Joeckel Design

Mobile App Development
in Green Bay, WI

Custom iOS and Android apps for local small businesses. Built with React Native, published to the App Store and Google Play, maintained month over month. $0 until your app is in your customers' hands. Subscription from $199/mo, cancel any time.

Book a Free Discovery Call(920) 203-1581

The Problem

Most small businesses skip mobile apps for three real reasons

Traditional agencies quote $5,000 to $25,000 upfront for a custom mobile app build, plus ongoing maintenance retainers. For a small restaurant, a local salon, or a dispensary, that upfront number is impossible to justify — especially when the ROI timeline is unclear.

The second barrier is operational. Publishing an app to the Apple App Store involves DUNS verification, code signing, provisioning profiles, privacy manifests, App Review Guidelines compliance, and the 2 to 7 day Apple review process that frequently rejects apps for obscure edge cases. Google Play is simpler but still requires ongoing compliance. Small business owners do not have time to learn any of this.

The third barrier is maintenance. iOS updates break things. Apple retires APIs. Your push notification provider changes its SDK. Expo releases a new SDK major. None of that work goes away once the app ships — it just becomes a perpetual second job for someone who wanted to run a restaurant.

Our answer: $0 until your app is live.

We own the Apple Developer and Google Play accounts. We handle every piece of operational work — signing, submission, Apple rejections, iOS updates, crash monitoring, store listing management. You never touch DUNS registration or a provisioning profile.

You pay nothing during the 4 to 10 week build. Your first subscription payment kicks in the day we submit your finished app to the App Store. If you cancel later, the app winds down over 30 days. Zero upfront cost, zero operational overhead, zero Apple paperwork.

What We Build

Four types of apps we build for local businesses

Restaurant Ordering Apps

Menu browsing, cart building, Stripe or Square payment, push notifications when an order is ready. Integrates with your existing POS or runs standalone. Supports daily specials, allergen tagging, and loyalty punch cards.

Service Booking Apps

In-app appointment booking synced to Google Calendar or Acuity. Works for salons, tattoo shops, martial arts schools, auto detailing, and any service business. Customer profiles, appointment history, and automatic reminder push notifications.

Membership & Loyalty Apps

Digital punch cards, rewards tiers, member-only content, event RSVPs. Paired with email signup and push notifications for announcements. Works well for gyms, bars, dispensaries, and community organizations.

Content & Brand Apps

Menu, hours, gallery, location, contact — your website's content in a native app shell. Great for businesses that want to be in the App Store without the complexity of a transactional app. This is the App Starter tier.

The Stack

Modern, maintainable, no vendor lock-in

Every app we build uses the same modern, well-supported stack. That means we can maintain multiple customer apps efficiently, and you are never stuck on a framework that an agency cobbled together a decade ago.

React Native + Expo

The mobile app layer. One codebase ships to both iOS and Android from the same TypeScript source.

TypeScript

Strict type safety throughout the app and the backend. Fewer runtime bugs, easier handoff.

FastAPI or Azure Functions

The backend API layer. Python or TypeScript functions running on Azure. Scales to zero when no one is using the app.

Supabase or Postgres

Data storage with row-level security. Authentication, user profiles, orders, bookings.

Stripe for payments

Physical goods and services processed at standard card rates. No app store commission on real-world transactions.

Push notifications via Expo / OneSignal

Cross-platform push for iOS and Android from a single API.

The AI Builder Question

What about Lovable, Bolt, v0, and the AI app builders?

Honest answer: they are excellent tools for what they do. A solo founder can spin up a working web application in an afternoon with any of them. We use similar AI tooling inside our own build process to move faster.

But none of those tools publish native apps to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. They generate web applications you access through a browser URL. If a customer taps an icon on their iPhone home screen and expects a real mobile app — with push notifications, offline mode, native performance, App Store listings, and reviews — a Lovable output does not deliver that. It delivers a web bookmark.

More importantly, AI builders do not handle the operational work: code signing, provisioning profiles, the App Store review gauntlet, iOS version upgrades, privacy manifests, crash monitoring, store listing updates, or beta distribution to your staff. That ongoing work is the majority of what running a production mobile app actually looks like. We do all of it as part of the monthly subscription.

