A new chapter for publishing software
From ageing software to a modern client platform
Eccles Fisher needed to replace a nearly 40-year-old desktop database that supported decades of publishing knowledge, client activity and reporting. We designed and built a secure Laravel platform that preserved their data, improved search and reporting, and gave clients access through a new modern web portal.
Project snapshot
Client - Eccles-Fisher Associates
Sector - International literary scouting
What we replaced - a business-critical internal system that had been central to Eccles Fisher’s day-to-day work for many years.
What we built - A secure Laravel web platform with internal tools, reporting and client portal access
Key result - A modern, searchable, maintainable system supporting decades of publishing data and many hundreds of client users
The challenge
Eccles Fisher’s existing database was business-critical. It contained decades of specialist publishing data and supported the team’s core day-to-day work, but the technology behind it was ageing.
The original system was desktop-only and built on an almost 40-year-old Visual Basic codebase. It had become harder to maintain, harder to extend, and less suited to the way the team and their clients needed to work.
The challenge was not simply to rebuild the interface. We needed to understand the legacy data model, map it into a new relational structure, clean and transform historic records, and migrate a large volume of data without losing the relationships that made it valuable.
Each title could be connected to authors, agents, publishers, contacts, territories, materials, reports, audiences, client activity and distribution rules. Preserving those relationships was essential.
“Adam’s intelligence and patience were particularly striking, nothing was impossible - his enthusiasm for the project help drive us all through. The end result, which is entirely bespoke to us and replaced a very old system, has revolutionised our workflows, is intuitive and therefore easy to train new users on.”
Our approach
We began by understanding how Eccles Fisher’s team actually worked: how titles moved through the system, how reports were created, how materials were chased, how client access was controlled, and how historic relationships were stored in the legacy database.
From there, we designed a new platform around the real workflow of international literary scouting rather than trying to force the business into a generic CRM or off-the-shelf database.
The project combined several strands of work:
What we built
A modern publishing catalogue
At the centre of the platform is a structured catalogue of titles. Each title can hold rich metadata, editorial copy, notes, updates, opinions, awards, author relationships, visibility settings and report content.
This gives the team one reliable source of truth for the information they use every day.
Rights and relationship management
Literary scouting is relationship-heavy. A single title can involve multiple authors, pseudonyms, agents, publishers, contacts, companies, territories, audiences and client interactions.
We built the system to reflect that complexity, allowing the team to manage relationships between titles, authors, agents, publishers, companies and contacts in a structured and searchable way.
Materials and follow-up workflows
The platform helps the team track requested publishing materials such as proposals, manuscripts, samples, final material and other supporting files.
For each request, the system can track what is needed, who it is expected from, when it is due, who should chase it, and whether it has been completed. This turns manual follow-up into a clearer, more reliable workflow.
Report publishing and distribution
Eccles Fisher produce reports and curated title lists for their clients. The new system allows the team to manage report editions, title lists, distribution groups and client visibility from within the platform.
We also added PDF export and print-friendly reporting, reducing reliance on manual document preparation and making reports easier to share and access.
A secure client access portal
Alongside the internal administration system, we built a secure client-facing portal used by many hundreds of client users.
Clients can log in, browse the reports made available to them, search relevant title information, export PDFs and access print-friendly reports through a controlled, permission-based interface.
This changed the system from a purely internal database into a live client service. Instead of manually sending files, lists and updates, the Eccles Fisher team can manage reports, title lists, distribution groups and client access from one place.
Permissions, security and auditability
Built with secure access controls, user permissions and activity tracking to support both internal teams and external client access.
This means internal users, administrators and external clients can operate within the same system while seeing different information and having different levels of access.
Technical implementation
Laravel + Vue/Inertia
A modern, maintainable application stack for complex business workflows.
AWS hosting, S3 and Forge deployments
Reliable infrastructure, secure file storage and controlled deployment processes.
Typesense search
Fast, flexible search across a large publishing dataset.
Role-based access, MFA and audit logging
Security controls designed around internal teams and client access.
The result
The finished platform replaced a fragile legacy desktop application with a modern, secure and maintainable web-based system built around the realities of international literary scouting.
Eccles Fisher now have a bespoke platform that preserves decades of valuable business data while making daily workflows clearer, faster and easier to manage.
The internal team can manage complex publishing information, train new users more easily, produce reports, control client access and continue refining the system as their needs evolve.
For clients, the accompanying portal provides a more professional and accessible way to discover relevant titles, view reports and access information.
Working with Adam and Abby on a complicated and long-running project that had got stuck in the weeds was a revelation. They set up a good communication system, got down to the work and the project started speeding ahead. Adam’s intelligence and patience were particularly striking, nothing was impossible - his enthusiasm for the project help drive us all through. The end result, which is entirely bespoke to us and replaced a very old system, has revolutionised our workflows, is intuitive and therefore easy to train new users on. For our clients the accompanying website has proved popular. Post-launch, the support and ongoing refinements have been very smooth. We can’t recommend Adam and Abby more highly.
Eccles Fisher Associates
Key outcomes
Legacy Replaced
We replaced a nearly 40-year-old Visual Basic desktop application with a modern web-based platform designed for long-term use.
Data Preserved
Maintained the important connections across Eccles Fisher’s publishing data, so the new platform could support existing workflows without losing valuable context.
Client Access
Created a secure client portal used by many hundreds of clients.
Faster Search
Improved search speed, filtering and access to key publishing information.
Clearer Reporting
Supported PDF exports and print-friendly reports for internal teams and clients.
Stronger Security
Added role-based permissions, MFA and audit logging.
Modern Infrastructure
Set up AWS hosting, Laravel Forge deployments, S3 storage and Typesense search.
Ongoing Support
Provided post-launch refinements and long-term support as the platform evolved.
Why this matters
Many businesses rely on ageing systems because those systems contain years of valuable data and knowledge. Replacing them is rarely simple. The challenge is not just building something new, but protecting what already works, preserving the value of historic data, and creating a modern platform that people actually want to use.
For Eccles Fisher Associates, the result was a bespoke system that retained the value of their legacy database while giving their team and clients a clearer, more reliable and more scalable way to work.
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