A subscription can look inexpensive until every unusual workflow needs another add-on. Custom software can look attractive until someone includes maintenance, support and the team’s time. Comparing the subscription price with the development quote gives you two numbers that describe different things.
A more useful decision starts with the work people must complete. Then compare the available options over the same period, at the same usage level, with a named person responsible for operating each one. Buying a product, building a focused application and combining both are all valid outcomes.
Define the work before comparing products
Write five to ten real scenarios from your business. For a service company, these might include receiving a request, preparing a quote, scheduling a team, recording completed work and issuing an invoice. Include at least one exception, such as a cancelled appointment after materials have been ordered.
For each scenario, distinguish a genuine requirement from a preference. A particular button layout may be negotiable. Exporting job history, assigning permissions by branch or working with an existing accounting system may be essential.
Ask each vendor or development partner to demonstrate the same scenarios with representative sample data. Count manual handoffs and duplicate entry. A feature labelled “integration” is not proof that the required fields, permissions and error handling are supported.
Identify where adaptation is acceptable
Standard processes are good candidates for an established product when its workflow is close enough and the remaining compromises are affordable. A distinctive operation may justify custom development if changing that operation would remove something customers value.
There is also a useful middle path: retain a standard accounting or customer-management product and build the scheduling, customer portal or approval flow around it. AWS discusses this broader framing in its build-versus-buy analysis.
Consider a hypothetical maintenance company whose advantage is coordinating visits across several sites. It may need custom scheduling rules, while a standard product remains appropriate for invoices. Replacing both systems would increase the scope without necessarily improving the customer’s experience.
Compare the same three-year cost boundary
Include setup, subscriptions or hosting, integrations, support, administration and expected changes. AWS’s cost analysis guidance similarly emphasizes operating and management costs when evaluating a component.
The following figures are a calculation example, not a Codavix quote or market benchmark. Assume 20 users, 36 months, stable scope and identical business requirements. All amounts are before tax.
For a SaaS option:
- Setup and migration: €6,000.
- Subscription: 20 users × €25 × 36 months = €18,000.
- Integration work: €6,000.
- Internal administration and support: €9,000.
- Total under these assumptions: €39,000.
For a custom option:
- Initial development and migration: €28,000.
- Hosting and supporting services: €3,600.
- Maintenance and support: €14,400.
- Internal administration: €6,000.
- Total under these assumptions: €52,000.
In this example, custom development needs to justify an additional €13,000 through capabilities or business value. It does not become cheaper merely because there is no per-user licence. Conversely, a SaaS option that cannot complete an essential workflow is not comparable just because its total is lower.
Repeat the calculation for a larger team, higher transaction volume and a significant workflow change. Ask which assumptions drive the result. Do not count the same saved staff time both as a cost reduction and as additional revenue without explaining how the capacity will actually be used.
Make ownership practical
Ownership should describe what the company can do when circumstances change. For SaaS, request a sample export with relationships and attachments, not only a screenshot of an export button. Check whether the required API is included in the proposed plan and what happens when usage grows.
For custom software, establish who holds the source repository, deployment instructions, infrastructure accounts and operating documentation. Agree how another team could take over. Having a copy of the code is of limited use if nobody can reproduce the build or restore the data.
Both options need someone inside the business who can prioritize changes and resolve process questions. Outsourcing implementation does not remove that responsibility.
Use a short proof before the larger commitment
Select the scenario with the greatest uncertainty. A useful trial might import sample customers, synchronize one order and demonstrate a correction after a failed update. Set an end date and a clear output: a documented result, remaining gaps and revised cost assumptions.
Make the acceptance decision with the people who will do the work. If the system technically supports a process but staff must constantly work around it, include that burden in the comparison. If a small process adjustment makes an existing product work well, record the adjustment and avoid unnecessary development.
The decision can then fit on one page: essential workflows, options considered, three-year cost, unresolved risks and the reason for the choice. Our IT consulting can help define that comparison before you invest in custom software. Bring us the workflow you need to improve, and we can assess the smallest useful solution.