Our moat is operational, not technical. We publish, maintain, and pick up the phone when something breaks.

How It Works

From discovery call to the App Store in four to six weeks

  1. 01

    Free discovery call

    Thirty minutes on the phone. We talk through what your app needs to do, what plan fits, and when we can start. No charge, no commitment, no Apple paperwork to fill out.

  2. 02

    Written scope + build (still $0)

    We write a one-page scope doc listing the screens, features, and integrations. You sign off on the scope. We start building. Within a week you see a working prototype on your phone via Expo Go. Content, copy, photos, and brand get applied as we iterate. Zero payment collected during this phase.

  3. 03

    TestFlight beta (still $0)

    Once the app is feature-complete, we push a TestFlight build to your phone and any staff you invite. You use the app in real life, we fix whatever needs fixing, and repeat until you say ship it.

  4. 04

    You approve → first payment → we submit

    You approve the final build. You enter payment info in Stripe. Your subscription starts and we submit to Apple and Google Play within 24 hours. The first month covers the submission labor and the 2 to 7 day Apple review cycle. If Apple rejects, we fix and resubmit at no additional cost.

  5. 05

    Launch + ongoing updates

    Once Apple approves, the app goes live in both stores. We announce it to your customer list, update your website, and start the monthly update cadence. Every month we push content updates, bug fixes, and any new features in scope for your plan. Cancel any time — app winds down over 30 days.

Pricing

Simple monthly pricing, no upfront build fee

App Starter

$199/mo

or $159/mo billed annually

  • • Native iOS + Android build
  • • Published to App Store + Google Play
  • • Up to 5 core screens
  • • Content synced with your website
  • • Push notifications (basic broadcasts)
  • • 2 content updates / month
  • • iOS / Android OS update maintenance

App Pro

$399/mo

or $319/mo billed annually

  • • Everything in Starter, plus:
  • • Up to 15 screens
  • • User authentication
  • • One custom integration (Stripe, Square, Calendar, etc.)
  • • In-app booking or ordering
  • • Targeted push notifications + in-app alerts
  • • 5 content + feature updates / month
  • • TestFlight beta for staff
  • • Priority support (1 business day)
  • • Quarterly strategy call

What's included in the subscription

  • ✓ Apple Developer Program fee ($99/year) — we absorb it
  • ✓ Google Play Developer fee ($25 one-time) — we absorb it
  • ✓ Code signing certificates and provisioning profiles
  • ✓ App Store + Google Play submission and review handling (including re-submissions)
  • ✓ iOS and Android OS update maintenance
  • ✓ Crash monitoring and uptime alerts
  • ✓ Store listing management (screenshots, keywords, descriptions)

Pass-through costs: Transaction fees on Stripe, Square, Toast, and other payment processors go directly to the processor at their standard card rates. That is the only cost outside the monthly subscription.

The Other Option

Considering a no-code app builder instead?

Honest side-by-side comparisons of how Joeckel Design's done-for-you app service stacks up against the major no-code mobile app builders — pricing, what they actually ship to the App Store, and what you have to maintain yourself.

vs FlutterFlowvs Adalovs Glidevs Thunkablevs BuildFireAll app-builder comparisons →

