It starts with one spreadsheet. Then there are three, plus an invoicing tool that does not talk to the online shop, and somebody in the office spending forty minutes every morning copying data from one place to another. Nobody decided to work this way: it piled up. At some point the question comes up of whether custom software is worth it, and the honest answer is that sometimes it is and sometimes it is not.
What custom software is, and what it isn't
Custom software is a program built around how your company works, rather than bending your company around how a program works. It can be a full application, an internal dashboard, an automation that connects two tools you already pay for, or a small piece that clears the specific bottleneck slowing you down.
What it is not: a tech indulgence or something reserved for large companies. Most of the projects we build are not huge systems, they are pieces that remove manual work. And it is not the same thing as a website: a website communicates, software does something. If someone quotes you a booking system at corporate-website prices, they have misread the job.
Three signs the off-the-shelf tool has run out of road
- Someone is acting as a bridge between two tools. Export, paste, check, upload again. If a person spends hours moving information around, that person is doing the job of an integration that does not exist.
- You pay licences for things you never use. Plenty of tools charge per user and per whole module. When your team uses twenty per cent of an expensive product, the maths starts to tip.
- Your process does not fit inside the software. You work with exceptions, with a flow of your own that is part of why clients choose you, and the tool forces you to do it "the standard way". Every month you lose time fighting it.
The sum worth doing before you decide
Take the task that repeats most, measure how many hours a week it eats, and multiply by what that hour costs your business. Add the mistakes: the order copied wrong, the invoice that went out with last year's price, the customer nobody called back. That annual figure is the real budget you have to fix it, and it usually surprises people.
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When custom software does NOT pay off
This matters as much as the previous section, because saying yes to everything ends up expensive for both sides.
- When an off-the-shelf tool covers 90 %. If something on the market handles nearly everything for a sensible subscription, buy it. Building from scratch for that last 10 % rarely adds up.
- When the process still changes every month. Coding something that has not been decided means paying twice. Settle the way you work first, automate second.
- When nobody will maintain it. Bespoke software needs updates, backups and somebody to call. If a project is delivered and abandoned, in two years you have a problem rather than a solution.
The answer often sits between the extremes: clear the bottleneck with a small automation on top of the tools you already have. It costs less, goes live sooner and can grow later. If your company meets the requirements, part of that work can be funded through the Spanish Kit Digital scheme, for which we are an accredited digitalising agent.
What custom software costs
There is no per-page rate as there is with a website: it is quoted by what has to be built. What can be explained is what the price is made of, which is exactly what lets you compare two quotes:
- Understanding the problem. Sitting with whoever does the work today, watching the real process and writing down what the program has to do. It gets skipped often, and it is where projects go wrong.
- Building. The visible part: screens, logic, permissions and the connection to the tools you already use through their APIs.
- Testing and going live. Migrating the real data, training the team and standing by for the first weeks, when the odd cases show up.
- Maintenance. Server, backups, security updates and the small changes that come with use. It is a monthly fee, not an optional extra.
Our pricing page publishes what the recurring work costs — hosting, website and content from €100 a month; custom development is quoted per project and always agreed in writing before anything starts.
The cost almost nobody mentions
Security. A program holding customer data has to stay current, with controlled access and backups somebody actually checks. The most common vulnerabilities have been the same for years and are collected in the OWASP Top Ten; none of them is exotic and nearly all are avoided by doing things properly from the start. If a quote says nothing about this, ask.
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How long it takes and how the work runs
A specific automation — connecting two tools, generating a report on its own, alerting you when something happens — can be running in two or three weeks. An internal application with several screens and users takes two to four months. The projects that stretch to a year are usually the ones that tried to build everything at once.
We split it into pieces: the part that hurts most goes live first and gets used; then the next one. The project pays for itself as it advances and you can stop when carrying on stops making sense. Less spectacular than a big launch, and it works better.
What to ask before commissioning it
- Who owns the code and where does it live? It should be in an account of yours.
- What happens if we change supplier tomorrow? Another team has to be able to pick it up.
- Is it documented, and who is allowed to touch it?
- What does maintenance cost from the month after delivery?
- Which part ships first, and when can I actually use it?
If the answers are vague, the problem is not technical: the project has not been thought through. And an unplanned project ends up costing twice.
How we work
We are three partners based in Palamós. Ivan handles application and web development, integrations and automation; Jordi runs marketing and campaigns; Izan looks after cybersecurity and data. We work with companies across Girona and Barcelona, and a good part of what we build is exactly this kind of internal piece — invisible from the outside, but taking hours off somebody's day.
If you have a task that repeats and eats your month, tell us about it. A single conversation usually shows whether your case calls for custom software, a small automation, or a tool that already exists and simply needs setting up properly. All three answers are valid, and we will give you the right one even when it is the one that suits us least.
Tell us what you need and we'll give you a price
We reply the same day. No commitment, no sales pitch.