Costs and Return on Investment
Custom software isn't cheap. But it's usually cheaper than what you're doing now.
Most businesses assume custom software is out of their budget—something only big companies can afford. But the numbers tell a different story. Most of our clients see a full return on investment within 12 months.
Here's why.
What You're Already Spending
You've probably got multiple software subscriptions that don't quite talk to each other. A CRM here, an accounting package there, maybe some project management software, and definitely a collection of spreadsheets holding everything together.
Each one costs money. Licence fees add up—£200 here, £500 there. Before you know it, you're spending £15,000-£30,000 a year on software that still doesn't do what you need.
Then there's the hidden cost: your team's time. Hours spent copying data between systems, cross-checking for errors, creating reports manually. If you're paying someone £15 an hour to spend 10 hours a week on admin that should be automated, that's another £7,800 a year. Gone.
One client was spending £24,000 on software subscriptions and roughly £18,000 in staff time managing data between systems. That's £42,000 a year just to keep their fragmented setup limping along.
We Calculate the Actual Hours You're Wasting
During our discovery process, we don't just ask what's broken—we quantify it. We time how long tasks actually take, count how many times they're repeated, and work out exactly how many hours you're wasting.
The numbers are usually shocking. We regularly find businesses losing 20, 30, even 40+ hours a week on manual tasks that could be automated. At 40 hours a week, that's a full-time member of staff—costing you at least £30,000 a year even at minimum wage—doing work a computer should be doing.
Then we build a proposal that breaks down precisely how many hours our solution would save you. Task by task, process by process. Real numbers, not vague promises about "efficiency gains."
You'd have to be barking mad to turn it down when you can see in black and white that the software pays for itself in under a year, then keeps saving you money every year after that.
What Custom Software Actually Costs
Let's be direct about pricing:
Typically Initial Build Budgets:
Small focused solutions (basic CRM, simple booking system): £5,000 - £50,000
Medium systems (multiple user roles, complex workflows, integrations): £25,000 - £150,000
Large enterprise solutions (extensive functionality, multiple departments): £75,000 - £300,000
Ongoing Costs:
Custom software isn't fire-and-forget. There are annual costs for hosting, maintenance, and support—typically around 15% of the initial build cost per year. So a £50,000 system would cost roughly £7,500 annually to keep running smoothly.
That covers hosting fees, security updates, minor bug fixes, and support. Major new features or significant changes would be quoted separately.
The difference: You're paying for what you actually need, not for features you'll never use. And unlike subscription software that increases prices every year regardless of whether you're getting more value, these costs stay predictable.
Yes, that's a meaningful upfront investment. But compare it to what you're already spending year after year on a fragmented system that doesn't work properly.
Making It Affordable
Build in Phases
You don't have to build everything at once. Start with the most painful problem, solve that, see the returns, then use those savings to fund the next phase.
One property management company started with just client management (£15,000). The time savings from that paid for their maintenance scheduling system six months later, which then funded their financial reporting build.
Revenue Share Arrangements
If the upfront cost is a barrier but you can see the software will generate revenue or serious savings, we can structure a revenue share deal. We reduce the initial development cost in exchange for a small percentage of the revenue the software generates.
This works particularly well if the software is customer-facing (like booking systems, client portals, or e-commerce solutions) or creates quantifiable savings that free up capacity for more revenue-generating work.
Not every project suits this model, but it's worth discussing if cash flow is tight but the business case is solid.
Other Financing Options
We can also help with payment plans, business grants, or R&D tax relief schemes that offset the cost. We're not precious about how you pay—we just want to make it work for your cash flow.
Real Numbers from Real Clients
Professional services firm:
Investment: £35,000
Annual savings: £38,000 (eliminated software subscriptions + staff time)
Payback: 11 months
Wholesale business:
Investment: £45,000
Annual savings: £52,000 (inventory efficiency + automated order processing)
Payback: 10 months
Manufacturing business:
Previously spending: £55,000/year (5 different systems + staff time)
Custom solution: £75,000
New annual running costs: £8,000
Payback: 16 months, then £47,000 annual savings
These aren't best-case scenarios. They're typical.
Is It Worth It for You?
Ask yourself:
- How much are you spending on software that doesn't quite fit?
- How many hours a week does your team waste on manual admin?
- What opportunities are you missing because your current system can't handle them?
- What would it mean to your business if everything just... worked?
Sometimes custom software isn't the answer. If off-the-shelf solutions are doing the job and you've already adapted your business to fit, stick with them. We'll tell you that honestly—we'd rather have clients who genuinely need what we build.
But if you're cobbling together multiple systems, drowning in spreadsheets, and watching your team waste time on tasks that should be automated? The numbers usually make sense.
How We Prove the Numbers
Step 1: Initial Consultation (Free, 90 minutes)
We talk through your current setup, identify the bottlenecks, understand the business's ultimate aim, and get a sense of whether custom software makes sense for you. No charge, no obligation.
Step 2: Discovery Phase (£500 + VAT)
If it looks promising, we visit your business for a full discovery session. We time your processes, calculate exact hour wastage, and build a detailed proposal showing precisely what you'd save.
Why we charge for discovery: The £500 fee means we can afford to be completely impartial. We're not trying to sell you something to recoup hours of free consulting—we're genuinely working out whether custom software makes sense for your business.
If the numbers don't stack up, we'll tell you that honestly. You'll still get a clear picture of where your inefficiencies are and what your options might be.
If the numbers do stack up, you'll have a proposal that shows exactly how much you're wasting and exactly what it would cost to fix it. Real figures you can take to the bank (or your accountant).
Most clients find the £500 was the best investment they made.
Find Out What It Would Cost
Get in touch today and arrange to have an initial chat with our team.
