About

Senior engineering, done properly.

Brainbook is a Melbourne-based software consultancy. We help founders and growing businesses ship software that works in production - the payments, the performance, the security, and now the AI. Two decades of doing the hard parts right.

Mark Halcroft, founder of Brainbook

The person behind it

Hi, I’m Mark.

I’ve been building production software for more than two decades. SaaS platforms, payment systems, ERP and e-commerce integrations, dealer portals, and the unglamorous infrastructure that turns a working demo into a business people can actually run on.

Over the years I kept seeing the same thing: the gap between software that looks like it works and software that holds up under real customers, real money, and real load. Closing that gap is what I’m good at, and it’s what Brainbook exists to do.

Brainbook is the consultancy I built around that experience. When you work with us, you work directly with me - no offshoring, no junior dev being “managed” over your project, no account manager between you and the person writing the code.

What we do

We specialise in the things that are easy to get wrong.

Brainbook isn’t a generalist agency. We go deep on the areas where mistakes are expensive and experience really matters - payments, performance, compliance, integrations, and shipping AI that holds up in the real world.

We work as fixed-scope audits, project-based builds, or ongoing retainers - whatever fits where you are. Many clients start with a one-off engagement and stay on as we become their trusted engineering partner.

Explore our services

Payments & Stripe

Subscriptions, dunning, reconciliation, and invoice compliance.

Performance & scale

Database, caching, and queue work that handles real growth.

AI integration

Assistants, automation, and AI features engineered for production.

System integration

ERP, EDI, e-commerce, and third-party APIs wired together properly.

Prototype to production

Taking AI-built apps from demo to launchable product.

Custom development

Scalable applications built for the long term.

How we work

The principles behind every engagement.

Senior, hands-on

You work directly with an experienced engineer who writes the code. No layers, no hand-offs, no surprises.

Honest advice

We’ll tell you when something isn’t worth building, or when a simpler approach beats the fancy one. Your outcome over our invoice.

Production-first

We build for real users, real money, and real load from day one - not just for the demo.

Plain English

We explain what we’re doing and why, without the jargon. You’ll always know where your project stands.

Pragmatic

We keep what works and fix what doesn’t. No rewrites for the sake of it, no chasing trends.

Time-zone friendly

Melbourne-based, serving clients across AU, US, UK, and Europe with real-time collaboration during your day.

20+

Years building software

$1M+

Processed through Stripe

AU/EU/UK

Compliance expertise

Let’s talk about your project

Whether you’re shipping an AI-built prototype, hardening your payments, or figuring out where AI fits in your business, we’d love to hear from you.