- Home
- Case Studies
- About
- ServicesSoftware Engineering
- Custom SaaS DevelopmentNewMulti-tenant, billing, SOC 2-ready, AI-native.
- Next.js DevelopmentProduction Next.js 15 with App Router, RSC & edge.
- Python & FastAPIHigh-performance APIs, microservices, AI inference.
- Mobile App DevelopmentNewReact Native & Flutter — iOS + Android.
- Web ApplicationsFull-stack web apps, portals & dashboards.
- Custom SoftwareBespoke software, sprint delivery, real PMs.
AI & Data- AI Agent DevelopmentLangChain, OpenAI Agents SDK, Claude — RAG + tools.
- Custom RAG DevelopmentNewHybrid search, reranking, evals & citations.
- MCP Server DevelopmentNewExpose your tools to Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT.
- AI & ML DevelopmentComputer vision, predictive analytics, fine-tuning.
17 years · 1000+ projects · Toronto HQ - Clients
- Career
- Contact
- Blog
Quick answer
UnlockLive IT is a Toronto-based custom SaaS development company that builds production-grade multi-tenant platforms — from focused MVPs to vertical SaaS in healthcare, fintech, legal, and education. Our default stack is Next.js 15 + Python/FastAPI on AWS, with PostgreSQL row-level security for multi-tenancy, Stripe Billing, Clerk or WorkOS for enterprise SSO, and SOC 2-ready audit logging from day one. We've been building software since 2008 and have shipped 1,000+ projects, including the AI-native SaaS work covered in our AI Agent Development and Custom RAG practices. Every engagement is led by a Toronto PM accountable for the timeline, the budget, and your weekly written status.
What we build
B2B SaaS platforms:Multi-tenant dashboards with role-based access control, organization management, SSO (SAML, OIDC, Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra ID), audit logs, and seat-based billing.
Vertical SaaS for regulated industries:Healthcare, fintech, legal, and education SaaS with compliance baked in — HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOC 2 Type II, FERPA — and audit trails on every state change.
AI-native SaaS products:Products where the AI agent is the product — copilots, AI workflows, RAG over customer data, agentic automation. Includes prompt versioning, evals, and per-tenant model routing.
Developer-first / API-first SaaS:Public REST and GraphQL APIs with OpenAPI documentation, SDK generation, webhooks, rate limiting, API keys, usage-based billing, and a self-serve developer portal.
Marketplace and two-sided platforms:Multi-side marketplaces with Stripe Connect, KYC/KYB onboarding, escrow, dispute handling, and 1099 / T4A reporting.
SaaS modernization & MVP rescue:Refactoring legacy SaaS off Heroku monoliths, painful Rails 5 codebases, or unmaintained PHP — onto modern Next.js / FastAPI on AWS with zero downtime cutovers.
Our SaaS technology stack
Our SaaS development process
- Discovery & product strategy (2-3 weeks): Customer interviews, competitive teardown, jobs-to-be-done mapping, pricing model design, and a written product strategy document. We help you decide what to NOT build, which is usually worth more than the code itself.
- Architecture & technical design (1-2 weeks): Multi-tenant model, data isolation strategy, auth provider, billing model, hosting topology, and a written ADR (architecture decision record) for every non-obvious choice.
- MVP build (10-14 weeks): First production-quality release with auth, billing, core workflows, admin panel, transactional email, and observability. Continuous deployment to staging from week 1.
- Beta launch & instrumentation (2-4 weeks): Soft launch with 5-25 design partners. Funnel instrumentation in PostHog, customer interviews, and a triaged backlog of changes.
- GA launch (2-3 weeks): Public launch with marketing site, pricing page, self-serve signup, free trial mechanics, and end-to-end load testing.
- Post-launch growth & SOC 2 (ongoing): Iterative product work plus optional SOC 2 Type II readiness program (typically 4-6 months to audit-ready), security hardening, and FinOps cost reviews.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to build a SaaS product in 2026?
A focused MVP with auth, billing, and one core workflow typically ranges from $40,000 to $90,000. A production-ready B2B SaaS with multi-tenant architecture, RBAC, admin tooling, and ~3-5 core workflows ranges from $120,000 to $300,000. Vertical SaaS in regulated industries with compliance work (HIPAA, SOC 2) typically lands at $250,000-$600,000. We provide line-itemed quotes after a 1-2 week discovery sprint, never blind ranges.
How long does it take to build a SaaS MVP?
A real MVP — production-quality, billable, ready for paying customers — takes 12-18 weeks from kickoff for most B2B SaaS. We ship a working staging environment within the first 2-3 weeks. Marketing-only landing pages can ship in 1 week and we recommend doing that in parallel to start collecting waitlist signups.
Multi-tenancy: row-level security, schema-per-tenant, or DB-per-tenant?
For 90% of B2B SaaS we use PostgreSQL row-level security (RLS) with a tenant_id column on every table. It's the cheapest, easiest to operate, and good for thousands of tenants. Schema-per-tenant is right when you need per-tenant schema customization or noisy-neighbor isolation. DB-per-tenant is reserved for enterprise / regulated customers paying enough to justify the operational overhead. We help pick the right model in week 1, not as a sunk cost later.
What billing platform do you recommend — Stripe, Paddle, or Lago?
Stripe Billing is our default for North American customers and works for subscription, seat-based, and metered models. Paddle is the default if you need merchant-of-record handling for global tax (especially digital goods). Lago is what we add when you need true usage-based billing (think AI/API products charging per request or per token) and want self-hosted control over the metering layer.
How do you handle SOC 2 Type II readiness?
We bake the controls in from day one — encryption at rest and in transit, access reviews, change management via PRs, audit logging on tenant-affecting actions, vendor reviews, and onboarding/offboarding workflows. We integrate Vanta or Drata for evidence collection. Most clients reach SOC 2 Type II audit-ready in 4-6 months from kickoff and pass on the first audit.
Can you add AI features (copilots, RAG, agents) to an existing SaaS?
Yes — this is one of our most common engagements. We layer in AI-native features on top of your existing data: in-product copilots, semantic search, RAG over your customer's own documents, AI workflow automation, and agentic actions. We handle prompt versioning, evals, per-tenant model routing, semantic caching, and inference cost controls. See our AI Agent Development and RAG Development pages for the underlying engineering work.
Do you build the marketing site too?
Yes. Every SaaS engagement includes a marketing-site track in parallel — landing page, pricing page, blog, /docs site, and SEO foundations. Built on the same Next.js codebase or, optionally, separated into Webflow / Framer for marketing-team velocity.
Where are your developers based?
Project management, architecture, and client-facing leads are in our Toronto, Canada headquarters. Full-time engineering is in our Mirpur DOHS office in Dhaka, Bangladesh. All engagements are run through Toronto accountability with real-time communication during North American business hours.
Ready to ship a SaaS your customers will pay for?
Tell us about the workflow you want to productize. We'll respond within one business day with an honest take on feasibility, scope, and cost. Book a free strategy call with our Toronto team.
UnlockLive IT Limited provides state-of-the-art software solutions to clients all over the world. We are a creative force with strategic alliances distributed around the globe
Copyright© UnlockLive .All right reserved 2008 - 2026