# Code is the easy part, or how we refactored half the business to fix a janky script

DevFeed: [Code is the easy part, or how we refactored half the business to fix a janky script](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/code-is-the-easy-part-or-how-we-refactored-half-the-business-to-fix-a-janky-script-37619.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://swizec.com/blog/code-is-the-easy-part-or-how-we-refactored-half-the-business-to-fix-a-janky-script>)

Author: hi@swizec.com (Swizec Teller)

Published: 2026-06-17T00:00:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Swizec Teller](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/swizec-teller.md>)

Topics: [Code](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/code.md>), [Python](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/python.md>), [Finance](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/finance.md>)

Tags: [automated](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/automated.md>), [billing](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/billing.md>), [code](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/code.md>), [pretty](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/pretty.md>), [python](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/python.md>), [stress](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/stress.md>)

## AI overview

A startup engineering war story about refactoring a Python-based billing and invoicing system that had accumulated undocumented business rules, manual workarounds, and operational stress. The team automated the end-to-end invoicing process; a test run took two days instead of a week, although the work was not yet complete.

## Source excerpt

This is a classic startup war story: Someone had built a leaky rowboat. It worked! Then we started flying the rowboat as a Cessna. What we needed was an aircraft carrier.