The questions business owners actually ask before they commission custom software, answered honestly. Including the times the honest answer is don't.
Read before you buy
Case studies show what we've built for other people. These are here to help you work out what your own business needs, whoever ends up building it.
Bespoke is a spectrum, not a switch. Here is what the word covers, what the in-between options are, and the situations where buying a package is plainly the better answer.
Read the guideSeven practical signs that an Access database has become a business risk, how to tell a quick fix from a replacement, and when it is fine to leave it alone.
Read the guideCyber Essentials is mostly about devices and settings, but the software your business runs on can still cause a fail. What counts as in scope, and how to deal with unsupported systems.
Read the guideMost internal business systems should now be web apps, but not all of them. The honest cases for each, the questions that actually decide it, and the middle options people forget.
Read the guideA brief does not need to be a specification. What to write down before you approach a developer, what you can safely leave out, and the questions a good supplier will ask anyway.
Read the guideAn old Sage install and an old VB6 application feel like the same problem and are not. What is still supported, what usually forces the decision, and a sane order to do it in.
Read the guideWhat it really takes to integrate Xero or QuickBooks with the systems that run your business, which decisions matter, and where these projects usually come unstuck.
Read the guideHow to decide between a packaged customer portal and a bespoke one, what each actually costs you over five years, and the test that settles it in most businesses.
Read the guideThe fear that stops a lot of businesses commissioning bespoke software. What you need to hold so a system survives losing its developer, and what to do if yours has already gone.
Read the guideWhat to set aside, when the money actually leaves the bank, and how to phase a build so it fits an SME budget. The finance side of a software project, not the price list.
Read the guideThe default under UK law is not what most people assume. Who owns the code when you commission bespoke software, what ownership actually involves, and what to put in the contract.
Read the guideSix honest signals that the spreadsheet running your business has become a liability, what replacing it actually involves, and when you should leave it alone.
Read the guideA practical way to choose between buying software and having it built, including the cases where off the shelf clearly wins and bespoke would be a waste of money.
Read the guideAccess has not been discontinued, but the version you are probably running is out of support. What the dates really mean, and the four options if your business runs on Access.
Read the guideIndicative timescales for a custom business system, what makes a project run long, and why you should be using working software months before it is finished.
Read the guideA free process audit is worth more than any guide. Tell us what's slowing you down and we'll give you a straight answer.