Custom CRM development: when it is worth it and what to expect

Off-the-shelf CRMs are built for every business at once. That is their strength, and it is also why so many companies pay for hundreds of features and still keep the important things in a spreadsheet. A custom CRM is the opposite approach: a system built around the way your business already takes an enquiry, quotes for it and looks after the customer afterwards.

It is not the right answer for everyone. This guide covers the signs that you have outgrown what you use now, what a custom CRM gives you, when a standard product is the better choice, and what the work involves.

Signs you have outgrown what you use now

Customer details live in several places

Some are in a spreadsheet, some in an inbox, and some in the head of whoever has been there longest. Nobody is sure which version is right, and finding out takes a phone call. If that sounds familiar, our guide to the signs your business has outgrown its spreadsheet goes into more detail.

You pay for a CRM and use a fraction of it

The monthly bill goes up with every member of staff, yet most of the screens are never opened and the one thing you need is not there.

People work around the system

The software expects a sales process that is not yours, so the real work happens in notes, emails and side spreadsheets. The CRM becomes somewhere data is copied to afterwards, if anyone remembers.

Enquiries and follow-ups get missed

There is no single place that shows who is waiting for a quote, a call back or a renewal. It depends on somebody remembering, and the cost of forgetting is a customer who went elsewhere.

What a custom CRM gives you

• A system that follows your process. The steps, the wording and the order match how you work, so staff do not need training in someone else's idea of a sales pipeline.
• Only the features you will use. Nothing to hide, switch off or explain away.
• Connections to the tools you keep. Where it makes sense, the CRM talks to your accounts package, your email and your website forms, so nothing is typed in twice.
• Your existing records brought across. Spreadsheets and exports from an old system are tidied up and moved in as part of the work, so you do not start from an empty screen.
• Changes when the business changes. A new field, report or step in the process is a small job, not a request to a supplier who may never get to it.
• Ownership. You own the software and the data. There is no per-user licence, so taking on another member of staff does not add to a monthly bill.

When an off-the-shelf CRM is the better choice

Often, a standard product is the right answer, and we will say so. If your process looks like most other businesses in your sector, a well-known CRM will be cheaper, quicker to start with and supported by someone else.

A custom CRM earns its keep in three situations:

1. Your process is unusual. You sell, quote or deliver in a way the standard products were not designed around.
2. Licence costs have grown with your headcount. Paying per user makes sense for five people and much less sense for fifty.
3. It has to connect to other systems. The CRM is one part of how the business runs, and the joins between systems are where the time is being lost.

For the wider version of this decision, see custom software or off-the-shelf: how to choose.

How the work runs

1. A conversation. You explain how things work today and where it hurts. No preparation is needed and there is no jargon.
2. A plain English proposal. We write down what would be built, what it will cost and how long it will take. If a standard CRM would serve you better, this is where you hear it.
3. Built in stages. A first working version is usually in use within weeks, and the rest is shaped around what you find once real work is going through it.
4. Looked after. The system is kept secure, up to date and running, with someone there for the changes that come as the business grows.

Depending on the size of the job, we build it ourselves or bring in a delivery partner we trust. We will tell you which before anything starts.

Common questions

Do I need to know anything technical?

No. You know your business. The questions are asked in plain English, and every choice is explained in terms of what it means for you.

What does a custom CRM cost?

Less than it used to, because custom software is far quicker to build than it was even a few years ago. The cost depends on how much the system has to do, so a written price comes after the first conversation, once the problem is understood.

How long does it take?

A first working version is typically live within a few weeks, with the rest delivered in stages. You get a realistic timescale alongside the price.

Who owns it?

You do. The code, the data and the accounts it runs on are yours, and you can take them elsewhere whenever you like.