Frequently Asked

Questions we hear from local businesses

How much does it cost to build a mobile app for a small business?+
Nothing until your app goes live. Joeckel Design builds custom iOS and Android mobile apps on a monthly subscription starting at $199/mo (App Starter) or $399/mo (App Pro). There is no upfront fee, no deposit, and no payment during the 4 to 10 week build. Your first subscription payment kicks in the day we submit the app to the App Store. Once live, the subscription covers hosting, publishing, OS update maintenance, and ongoing feature updates. Most small-business app projects that would traditionally quote $5,000 to $25,000 upfront can be built and maintained without the customer putting a single dollar at risk during development.
What is the difference between your service and AI app builders like Lovable or Bolt?+
AI web-app builders like Lovable, Bolt, and v0 generate web applications you access through a browser. They do not publish native iOS and Android apps to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, they do not handle Apple's code signing and review process, and they do not maintain the app as iOS and Android versions change. We build real native apps using React Native and Expo, publish them to both stores, and maintain them as the operating systems evolve. When a customer taps an icon on their iPhone, it is a real mobile app — not a browser bookmark.
How long does it take to build a mobile app?+
Typical timeline for an App Starter build is four to six weeks from discovery call to live on the App Store. App Pro builds that include custom backend integrations, user authentication, and payment processing typically run six to ten weeks. Apple App Store review takes two to seven days once the build is submitted. We run TestFlight beta distribution during the final stretch so you can try the app on a real phone before public launch.
When does my first payment happen?+
Your first subscription payment happens the day we submit the finished app to the App Store — not a day sooner. Here is the sequence: free discovery call, written scope document, build (4 to 10 weeks, no payment), TestFlight beta on your phone (no payment), you approve the final build, you enter payment info in Stripe, the subscription starts, and we submit to Apple within 24 hours. If Apple rejects the app (which happens on 10 to 20 percent of first submissions), we fix and resubmit at no additional cost — your first month's payment covers the entire review cycle.
Do I need an Apple Developer account or a DUNS number?+
No. Joeckel Design owns the Apple Developer and Google Play Developer accounts and handles all the paperwork. Your business appears as the Seller in the App Store listing — which is what customers see when they search — but you never touch a DUNS registration, a certificate, or a provisioning profile. The $99/year Apple fee and the $25 Google fee are absorbed into the monthly subscription, not passed through. This is the biggest time-saver for a small business owner: zero Apple paperwork, ever.
What about Apple's 30% App Store fee?+
Apple charges a 15 to 30 percent commission only on digital purchases made inside the app (in-app purchases and subscriptions for digital goods). Real-world transactions — restaurant food orders, haircut bookings, retail purchases of physical goods — are exempt under Apple's guidelines and processed through Stripe, Square, or Toast at standard card-processing rates. Most local business apps never pay Apple's commission because they are selling real-world products and services, not digital content.
What happens if I cancel my subscription?+
You can cancel any time, no fees, no contracts. The app stays live in the App Store and Google Play for 30 days after your last successful payment, then we pull it. You keep your content, your customer data, your push notification subscriber list, and the business relationships you built through the app. No refunds are issued on previously paid months — the subscription was for the work already done and the time the app was live. If you want to keep the app running long-term and move it to your own developer account, we can quote a buy-out fee that includes the source code and a transfer process.
Do I own the mobile app and the source code?+
You own your content, your customer data, your Google Play Store reviews, and the push notification subscriber list your app built. Joeckel Design owns the source code, the Apple Developer account, the Google Play Developer account, and the operational infrastructure while you subscribe. This is the same pattern as our website hosting — you own the business, we own the infrastructure that runs it. If you want to buy out the source code and transfer the app to your own dev account, we quote that separately and it is rare but available.
Can you build a restaurant ordering app?+
Yes. Restaurant apps that include menu browsing, cart building, Stripe payment, and push notifications when an order is ready fit the App Pro plan ($399/mo). We integrate with most POS systems (Square, Toast, Clover) or run a standalone Stripe flow. Drink menus, allergen tagging, daily specials, and loyalty punch cards are all within scope.
What technology do you use to build the apps?+
React Native with Expo for the mobile app layer, TypeScript throughout, FastAPI or Azure Functions for the backend API, Supabase or Postgres for data storage, Stripe for payments, and Expo Push Notifications or OneSignal for push notifications. The stack is deliberately modern and maintainable — no legacy frameworks, no vendor lock-in beyond the store accounts we run on your behalf.

Ready to see what your app would look like?

Book a free discovery call. We will talk through what your app needs to do, what plan fits, and give you a realistic timeline. No sales pressure, no commitment — just a conversation with the person who would actually build it.

Book a Free Discovery CallSee Website Plans

Or call (920) 203-1581 — Kyle picks up the phone