Does Aslan work with Chicago and Illinois businesses if you're based in Indianapolis?
Yes. The Indianapolis–Chicago corridor is one of our most active service areas. Indianapolis is a 3-hour drive from downtown Chicago and a 4-hour drive from most Illinois business centers. We run most engagements remotely with weekly video demos and on-site visits as the project warrants — the same model the rest of the country uses for any specialist relationship. Roughly half our Illinois clients have never needed an in-person visit; for the half that do, the drive is shorter than most flights.
Should a Chicago business hire a local Chicago software firm instead?
Local Chicago firms make sense if you need someone physically on-site multiple days a week or if your project depends on Chicago-specific industry expertise (high-frequency trading systems, for example). For most SMB custom software work, the difference between a Chicago firm and an Indianapolis firm is the address — the engagement model is identical. The real choice is between us, a coastal firm (often 2–3× the rate), or an offshore firm (often half the rate, with the coordination overhead and IP concerns that come with it).
Which Illinois industries does Aslan have the most experience with?
Manufacturing is our strongest fit in Illinois — the state has 18,000+ manufacturers and our SMB-scale ERP, quoting, and MIE Trak Pro integration work is squarely in that target. Financial services in the Chicago metro is our second-strongest cluster — we build commission tracking, client portals, and back-office systems for independent brokers, RIAs, and insurance agencies. Logistics and distribution come third (Illinois is the national rail hub). We also have meaningful nonprofit and healthcare work in the metro.
How do you handle Illinois-specific compliance requirements?
Illinois has several state-specific rules that bear on custom software — BIPA (Biometric Information Privacy Act), the Personal Information Protection Act, and industry-specific rules in financial services and healthcare. We've built systems under each. For projects that touch biometric data, payment data, or PHI, the compliance posture is part of discovery, not an afterthought.
Will you come on-site in Chicago for kickoff or critical project moments?
Yes, when it makes a real difference. Kickoff workshops with the user group, mid-project working sessions with operations staff, and go-live support for cutover days are the three moments we typically travel for. The drive from Indianapolis is shorter than the flight from most coastal firms — and we don't bill for travel time.
How much does custom software development cost in Illinois?
The cost is driven by what's being built, not where you're located. Our rates do not change based on whether a client is in Chicago, Indianapolis, or coastal cities. A focused single-purpose tool starts at a few thousand dollars; a full custom business system typically starts around $30,000 and scales with scope. We scope every project precisely during a paid discovery phase before committing to a number.
Who owns the code when the project is done?
You do. Full source code is delivered to a Git repository in your account. Your database, your hosting, your domain. No per-seat fees, no subscription, no platform lock-in. If you want to hand the codebase to a local Chicago developer to maintain next year, that's not just allowed — it's the design.