Custom CRM or Off the Shelf: How to Decide

Start by trying a ready made one

If your process looks like most businesses in your trade, a ready made CRM will probably do. It is cheaper to start, it works on day one, and someone else maintains it. Try one properly for a month or two with real work before deciding it is not enough. Many owners skip this and pay for a build they did not need.

Signs it does not fit

• You keep a spreadsheet next to the CRM because the CRM cannot hold something you need, like job sites, equipment or multi step approvals.
• Your team does the same copy and paste between the CRM and another tool every day.
• You pay for many features and use three of them.
• Pricing or quoting depends on rules the CRM cannot express.
• Your customers need to see something, like a status page or a portal, and the tool cannot give them one.

One or two of these is normal. If most of them describe your week, the tool is costing you time every day.

What custom really costs

Be clear about the trade. A custom system fits your process, holds exactly the fields you need, and connects to your other tools. It also needs to be built, tested, hosted and looked after. You own the result, but you also own the upkeep. Ask any builder, including us, what happens when you need a change in a year, who fixes a bug, and where your data lives and how you can get it out.

A simple test

Write down the five steps your business takes from first enquiry to paid invoice. Mark each step as handled well, handled badly, or not handled by your current tool. If the bad and missing steps are the ones that make you money or save you the most time, a custom build is worth pricing. If they are minor, keep the tool and fix your habits.

If you want a second opinion on where you land, our software solutions team is happy to look at your process and tell you honestly which way to go.