“Sometimes it felt like a whole army was working for us, and that felt great.”
15+Years in LMS development
500+Successful implementations
ISO 27001Certified
Trusted by training providers scaling from 500 to 50,000+ learners
The problem
Your LMS decision will shape your business for the next 5 years. Get it wrong, and you’re stuck
Do any of these ring a bell?
Chose SaaS, then outgrew its feature limits
Went with open-source and drowned in maintenance costs
Built custom when SaaS would have worked better
Picked an LMS team based on price, not capabilities
Team up with someone who's made LMS decisions 500+ times to help you make it once.
What you get
From "paralyzed by options" to "confident to move on"
We help you define the right architecture, integrations, and custom features. From there, we translate that strategy into execution, cutting delivery timelines by up to 70%.
Save time and avoid mistakes
Get clarity on your LMS architecture and delivery path before you invest time or money into the wrong solution.Build stakeholder alignment
Align leadership, product, L&D, and IT around one direction, backed by a rationale everyone agrees on.Know the costs from the start
We specify your budget upfront, with a fixed price for the initial delivery and T&M as your LMS evolves.Get build-ready specifications
Walk away with technical specs, scope, and requirements to start building immediately.Future-proof your tech choice
Plan a custom LMS without seat limits, roadmap constraints, or customization trade-offs.Reclaim 20+ hours/week for your team
Reduce internal workload with integrations and automations built around the specifics of your business.No need to hire a full-time specialist
Add features, upgrade architecture, and clear backlog without full-time hiring.Start building in days
With our pre-built modules, you get 80% of your LMS ready on day one. We then customize what’s left.
Consulting services
Get a plan to guide your LMS decisions
Make confident LMS choices grounded in your business model and growth goals. Here are the scenarios our LMS consulting services cover.
We evaluate your current setup, learning workflows, integrations, and constraints to determine whether SaaS, open-source, or a custom LMS is the right long-term option.
What you get
- Open source vs SaaS vs custom LMS assessment
- Total cost of ownership projections (5-year view)
- Feature gap analysis for your specific use case
Is your SaaS LMS worth extending, or is it holding you back? If you're using a platform like LearnUpon or Docebo, we analyse your requirements and tell you what can be fixed and how.
What you get
- Feature gap identification
- Extension vs migration decision framework
- Custom middleware opportunities
- Integration assessment
When custom is the right path, we define the LMS scope, architecture, technology stack, integrations, timeline, and budget required to launch and scale.
What you get
- Build vs buy financial analysis
- Architecture recommendations
- Development timeline and roadmap
- Technology stack recommendations
- Scalability and security planning
Open source vs SaaS vs custom LMS assessmentTotal cost of ownership projections (5-year view)Feature gap analysis for your specific use case
Feature gap identificationExtension vs migration decision frameworkCustom middleware opportunitiesIntegration assessment
Build vs buy financial analysisArchitecture recommendationsDevelopment timeline and roadmapTechnology stack recommendationsScalability and security planning
Integration requirements mappingAPI compatibility assessmentMiddleware vs native integration analysisAutomation workflow design
How it works
Get it done right in 3 weeks
Expert-guided process that requires minimal time from your team while delivering maximum clarity on your LMS decision.
Step 01
Free strategy call
30-minute consultation to understand your situation and determine which consulting package fits your needs.
What we'll cover:
- Your current LMS challenges
- What you've tried already
- Your timeline and budget constraints
- Whether consulting is the right fit
Step 02
Discovery
Week 1 starts with a deep-dive workshop where we map your entire learning operation: business model, user workflows, integration requirements, and growth plans.
You'll answer questions like:
- Who are your learners and how do they access content?
- What manual processes are killing your team?
- What does success look like in 12 months? 3 years?
- What are your non-negotiable requirements?
