When is an off-the-shelf package the right choice?
For many processes excellent software already exists. Accounting, payroll, email, a calendar or a simple CRM: countless businesses share the same needs there, and the packages that serve them are mature, affordable and well maintained. Reinventing the wheel makes little sense.
An off-the-shelf package is usually the right choice when:
- your process is similar to that of most businesses in your sector, and doesn't set you apart;
- the package covers most of your needs without you having to bend the way you work;
- you want to start quickly and have no time for a design and build project;
- the legal rules change often and the supplier keeps up with them for you, as with accounting or payroll.
In those cases a licence pays for the work the supplier has already done, and for the upkeep they keep doing. That is often a good deal.
When does custom software pay off?
Custom software pays off when the package no longer fits your business, and that starts to cost you money or clients. You usually recognise it by a few signs.
- Your process is your edge. The way you plan, quote or follow up on clients is exactly what makes you better than your competitors. A package forces you to work like everyone else.
- Your team works around the package. There are spreadsheets next to the system, data is entered twice, and a few people know how to get around its limits.
- You pay per-user licences for people who use only a small part of it. As you grow, that cost rises every year.
- Your systems don't talk to each other. The package has no good link with your accounting, your webshop or your planning, so data gets retyped.
If you recognise several of these signs, it is worth considering custom software: an application built around how your business works, not the other way around.
The middle road: a package with integrations, or custom around a package
The choice is rarely black and white. In practice many businesses choose a combination, and that is often the wisest solution.
- A package with integrations: you keep your accounting or ERP package, but let it exchange data automatically with your webshop, your planning or your CRM through integrations. The retyping disappears, without replacing anything.
- Custom around a package: the package stays the base for what is standard, and a small piece of custom software covers what makes your business unique, such as a client portal or a planning tool that uses data from the package.
That way you only pay for custom work where it really makes a difference, and benefit from what a package does well for the rest. A further advantage: you can start small and decide later whether to go further.
What does it cost over five years?
Packages often look cheaper because the entry cost is low. Custom software looks more expensive because the investment comes first. If you want a fair comparison, look at the total cost over several years. These are the factors that count:
- Licences: how many users do you have now, how many in five years, and how do the supplier's prices evolve?
- Customisation and modules: what do you have to buy on top or have adapted to make the package usable?
- Hidden work: how much time does your team lose to workarounds, double entry and fixing mistakes?
- Build and maintenance: with custom software you pay for the build once, and after that for maintenance covering hosting, updates and continued development.
- Lock-in: can you leave the supplier, and do you take your data with you? With custom software the code should be yours.
Put those factors side by side for both options, for today and for the situation you expect in five years. The difference often turns out other than the first price suggests, in one direction or the other. A package that is cheap today can become expensive as you grow. Custom software that looks expensive upfront can pay for itself in hours your team no longer loses. There is no general answer, only the answer for your business.
Which factors drive the cost of building custom software is explained in our article on what custom software costs. With us the code is always yours, and you know the price per part upfront.
A short checklist to help you choose
Answer these questions honestly. The more often you say yes, the stronger the case for custom software.
- Does your business stand out through the way it works?
- Does your team use spreadsheets or workarounds next to the current package?
- Do your licence costs rise with every new employee or client?
- Does data have to be retyped between systems?
- Do you need features that no package offers well?
- Do you want to fully own your software and your data?
If you answer no everywhere, a good package is probably the best choice. If you are somewhere in between, look at the middle road first.
Not sure? Think it through together
You don't have to make this choice alone. In a free first meeting we look at how you work today and what your package does and doesn't do. Sometimes our advice is an integration, sometimes custom software, sometimes simply a different package. Talk it through with us. You only decide once you know exactly what you get and what it costs.