics
Tramline
A real-time dispatch board for multi-depot freight, showing vehicles, drivers and exceptions in one view.
40depots on one board
Custom SaaS development, built to scale
Multi-tenant platforms with the tenancy model, billing logic and permissions defined before design begins, giving your product a stable foundation for growth.
- Multi-tenancy
- Billing & subscriptions
- Admin tooling
- RBAC
The challenge
Common challenges.
Many SaaS platforms run into difficulty when they begin serving multiple customers. A data model designed for a single organisation, or permissions designed for a single type of user, has to be reworked once new customers arrive with different requirements.
Billing is often underestimated. Mid-cycle upgrades, downgrades with credits, failed payments, invoiced annual contracts and per-seat pricing each introduce states that must be handled correctly, and each has financial consequences.
Administration tools are frequently left until late in a project. Without them, routine support tasks such as extending trials, issuing refunds or investigating billing queries are handled through direct database changes, which increases operational risk.
What we deliver
Deliverables.
Everything listed below is handed over to you at the end of the engagement.
Documented tenancy model
Shared schema with row-level security, schema per tenant or full isolation, selected against your compliance and scale requirements and documented in full.
Billing infrastructure
Plans, trials, proration, dunning, invoicing and tax handling integrated with Stripe, including failure states and idempotent webhooks.
Roles and permissions
A permission model enforced at the data layer, with support for custom roles where your customers need them.
Administration tools
User impersonation with an audit trail, subscription overrides, usage inspection, account merges and refunds, built alongside the core product.
Onboarding and provisioning
Sign-up, workspace creation, invitations, single sign-on where required, and onboarding flows designed to support trial conversion.
Operational readiness
Structured logging, error tracking, uptime and latency alerts, and an operational runbook.
Process
Project timeline.
Typical timelines. Exact durations are confirmed during the Discover stage.
- 01
Tenancy and data modelling
2–3 weeks
We define tenant isolation, the data model and where authorisation is enforced. The output is an architecture document that belongs to you.
- 02
Billing and access design
1–2 weeks
Plans, entitlements and the full subscription lifecycle, including proration and failed-payment handling, reviewed with your finance team before development.
- 03
Core build
10–20 weeks
Two-week sprints, each ending in a working build for your review. Administration tools are developed alongside the product.
- 04
Hardening and launch
2–4 weeks
Load testing, a security review of permission boundaries, monitoring and a documented rollback plan.
- 05
Ongoing support
Ongoing
Optional retained engineering as your platform and roadmap evolve.
Technology
Technology stack.
Application
- TypeScript
- Next.js
- React
- Node
Server-rendered by default, keeping both public pages and internal dashboards fast.
Data
- PostgreSQL
- Row-level security
- Redis
- Prisma or Drizzle
PostgreSQL row-level security enforces tenant isolation directly in the database.
Infrastructure
- Vercel or AWS
- Stripe
- Terraform
- GitHub Actions
Infrastructure is defined as code from the start, so every environment is reproducible.
How to choose a tenancy model
The tenancy model is one of the first and most consequential decisions in a SaaS build. There are three practical options. In a shared schema, all customers’ data is stored in the same tables, separated by a tenant identifier and protected by row-level security. Schema per tenant gives each customer their own set of tables within one database. Database per tenant gives each customer a separate database.
A shared schema is the right default for most businesses. It is the most cost-effective to operate, migrations run once for all customers, and it scales comfortably to thousands of tenants. Because an authorisation error could expose data across customers, isolation should be enforced in the database itself through row-level security.
Schema per tenant is appropriate when a customer contractually requires separately restorable backups, when regulation requires demonstrable separation, or when a single large tenant would otherwise affect performance for others. It increases operational overhead, as every schema change must be applied to each tenant. Database per tenant extends this further and is typically reserved for enterprise deployments.
The decision should be made at the start of the project. It determines how queries are written, how migrations and backups run and how authorisation is enforced, so changing it later requires significant rework.
Related work
Related projects.
Tramline
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Engagement models
Flexible ways to work with us.
Pricing depends on scope and is provided after an initial consultation.
Fixed-scope project
A defined platform with a set launch date and an approved budget.
Considerations
Changes to scope require a change request. Best suited to projects where requirements are already well defined.
Dedicated team
A platform that will continue to evolve, with a flexible long-term roadmap.
Considerations
Requires active product ownership on your side, in exchange for the flexibility to change direction between sprints.
Retainer
A live platform that needs ongoing engineering support.
Considerations
Hours are capped, so larger pieces of work are scoped and quoted separately.
Questions
Frequently asked questions.
- How long does a custom SaaS platform take to build?
- A focused first version typically takes four to six months from kickoff to production, including two to three weeks of architecture work at the start. Platforms with significant compliance requirements, complex integrations or a migration from existing software take longer, and we confirm timelines during the Discover stage.
- Should we use a shared database or one per customer?
- A shared schema with row-level security suits most businesses: it is more cost-effective, simpler to migrate and scales to thousands of tenants. Schema per tenant is appropriate where customers require data residency or independent backup and restore, or where a single tenant needs dedicated performance. We make this decision with you at the start of the project.
- Do we own the code?
- Yes. The repository is hosted in your organisation from the first commit, and the infrastructure runs in your accounts. There are no licence fees or runtime dependencies on Panzex, and we provide a full handover if you bring the work in-house.
- Can you take over a platform someone else built?
- Yes. We begin with a paid audit, typically one week, and provide a written assessment covering what is sound, what needs attention and the estimated cost of each option. Where a rebuild would be more cost-effective than remediation, the audit will say so.
- What happens when a customer asks for something the platform does not do?
- Platforms designed with per-tenant configuration can accommodate most requests without code changes. We design for this from the start and flag any proposed shortcut that would make future customisation more costly.
- Do you handle SOC 2 or similar compliance?
- We implement the required controls, including audit logging, access reviews, encryption at rest and in transit, least-privilege infrastructure and change management, and we provide the evidence auditors request. We do not act as your auditor or issue the report. If certification is planned, let us know early so the relevant controls are part of the architecture.
Let’s discuss your project.
Book a free 30-minute scoping call to discuss feasibility, budget and timeline.