Step 03
Strategy
Week 2 is where our 15 years of experience goes to work. We evaluate every viable option:
- Run the numbers on LearnUpon + extensions vs custom build
- Model your 5-year costs under different scenarios
- Design technical architecture for custom solutions
- Identify integration risks before they become blockers
- Pressure-test scalability assumptions
Step 04
Roadmap
Week 3, we present your roadmap, or developer-ready specifications with:
- Platform recommendation
- Technical architecture and wireframes
- Feature prioritization and phase planning
- Integration strategy and automation roadmap
- Realistic timelines and budget breakdowns
- Risk mitigation plan
Step 05
Next steps
Week 4, you're ready to execute. Whether you work with Academy Smart, your team, or another vendor, you now have a plan that removes guesswork.
If continuing with us:
- Implementation starts immediately
- Your consulting investment is credited toward build costs
Trusted by training providers and regulated organizations worldwide
Check out what they have to say about working with Academy Smart.
“The experience has been exceptional from start to finish.”
"The process of working with Academy Smart has been very smooth."
"Academy Smart impressed us with their communication and project management."
"Their versatility and can-do mentality stand out."
"The team maintains a service-oriented working style."
"They just need to continue keeping up with technologies and doing the great work they’re doing."
"Their flexibility in compromising and ability to propose suitable solutions were commendable."
"They were willing to work outside normal business hours and were quick to respond to me."
“The talent and expertise of their staff are outstanding.”
Pricing
Choose your package
Hop on a call and we'll help you decide which package is right for you. Our consulting cost is credited to your build.
Starter assessment
Best for small training providers or teams that need fast direction
$1K
1 week delivery
€880
1 week delivery
What you get:
Current state analysis
SaaS vs open-source vs custom recommendation
Feature gap identification
Timeline and cost estimate
Pro strategy
Best for training providers, enterprises, and multi-site organizations
$2K
1-2 weeks delivery
€1.8K
1-2 weeks delivery
Everything in Starter, plus:
Technical architecture recommendation
Integration requirements mapping and API compatibility assessment
Extend vs migrate decision framework with rationale (if applicable)
Custom feature specification
Enterprise roadmap
Best for regulated organizations and complex LMS environments
$4-5K
2-4 weeks delivery
€3.5-4.4K
2-4 weeks delivery
Everything in Pro, plus:
Complete technical specification document
Phased delivery roadmap with milestones
Automation workflow design
Compliance & CPD approach (SCORM, xAPI, LTI)
Multi-tenant architecture plan (if applicable)
Risk assessment and mitigation strategy
Detailed project budget breakdown
Academy Smart
What makes Academy Smart the right choice
Generalist agencies miss the LMS-specific nuances we've mastered over 15 years. We align strategy, architecture, and execution from the start.
500+ LMS implementations
We’ve built custom LMS, CPD systems, and learning integrations since 2009.
Professional Partner for the leading LMS providers
Academy Smart is a pro partner for leading LMS providers for custom features and integrations.
Pre-built LMS foundation
Deliver LMS projects up to 50% faster with our reusable LMS and CPD components.
15 years of LMS expertise
Hands-on experience with SCORM, xAPI, LTI compliance, and multi-tenant platforms.When does a custom LMS make more sense than SaaS?
A custom LMS makes sense when SaaS pricing, feature limits, or lack of control block growth. For many clients, a custom LMS pays for itself in under two years compared to recurring SaaS costs.
Do we need to replace our LMS to work with you?
No. Many clients extend platforms like LearnUpon or Docebo with custom features, integrations, or CPD dashboards before considering migration. We help you decide what’s worth fixing versus replacing.
How fast can we move from decision to execution?
We don’t start from zero. With pre-built LMS modules in place, execution can begin immediately, cutting delivery time by up to 70% compared to typical 12–18 month builds.
What do we walk away with after the consulting phase?
You get an LMS recommendation, architecture overview, cost projections, integration strategy, high-fidelity wireframes, and an implementation roadmap ready for execution by us, your internal team, or another vendor.
How do you help us decide between extending and rebuilding an LMS?
We assess feature gaps, integration complexity, long-term costs, and scalability. If extensions and middleware solve the problem cost-effectively, we recommend that. If not, we define a migration or custom build path. The final decision is yours; we just make sure you clearly understand each option and its trade-offs before you commit.
Will you still help if we don’t build with you?
Yes. Our consulting is vendor-agnostic. You can use our recommendations to brief your internal team or another vendor, with confidence that the plan is sound.
