Custom software or ready-made tools: how to decide

Start with a ready-made tool if

• Your process is the same as most other businesses in your field
• You need something working this month
• The budget is small and the needs are simple
• An existing tool already does 80% of what you want

Consider custom software if

• Your process is unusual and you keep working around the tool
• You pay per user and the cost is rising every time you add someone
• Data lives in several tools and someone copies it between them by hand
• The system is central to how you make money

The costs people forget

Ready-made tools have monthly fees that grow with your team, limits on customisation and the risk that a feature you rely on changes or disappears. Custom software has development costs up front and needs maintenance afterwards. Compare the total over three years, not just the first month.

A middle route

You can often keep a ready-made tool for the standard parts and build custom pieces around it, such as a dashboard or a connection between two systems. That keeps the cost down and solves the part that actually hurts.

If you build custom, start small

Pick the one problem that costs you the most time or money, and build only that. Use it for a few weeks, then decide what to add. Making the first version small is the best way to keep a custom project on budget.