Custom software, or off the shelf?
Use an existing product when it fits how you work. Build when the way you work is the thing no product models.
By The Solva Group. Published 1 October 2026, updated 3 October 2026.
The Solva Group's starting point is to check whether your existing software can handle the workflow. Compare configuring it, connecting it to another system and building the missing part. The decision depends on the records, handoffs and access you need, plus the work left for your team. A spreadsheet workaround is a reason to investigate, not automatically to rebuild.
Start with what you already pay for
Before anyone builds anything, look at the software you have. It is common to be using only part of what your current systems can do. Ask the vendor what is included, and check the settings and reports nobody has opened. If that closes the gap, you are done.
Signs an existing product is the right answer
- Your process is close to how most businesses in your industry work.
- The product is built for your industry and is widely used in it.
- Its setup and migration requirements fit your deadline.
- You are happy to change how you work to suit the product.
Signs custom software earns its place
- Staff keep a spreadsheet beside the system, because the system does not hold what they need.
- The same information is typed into two or three places.
- A report takes hours to build by hand every week or month.
- You have tried the standard products and each one fits most of the job, but not the part that matters.
- The way you work is part of why customers choose you, and a standard product would flatten it.
A quick test
Answer these for the one job that costs you the most time. The more of them you answer yes to, the more it is worth getting custom work or a connection between systems priced. It is a rule of thumb, not a score.
- Is the same information typed into more than one place?
- Does someone keep a spreadsheet beside the system?
- Does a regular report take more than an hour to build by hand?
- Have you tried a standard product and worked around it?
- Would changing how you work to suit a product cost you customers?
The middle path: connect instead of replace
Often the software is fine and the gaps between it are the problem. Connecting two systems, or pulling their numbers into one view, can remove the busywork without replacing anything. That is usually a smaller job than a new system. See system integration and dashboards and reporting.
Test the decision before you spend on a build
Pick one workflow, the one that costs you the most time, and map it: who does what, in which system, and where the information is retyped. That map gives you a specific workflow against which to compare the options. It is also the first thing any developer should ask you for. Our Workflow Blueprint is that exercise as a fixed-price piece of work, with a written plan you can use whether or not we build it.
Quick answers
Is custom software always more expensive?
It usually costs more up front than a subscription. Whether it costs more overall depends on what the workarounds are costing you now, which is why we start with one workflow and a written scope.
Can we start small?
Yes. Most of our work starts with one defined problem and a written scope with a fixed price, before any build begins.
What if we choose the wrong option?
Mapping one workflow first lets you test the decision before you commission a build. You can use that plan with any developer, or decide not to build at all.
Where to go next.
Prefer a written workflow plan?
Rather have the plan written for you?
A Workflow Blueprint is a paid, fixed-fee plan for one business workflow, with a written scope and a build quote.
What a Workflow Blueprint includesHow we approach the decision
What we tell people
If one of our products or a product from someone else already does the job, we say so. Custom work starts with your actual requirements, a written scope and a fixed price.
Tell us what you need built.
A rough description is enough.