The system behind the experience.

Ordering, payments, bookings, memberships, events, operations. We design and build the software that connects them, so your customers get a smoother experience and your team gets one version of the truth.

A website presents your business. A system runs part of it.

Screens for customers, tools for staff, a backend that holds the records, and connections to the payment providers and tools you already use, all working from one version of the truth.

Not every business needs a system. Plenty just need a great website, and we’ll tell you if that’s you.

What we build, and the problems it solves.

For each one: what it’s for, what we build, and what depends on someone else, because systems always have dependencies and you should know them up front.

01

Custom Web Applications

Purpose-built applications designed around your users, operational processes and business requirements.

Use case
Booking and scheduling, client portals, internal tools, quoting and job management.
What we build
Interface design, front-end and back-end development, data structures and admin tools.
Depends on
Agreed scope, hosting environment and any systems it must connect to.
02

Operational Platforms

Interfaces and tools that help teams coordinate activities, information and workflows, from one shared view.

Use case
Replacing spreadsheets and chat groups with dashboards, task flows and role-based access.
What we build
Dashboards, workflow logic, notifications, permissions and reporting views.
Depends on
How your team works today, and the data you already hold.
03

Commerce & Payments

Digital purchasing experiences and appropriately scoped payment integrations, from online checkout to order management.

Use case
Selling products, tickets, bookings or services online, with records your finance team can use.
What we build
Checkout and order flows, integration with your chosen payment provider, and order dashboards.
Depends on
Payment provider availability, their approval of your account, and their fees and requirements.

Payments are always processed by a licensed provider such as Safaricom (M-Pesa) or a card processor. We build the integration and the experience around it.

04

Event Technology

Systems for ticketing, digital credentials, access workflows, attendee experiences and vendor commerce.

Use case
Festivals, conferences and venues that need tickets, entry, cashless sales and reconciliation to work together.
What we build
Attendee-facing apps and pages, scanning workflows, vendor tools and operations dashboards.
Depends on
Event scale, on-site connectivity, scanning hardware, and payment and messaging providers.
05

Integrations

Connecting suitable third-party services and existing tools, where it’s technically and commercially feasible.

Use case
Linking your website or app to payment, accounting, messaging, CRM or inventory tools.
What we build
API integrations, data syncing, webhooks and the error handling around them.
Depends on
Each provider’s API, access terms and any costs.
06

Digital Infrastructure

Planning and implementing the interfaces, backend services and supporting integrations appropriate to each project’s scope.

Use case
Platforms that need to be reliable, secure and maintainable as they grow.
What we build
Architecture, hosting setup, data storage, authentication and deployment pipelines.
Depends on
Expected usage, security and data requirements, and budget.

One experience. Many connected layers.

An illustrative architecture for an event platform. Each layer can be built, integrated or left out depending on what the project actually needs.

Conceptual architecture · Event platformSelect a layer
Built as part of the platformThird-party provider, integrated by Ares

Systems, made tangible.

Print Knight connects a customer storefront, a pricing configurator, payments and an admin desk. Below it, concept projects explore event and operations systems.

printknight · home
Print Knight, home screen
E-commerce · Ordering platformAres project

Print Knight

Printing & branding · Westlands, Nairobi

Print Knight wanted customers to order print the way they’d order anything else online. Pick a product, choose the options, see the price change as you go, upload artwork, check out. Behind it is an admin desk where the team manages products, orders and leads.

Our role
Design and development of the customer-facing site, ordering flow and admin desk.

What’s in it

  • Brand site covering the print services and the creative agency
  • Catalogue across stationery, marketing, large-format and promotional work
  • Job configurator with live pricing by quantity, size, stock, finish, turnaround and proof
  • Artwork upload, cart, promo codes and VAT
  • M-Pesa checkout, built and tested in the sandbox environment
  • Admin desk for products, orders, earnings and media leads (not shown)

Concept projects

Illustrative systems created by Ares. Brands, people and figures are fictional.

Event & Experience SystemsConcept project

Pulse Weekender

Event platform: tickets, access, cashless wallet and vendor operations

Challenge
A multi-day festival using separate tools for tickets, gate scanning, vendor sales and reconciliation, with no shared view of the day.
What we designed
An attendee ticket and wallet, gate scanning flows and a live operations dashboard connected to the same records.
Purpose
Give organisers one operational picture, from the gate to vendor sales to end-of-day reconciliation.
Digital ProductsConcept project

Fieldbook

Operations web application for a facilities maintenance company

Challenge
Jobs, crews, parts and sign-offs managed across spreadsheets, calls and chat groups, with information easily lost.
What we designed
A web application for scheduling jobs, assigning crews, tracking parts and moving each job from request to invoice.
Purpose
Reduce fragmentation and give managers and crews one shared record of the work.
Event & Experience SystemsConcept project

Pulse Weekender — Attendee app

Digital ticket and cashless wallet

Challenge
Attendees juggling paper tickets, cash and queues, and organisers with no visibility of either.
What we designed
A mobile ticket and wallet: entry credential, balance and top-ups in one place, connected to gates and vendors.
Purpose
Shorter queues and fewer cash handling problems, depending on the scanning and payment providers chosen.

Got a process held together with spreadsheets?

Tell us how it works today and where it breaks. We’ll help you work out what’s worth building, and what isn’t.

Or describe it in a message.