Chicago
Custom software for Chicago businesses.
Black Badger builds custom operations, CRM, and project systems for Chicago companies, and replaces the platforms underneath them, Odoo especially. The work runs over video from Clearwater, Florida. You get a written scope, working screens early in the build, and a handover that puts the code and every account in your name.
Who this is for
Chicago companies of twenty to a few hundred people, carrying a subscription stack that grew one renewal at a time. There's an ERP that resists upgrading because of custom modules, a work management tool metered on the automations it was bought for, and a spreadsheet layer reconciling the two. We replace that stack with one system you own. Or we tell you the smaller fix is the right one, and who should do it, because it won't be us.
Platforms Chicago companies leave
The platforms Chicago companies ask us about
ClickUp
Chicago teams that bought ClickUp's one-app promise usually call us at the point where utilization and profitability are being answered in a spreadsheet anyway. We build the system that replaces the workspace, narrower on purpose and owned by your company. We set up and supported ClickUp for years for agencies and small technical teams, never as a partner. Our focus is replacing ClickUp.
Replacing ClickUp in ChicagoOdoo
Chicago distribution and manufacturing operations picked Odoo for stock and MRP, then customized everything around them until the version got pinned. We move the customized core into a system your company owns and leave Odoo doing the standard work. We are not an Odoo partner. Our focus is replacing Odoo, and the audit says plainly when staying is right.
Replacing Odoo in ChicagoWrike
Chicago marketing operations teams and PMOs run Wrike at the enterprise end, and the renewal now counts seats, add-ons and a separate analytics product while the executive report still gets built in a spreadsheet. We build the system that replaces Wrike and your company owns it. We held a Wrike partnership once and walked away. Our focus is replacing Wrike.
Replacing Wrike in ChicagoZoho
Chicago companies running the pattern we watched for years, Zoho holding the record, a spreadsheet holding the pricing, someone rekeying between the two, end up owning a CRM built around how they sell. We build it. We were a Zoho partner in the past and ended it, so no margin sits behind the advice. Our focus is replacing Zoho, and the audit says plainly when yours only needs a cleanup.
Replacing Zoho in ChicagoThe work
We are based in Clearwater, Florida. There is no Chicago office, so we won't sell you one. What Chicago clients get is the same remote engagement our clients across the country run on. Discovery happens with the people who do the work, and build reviews happen over video inside the real system. At the end, documentation and every account go over in your name, so any competent developer can pick it up after us.
Questions Chicago companies ask
Straight answers for Chicago companies
Can you really run a project like this without being in Chicago?
Yes, and it's how we work with clients across the country. Discovery happens over screen shares of your real system with the people who do the work, and the scope comes back written and specific. You see working screens while the build runs, so there is no big reveal at the end. Afterwards the system runs in a browser, and where anyone sits stops mattering.
Are you an Odoo partner?
No. We have implemented Odoo for clients, and that's where the expertise comes from. There is no reseller margin or quota behind the advice. Telling you to stay on Odoo costs us nothing.
Who do you work with?
Mostly companies of twenty to a few hundred people. That's the range where per-seat platforms cost the most and fit the least. A smaller company with one clear, expensive operational problem can still be a fit. If an off-the-shelf tool would do the job better, you'll hear it on the first call.
Talk through what your Chicago business is trying to fix
Book a strategy call, or send a short note about what is happening today. If a build is not the right answer, you will hear that first.