Best Mobile App for Small Business: 3 Routes

Find the best mobile app for small business shops: a template builder, a done-for-you plan, or a custom build, with a table to copy.

A regular wants your shop on their phone. You have three ways to give it to them. This guide helps a San Antonio or Austin cafe or shop owner pick the best mobile app for small business use: an app your own customers install. We mean the app your customers use, not a bank or payroll tool. We compare the three routes by what you pay, what you get, and who fixes it.

We are a small app and web studio in San Antonio. We sell one of the three routes, so we say where it does not fit.

What is the best mobile app for small business shops?

The best one is the one your customers will open twice a week. There is no single winner.

Here are the three routes.

A template builder. You pick a layout, add your menu or products, and publish it yourself. It is the cheapest in cash. It costs the most of your time.
A done-for-you plan. A studio builds it from a fixed menu of features and keeps it running. You pay a monthly price.
A custom app. A studio designs it for your shop alone. You pay the most. You get the most freedom.

Pick by one question. Who will fix it when it breaks?

What is the best phone app for small business owners?

It depends on which kind of app you mean. Owners search this phrase for two different things.

One is a tool for you: payments, books, scheduling, a business phone line. The other is an app for your customers. This guide covers the second kind only. Back-office tools are a different buying decision, and we cannot source prices for them here.

If you want the customer kind, read on. If you want the back-office kind, ask each vendor for a price in writing.

What should a small business app include?

Keep it small. Copy this checklist.

Your menu or product list, easy to read.
Your hours and directions.
A loyalty card with stamps or points.
Push notifications you can send yourself.
A way to reach you.
Someone who fixes bugs and handles every iPhone update.

Orders paid in the app are a bigger step. So are events with tickets and live stock. Add them only if your customers ask.

Apple also checks each app before it is listed. Read Apple's App Store Review Guidelines. They ask for an app that does more than repeat a website. We think a loyalty card and push notices give an app real function, but that is our view, not Apple's.

How much does it cost to create an app for a small business?

Cost depends on the route. Here is a table you can copy. Add one row for each template builder you consider, and fill it by asking the vendor.

Route	Setup fee	Monthly price	Who fixes it
Kin App	$1,500	$199	We do
Kin App Pro	$3,500	$399	We do
Custom app	From $25,000	$450 care	The studio
Your template builder	(ask)	(ask)	You

Kin App and Kin App Pro have a 12 month minimum.

The Custom row is a floor, not a fixed price. Our custom quotes so far run from $25,000 to $45,000. A custom app is quoted after a call.

We do not list template builder prices. They change, and we cannot source a current number. Ask for the fee in writing, and ask what it costs once you add the features you need.

A worked example (illustrative, not a real client)

These are assumptions, not data. Say a coffee shop wants a loyalty card and a menu. Say it picks Kin App.

First year: 12 months at $199 is $2,388. Add the $1,500 setup. The total is $3,888.

Kin App Pro adds order ahead and pickup paid in the app. It costs $399 a month plus $3,500 setup.

Your shop will differ. Run the sums with your own plan.

Is a template app or a done-for-you app better for a small shop?

A template app is better if you have time. A done-for-you app is better if you do not.

A template app works for a simple menu and a loyalty card. You open the tool, make a change, and publish it. The cost is your time. Every new photo and every iPhone update is yours to handle.

A done-for-you app works if you would rather run the shop. We built our plans this way.

Kin App is $199 a month plus $1,500 setup. It has a menu or catalog, hours, directions, a loyalty card, push notifications you send yourself, and a Core website. It covers one location.
Kin App Pro is $399 a month plus $3,500 setup. It adds order ahead and pickup paid in the app, events, live stock, and two promo notifications a month that we write.

Both have a 12 month minimum. The monthly price covers hosting, push delivery, every iOS release, bug fixes, and two edit requests a month. A second location, or staff tools, makes it a Custom App.

Our demos are for a coffee shop, multi-store retail, collectibles, and gym and fitness. Payments, orders and stock in them are simulated. See Kin App plans for the details.

For the steps in order, read how to create an app for your business. If you run a restaurant, see ordering app options compared.

Does a small business need an app and a website?

Yes, in most cases. A new customer searches your name first. They want your hours, address and menu before they install anything.

Both Kin App plans include a Core website. A Core website on its own is $79 a month plus $149 setup. You do not pay for it twice.

An app is for regulars. A website is for everyone else. Begin with the one your customers already ask for.

FAQ

Can I begin with a website and add an app later? Yes. Core has no app, so you can move up when regulars ask for one.

Does Kin App take orders? No. Kin App has a menu or catalog, a loyalty card and push notices. Kin App Pro takes order ahead and pickup paid in the app.

Is my shop too small for an app? We think a shop with regulars is the right size. A shop with no repeat customers should fix that first.

Next step

Fill in the table for two vendors this week. Then see the apps built for local shops and compare the plans to your list.