Custom software, or a better spreadsheet?
Most small businesses run on a spreadsheet that has quietly grown into something nobody fully understands. When is it time for custom software, what should you try first, and what does it actually cost?
A spreadsheet that runs your quotes, your stock or your planning isn't a failure. It's how most good processes start: someone needed it, built it and kept improving it.
The trouble starts when the business grows and the spreadsheet doesn't. I build custom software for a living, and my honest advice is that you often don't need it. Here's how to tell.
01 — The signsYou've outgrown the spreadsheet
- Several people edit the same file, and someone regularly overwrites someone else's work.
- The same data is copied by hand between files, tools or emails.
- Customers find the mistakes before you do.
- Only one person understands the formulas, and they'd like a holiday.
- You can't see who changed what, or when.
- Important information lives in someone's inbox instead of in one place.
One of these is normal. Three or more, and the spreadsheet is costing you more than it saves.
02 — Before you buildTry these first
- A better spreadsheetOne shared file instead of copies, validated inputs, protected formulas, one tab per purpose. A few hours of tidying can buy you another year.
- An off-the-shelf toolFor invoicing, CRM, stock or planning there's almost always a ready-made tool, such as Holded, Odoo, Airtable or Notion. If your process is like everyone else's, use what everyone else uses.
- An automation between tools you already pay forOften the real problem isn't the tools but the copying between them. Connecting them, sometimes with AI reading the emails and PDFs in between, is much cheaper than replacing them.
03 — When it pays offWhen custom makes sense
- An existing tool does 80% of what you need.
- The process changes every month.
- Only one or two people use it.
- You can't name the hours or errors it would save.
- The process is how you win: your quoting, your service, your speed.
- Your tools don't talk to each other and nobody sells the glue.
- Your clients need a portal: order status, documents, approvals.
- Your rules are too specific for a standard tool, or per-seat prices keep climbing.
04 — The moneyWhat it actually costs
Prices for custom software are often kept vague. Mine aren't. As a guide, excluding VAT:
| from €1,500 | An automation or AI solutionConnecting tools, reading documents, a small assistant. Usually 1 to 3 weeks. |
| from €5,000 | A small internal tool or portalOne process, built around the people who use it daily. Usually 4 to 8 weeks. |
| running costs | Hosting, AI usage, upkeepFor a small tool, typically tens of euros a month in hosting and AI usage, paid on your own accounts. Plus occasional updates and fixes. |
The final price depends on the project and is fixed in a written quote before any work starts. That's what the free first call is for.
05 — How to do itKeeping it small
The custom projects that go well have the same things in common:
- One process first. Not "the system for everything", but the quote calculator, the order intake or the client portal.
- Visible progress. You can review the work as it takes shape and discuss changes along the way.
- Your code, your accounts. The software, the data and the hosting are in your name, so you're never locked in.
- A plan for afterwards. Who fixes it, who updates it, and what that costs, agreed before it's built.
What's your spreadsheet hiding?
Want to try this in your business, or have a question? We read every email, and the first call is free.
