Custom software is a program developed for the processes, data and people of one company, instead of the company adapting the way it works to an off-the-shelf product. In practice, that means internal tools, business applications and integrations between the systems a company already has.
- Internal tools replace spreadsheets, paper forms and email chains: logging work orders, approving requests, planning field work or tracking complaints.
- Business applications are also used by your customers, partners or suppliers, for example an ordering portal or status tracking. How we build them is described on our web application development page.
- Integrations connect your ERP, CRM, accounting and other programs so that the same piece of data is not entered in several places.
When custom software is better than off-the-shelf
Off-the-shelf software is good at work that looks the same in most companies: accounting, payroll, email or standard sales. Custom development makes sense when one or more of the following is true:
- the process gives you an edge over your competitors and you do not want to reduce it to someone else's template;
- employees retype data from one program into another every day or combine it in Excel;
- you pay for several tools for one job, and they do not connect to each other;
- an off-the-shelf product needs so many customisations and workarounds that it is already custom development, only without ownership of the result;
- the systems you have offer no ready-made connection to each other, yet their data needs to be in one place.
When it is not
Custom software is not a good choice if an off-the-shelf product covers your work with minor adjustments, if the process is still changing all the time, or if nobody in the company has time to take part in development. The more honest advice then is to buy a ready-made tool and, if needed, connect it to your other systems. If that is the case for you, we will tell you on the first call.
How we develop custom software
With us, custom software development starts with a conversation about the work, not about technology:
- A free first call. You describe the process, the people who do it and where it gets stuck, and together we assess whether development pays off or a ready-made tool is enough.
- Discovery. We go through the real forms, spreadsheets, reports and programs you use and write down roles, rules and exceptions, because it is the exceptions that decide whether software makes the work easier.
- Scope, cost estimate and a phased plan. You get a written description of what goes into the first version and what comes later, with an estimate for each phase.
- A first working version in 4–8 weeks. It is not a presentation but an application in which your people work with real data. You follow progress in the client portal.
- Next phases. We add what is in the plan and change whatever turned out differently in day-to-day work than on paper.
- Maintenance. After go-live, we take care of updates, security patches, monitoring and fixes.
We build on the technologies we also use in our own products: Next.js and React for the interface, Node.js for the backend, PostgreSQL for data, Docker for packaging the application and GitLab CI for automated checks and delivery. The applications we develop and maintain run on servers in the EU. If your software also needs an artificial intelligence component, see our page on custom software with AI.
Integrations: an example from practice
Custom software is sometimes not a new application but a connection between programs the company already has. For Instar informatika, a Croatian retailer and distributor of IT equipment, we connected our Business Booster platform to their ERP, Luceed by Tomsoft. Every night, Business Booster synchronises a read-only copy of the ERP data.
From that copy, sales and stock reports by brand are produced automatically every week, in the Excel format each manufacturer asks for, for example HP, Lenovo or Samsung, and sent by email. These reports are not written by AI: the program puts them together directly from the data. Business questions can also be asked in Croatian, for example which goods are not moving, or what is low in stock but still selling. The answer comes from the ERP data, with a short explanation written by AI.
Whenever possible, we build such a connection so that the ERP remains the authoritative source of data, while the new application reads its copy and changes nothing in the ERP. Read more about the platform on the Business Booster page.
Ownership and documentation: what to ask before you sign
With custom software, the contract matters as much as the source code. Before you sign, ask every supplier, including us, for written answers to these questions:
- Who owns the source code, and from when: after each paid phase or only at the end of the project?
- Where is the code kept, and do you have your own access to the repository?
- Which documentation is part of the delivery: a description of the architecture, installation instructions, a description of the integrations, user guides?
- Which third-party components and licences does the application use, and do they commit you to anything?
- Where are the servers and the data, and who has access to them?
- How do you take over the data and the application if you change supplier?
- What does maintenance cover, and what is ordered as additional development?
A good answer is specific and can be written into the contract. If the answer is vague, keep asking.
What the price depends on
The price of custom software depends on how much work the application has to cover and how many systems it has to connect to. The estimate is affected by:
- the number of user roles and screens, and how complex the rules are, for example multi-level approvals;
- the number of integrations, and whether the existing systems have a usable API;
- migrating and cleaning existing data from spreadsheets or an old program;
- requirements for security, activity logs and the protection of personal data;
- whether a mobile app is needed alongside the web interface, which we cover on our mobile app development page;
- the scope of maintenance after go-live.
That is why we give the estimate after discovery and split it by phase, so that you can start with the part that solves the main problem.
What to prepare for the first call
You do not need a specification. It helps to prepare:
- a short description of the process as it is today, with its exceptions and who does what;
- examples of the documents, spreadsheets, forms and reports you work with;
- a list of the programs you use, and whether they have an API or a data export;
- a person who knows the process and can make decisions during development;
- a list of what the first version must have and what can wait.
Tidy data and technical documentation are not a precondition. If something is missing, we will see it during discovery and include it in the plan.