Software for the slow parts.

I'm Joel Mercer, a product engineer in Manchester. I replace hand-cranked bookings, payroll, quoting and ordering with software people trust.

See the work →

booking autumn 2026manchester, working UK-wide

ten years of shipping

previously Halyard + Pilcrow

now independent, one project at a time

The projects.

Placeholder photo: a MacBook on a desk with code on screen

Halyard

Every booking started with a call, because the web form was long enough that the sales team apologised for it.

Most customers now quote and book on their own. The sales team spends its calls on the shipments that need a human.

View project →

freight softwaresole engineerrails, postgres, hotwire2023

Placeholder photo: an iMac on a desk showing a software dashboard

Sable & Rowe

Payroll month, without the spreadsheets: a checklist with a database behind it, for an eleven-person accountancy practice.

The run that used to fill a day now fits in a morning, and a new starter can be trusted with it in their first week.

View project →

accountantsdesign and builddjango, postgres, htmx2024

Placeholder photo: hands holding an iPad showing an analytics app

Moorfield Timber

A live trade price list and ordering, replacing a PDF that was out of date the week it was sent.

Regular trade customers now order without calling, and the counter queue is for people who want timber advice, not prices.

timber merchantquote to order, end to endrails, postgres2025

How I work.

Boring technology, on purpose

Postgres, server-rendered pages, a thin layer of JavaScript. The exciting part should be your product, not your stack. When something newer genuinely earns its place, I'll make that case in writing.

Small releases, every week

You see working software from the second week, in your hands, not in a slide deck. Course corrections cost days instead of months.

I sit with the people who'll use it first

Before the payroll tool for Sable & Rowe, I sat through two full payroll runs. The software mirrors the checklist they already trusted.

The last ten percent is the product

Empty states, error messages, what happens on a slow connection. That's the part users actually touch.

“Joel sat with our payroll team for two days before he wrote a line of code. The tool works the way we actually work.”

Alice Rowe, partner, Sable & Rowe

currently booking : autumn 2026

One project at a time. Yours next?

I take a single engagement so it gets my full attention. If autumn works for you, get in early.

hello@joelmercer.dev

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