What is custom software, and is it right for a small business?

Custom software is a program made for one business and built around how that business already works. It suits a small business when its way of working is unusual, or when no ready-made tool fits. Where the need is common, a ready-made system may be the simpler answer.

In short: custom software is made for one business, and ready-made software is made for many. The questions below show which one suits you.

Custom software is built for one business

Custom software is made for one business, not for everyone. A software company's glossary explains that it is built around the special needs and tasks of the person or company that asked for it. The same glossary explains that ready-made software is available for anyone to buy and is designed to work for many businesses.

VVW describes its Business software as software built around how your business already works.

Neither kind is better in every case. What matters is how well the software matches the way you already work.

How much does software cost?

The cost is set by three things: how standard the job is, how much the business must change to fit the software, and who looks after it later. Any figure given before the job is described is a guess, so ask for a written breakdown of what is included, what costs extra, and what it costs each year to keep running.

The same glossary says that custom software can cost more and take longer than ready-made software. It also says custom software needs regular updates and fixes after it is first used. That means the running cost belongs in the budget from the start.

A ready-made system can be quicker to start with where your need is common.

Ask for the cost of looking after the software as well as the cost of getting it. Then compare the two options on the same terms. A small, clear job is easier to describe and easier to check than a large, vague one. Start with the one problem that causes you the worst trouble. To get a useful answer, describe that problem in a few lines and list the tools you use now.

What is custom software, and what are some examples?

Custom software is software made to match one business's own process. VVW's Business software description gives three examples: a customer login, bookings, and one place for your data so nobody retypes it twice.

The same glossary also lists stock tracking for a shop, a customer records system, and project planning for a building firm.

Retyping is a good place to start looking. The article How to stop retyping the same data in your business explains where retyping comes from and how to spot it.

Can the software be customised?

A software company's glossary says custom software can be updated and changed as the needs of the business change.

Ready-made software needs a closer look. Published guidance for UK government services, written for public-sector buyers, says a ready-made product may need adjusting to meet the needs of the people who use it. The same guidance says not to commit to a technology before the problem is understood.

Before you agree to anything, ask the supplier what can be changed and what that costs.

We supply and support ready-made business software. Read more about Ready-made software.

Is custom software right for your business?

Custom software is likely right when several of these questions get a yes.

• Does your way of working differ from the way common tools expect you to work?
• Does someone copy the same information into more than one place?
• Have you tried a ready-made tool that did not fit?
• Can you describe what is not working in a few lines?
• Do you know who will look after the software later?

A yes to one question is not enough. A run of yes answers is a reason to talk to someone who builds software. If the answers are no, a ready-made system, or a change in how you work, is likely the better answer.

One custom software developer's guide for small businesses says that when workflows are standard, custom development adds cost and complexity without proportionate benefit.

What to bring to a conversation

You do not need to choose a technology.

Bring the names of the tools you use now, one example of something that went wrong, and a few lines on what is not working. Write your answers down. Half-formed answers are enough to start with.

VVW is a Cape Town software company for small and growing businesses. Its four services are listed on the Services page.

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