Spreadsheets or custom software: when does your own tool pay off?

Spreadsheets are a great start, but they have a limit

Almost every business starts with a spreadsheet, and that is fine. A spreadsheet is fast, free and everyone knows how to open one. For a customer list, a simple calculation or a monthly overview of costs, you need nothing more.

The trouble starts when the business grows and the spreadsheet stays the same. Copies of the file appear on three computers, there are columns only one person understands and formulas nobody dares to touch. The spreadsheet is still there, but instead of saving you time, it starts costing it.

Custom software is not a replacement for spreadsheets in every case. It is a tool for the moment when a spreadsheet can no longer keep up with the way your business works.

Signs your spreadsheet no longer fits

If you recognise two or three of these signs, it is worth thinking about a tool of your own:

• You copy the same data by hand in several places, for example from an order into a spreadsheet, then from the spreadsheet into an invoice.
• Several people work in the same file and you often don't know which version is the latest.
• The monthly report or calculation takes hours, and it is done the same way every time.
• Mistakes only surface when a customer or your accountant asks why the numbers don't match.
• Only one person knows how the spreadsheet works, so work stops when they are on holiday.
• You pay for an off-the-shelf program, use a small part of it, and what you actually need isn't there.

None of these problems is a disaster on its own. Together, they mean you are losing time and money on work a computer could do for you.

What custom software actually does

Custom software is a program built for your process rather than for an average company. It usually runs in the browser, so your team uses it from a computer, tablet or phone, with nothing to install.

In practice that usually means:

• All your data is in one place, and everyone sees and changes only what they need.
• Calculations run automatically, following rules you defined.
• Reports are ready in one click instead of being put together by hand.
• The program connects to what you already use, such as your accounting software or online store, so data doesn't get retyped.

The difference from an off-the-shelf program is that you don't adapt to the software. The software follows your way of working, your terms and your steps.

When an off-the-shelf program makes more sense

To be honest, custom software is not always the right choice. If there is an off-the-shelf program that does what you need at a reasonable price, it is usually better to use it.

An off-the-shelf program makes more sense when:

• you work the same way as most businesses in your industry,
• you need standard things, such as bookkeeping or invoicing that follows the regulations,
• you don't have time to take part in defining the tool.

A tool of your own makes sense when you work differently from others, when you pay for several licences for features you don't use, or when you have several programs that don't talk to each other. Often you don't need a whole new system then, just a tool that connects what you already have.

How the build works, step by step

The biggest risk with custom software is that it takes too long to build while nobody knows exactly what they will get. That is why we split the work into small phases:

• A conversation about how you work today, where you lose time and what matters most.
• A written plan for the first phase: what the tool does, who uses it, a fixed price and a deadline.
• Building a first version that solves the biggest problem, not everything at once.
• Working with real data, fixes and training for your team.
• Further phases, if and when you need them, again with the price and deadline agreed up front.

This way you have a working, time-saving tool after the first phase, and you decide on next steps once you see the result.

What the price depends on

There is no honest way to quote custom software without a conversation, because one tool has three screens and another has thirty. What drives the price most:

• how many different things the tool does and how many rules the calculations follow,
• how many kinds of users there are and who is allowed to see what,
• whether it needs to connect to other programs,
• whether there is existing data to move over from spreadsheets.

That is why we first agree on a first phase with a fixed price and deadline. You know exactly what you pay and what you get, without committing to a large project up front. If you are not sure you need custom software at all, write to us: we will tell you honestly, even when the answer is that an off-the-shelf program is enough.