Most businesses should start with off-the-shelf software. It's cheaper, someone else maintains it, and for common work it's good enough. The question is how to tell when it stops being good enough.
The spreadsheet next to the software
Here's the simplest test we know: look for the spreadsheet sitting next to the software. If your team keeps one, the software doesn't fit. The spreadsheet holds the part of your business the tool can't represent, whether that's a billing rule, a status, or an exception that happens every week.
One spreadsheet isn't a crisis. Several are a sign that the business has outgrown the tool, and your team is doing the integration work by hand.
Other signs
- You pay for several tools and still copy the same data between them.
- The software handles the common case, and your team handles everything else from memory.
- Reports take someone half a day because the numbers live in three places.
- A process depends on one person remembering to do something.
Custom doesn't have to mean everything
Custom software isn't an all-or-nothing choice. Often the right answer is to keep the tools that work, connect them, and build only the missing piece. A small app that handles your scheduling rules, synced with the accounting software you already use, can retire the spreadsheet without replacing anything else.
When to stay off-the-shelf
If your process is common and your team isn't working around the tool, stay where you are. Custom software is a commitment: it needs care after launch, like any system your business depends on.
The point isn't to build. The point is to stop paying people to be the integration.