Custom or off-the-shelf software? How to choose
Well-configured off-the-shelf software is enough for many companies. Custom pays off when the way you work is genuinely different. Five questions to help you decide, with the example of a spa and a holiday village.
Gianmarco PacettiCofounder · Software and product development
Custom software pays off when the way you work is what sets you apart and no off-the-shelf product fits it without constant workarounds. If you work like most businesses in your sector, start with a well-configured standard product: it costs less and you can use it sooner. The five questions below help you see which side you're on.
Choosing on gut feeling is expensive either way: software abandoned after a few months, or a program that makes you work worse. These are the criteria we use when we work out with a client whether they need custom software.
In this guide (8)
The basic rule
If the way you work is what sets you apart, consider custom. If it's like many others, start with off-the-shelf.
Custom or off-the-shelf: the differences at a glance
| Off-the-shelf software | Custom software | |
|---|---|---|
| When you use it | Within a few weeks | Later, one stage at a time |
| How you pay | Subscription | Project, then support |
| Who adapts | You, to the program | The program, to your work |
| Updates | Decided by the vendor | Agreed by you |
| Connections | The ones it offers | The ones you need |
Five questions to help you decide
1. Do you work like others in your sector?
If you run a practice, a shop or a restaurant, there's probably software already built for you. Configuring it well is almost always the quickest and cheapest route.
If instead your work follows rules no program caters for, such as combined services, special price lists or hand-offs between departments, off-the-shelf forces you into constant workarounds. That's where custom starts to make sense.
2. How much would you have to change to fit it?
Try an off-the-shelf tool for a few weeks with real data. If small changes are enough, keep it. If you spend more time exporting data to Excel than using the program, that's a clear sign.
3. Who looks after it over the years?
Custom software has to be maintained and updated. Before you start, ask who will do it, on what terms and what happens if you change supplier one day. Off-the-shelf software is updated by whoever sells it: you pay the subscription and get the new features.
4. How much can you invest, and how long can you wait?
Off-the-shelf software is usually paid for by subscription and in use quickly. Custom costs more at the start and takes longer, because it's built around your work. Indicative range for custom software: €2,000–8,000. The exact price depends on people and roles, data and connections, and the quote must also say what it costs after launch.
5. What happens if it stops?
If your business grinds to a halt without that program, choose even more carefully: ask where the data is kept, how it can be exported and who steps in when there's a problem.
An example: a spa and a holiday village
Sulfurea Spa has limited places per time slot, massages tied to the therapists on shift and bookings arriving from the website, the phone and the hotel: everything has to sit in the same calendar. Villaggio Club La Marèe receives stay requests to read, quote with several options and follow up until arrival. These rules are specific to how they work, and each system was built around them. You'll find the details in the case studies of Sulfurea Spa and Villaggio Club La Marèe.
When custom is the right choice
- The way you work is your strength and no product fits it
- You need to connect tools that no off-the-shelf product links together
- Several people or departments pass the same information around and do it by hand today
- You've already tried off-the-shelf tools and they make you give up something important
When it isn't
- You just want to avoid the subscription: the upfront cost is hard to recover
- You're doing it because a competitor did
- Nobody will be able to look after it after delivery
The middle way
Often the best answer is mixed: off-the-shelf software for the common parts, such as invoices, accounting and the calendar, and a small custom tool only for what makes you different, connected to the rest. It costs less than a fully custom project and is up and running sooner.
How we work
Before recommending a route we look at how you work today: who does what, with which tools, where time is lost. Then we put the possible routes in writing, off-the-shelf, custom or mixed, with costs and timing.