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Custom software vs off-the-shelf: where the line actually is
The honest rule: if a standard product covers about 80 percent of your process, buy it. Build only when the remaining 20 percent is the part that earns the money — and count the cost of workarounds on both sides before deciding.
Outcomes
- Packaged software wins on speed to value and vendor-funded improvement
- Custom wins when your process is the competitive advantage
- Per-seat licences penalise growth; build cost does not
- Workarounds are a real cost — measure them in hours per week
- Hybrid is common: keep finance packaged, build the operational layer
Problems this solves
Licence cost keeps rising while the real work stays in spreadsheets
A clear sign the product covers the generic part of the process and not the part that matters.
Configuration has become its own project
When a standard product needs constant consultant work, its total cost approaches a build without the ownership.
The product dictates the process
Fine for accounting; expensive when the process is how you compete.
Realistic timeline
Weeks 1–2
Document the process and score two or three products against it honestly.
Week 3
Price both routes over three years, including internal effort.
Week 4
Decide, and start the smallest useful first phase of whichever route wins.
Build or buy
Buy something existing when
- The process is standard and widely solved
- Time to value matters more than fit
- You have no capacity to own software
Build custom when
- The process is a competitive advantage
- Integration between existing systems is the real problem
- Licence plus workaround cost already exceeds a build
Most healthy answers are hybrid: buy the commodity systems and build the operational layer that joins them.
What moves the price
Per-seat licences over time
Compare three to five years including growth, not the first-year invoice.
Configuration and consultants
Recurring external configuration cost belongs in the comparison.
Workaround labour
Hours spent on manual steps the product cannot do are a real, measurable cost.
Where projects go wrong
Comparing a demo to a plan
Score both options against the same written process, not against a sales presentation.
Ignoring exit cost
Ask what leaving each option costs, including data export format and licence terms.
FAQ
Questions buyers ask
How do we measure workaround cost?+
Count the hours per week your team spends compensating for the tool, multiply by loaded cost, and compare over three years.
Is custom riskier?+
Only if scope is undefined. A documented specification and phased delivery remove most of the risk people associate with building.
You already have the idea. Let's define what comes next.
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