Off-the-shelf or custom? Five questions before you commission software

A good share of the requests we receive start with “custom software”, and once we talk it turns out a ready-made tool would do. The opposite happens too: months of paying for add-ons to a packaged product, then starting from scratch. Answer these five questions before you decide.

1. Does this work set you apart from competitors?

Accounting, e-mail, calendars and file sharing do not make you different; use ready-made tools for them. The process that does make you different — your pricing method, your customer-specific flow, how your field team works — is where custom software makes sense.

2. What percentage of your work does the ready-made tool cover?

If it covers 80%, consider changing the process for the remaining 20% first; it is usually cheaper. Below 50%, bending the tool costs more than building your own.

3. Who will hold this data in three years?

With ready-made tools, make sure you can get your data out (export, API). With custom software the source code and database should belong to you; put it in the contract.

4. Who will use it, and how many?

For an internal tool used by two people, a product charging per user per month is cheap. With hundreds of users the same product can cost more than the yearly maintenance of custom software. Do the maths over five years, not one.

5. How fast will things change?

If your process changes monthly, the software has to change too. With ready-made tools that depends on the vendor’s schedule. With custom software you need a team (in-house or external) that stays available for changes; budget for it from the start.

Quick decision table

• Not differentiating + ready-made tool covers 80% → ready-made tool, adapt the process.

• Differentiating + high rate of change → custom software, start small.

• Stuck in between → a 45-minute session first; the answer usually comes out in the conversation.