Off-the-shelf job software or a bespoke system?

When off-the-shelf is the right call

A job management app is quick to start, costs little at first, and someone else keeps it running. If the way you work matches the way the app expects you to work, it is hard to beat. Stay with one if:

• your jobs follow the same few steps the app already has;
• only a handful of people use it;
• you need something working this week, not in a few weeks;
• you would rather rent software than own it.

Signs you have outgrown it

• A spreadsheet lives beside the app, because the app cannot hold something you need.
• The same details are typed in twice: into the app and into your accounts, or from an email into a job.
• You pay for features you never use, and still lack the one you need.
• The monthly bill grows with every person you take on.
• Getting all of your own records out of it would be hard.

None of these on its own means you need something bespoke. Several together usually mean the software is shaping the business, rather than the other way round.

What a bespoke system changes

A bespoke business management system is built around your job types, your stages and your team. Mine start from a proven base and are then configured for the business, so nothing is built from a blank page. The difference that matters most is ownership: a system is a one-off build fee, and once the final invoice is paid it's yours, with no licence to renew. Users beyond those a package includes are £25 per user.

It still has running costs. A system needs hosting, a database and someone to keep it patched and backed up, which is what Cover is for, and that monthly cost is the one to weigh against a subscription.

My packages, from the same price list as the business systems page:

Other features are priced one by one on the same page.

Two systems in use

• Ansdell Hub: an internal operations portal — customers, cases, quote, order and job pipelines, the rota and the showroom diary — with inbound email arriving as tasks.
• KTS Staff Portal: KTS’s own operations suite — projects and time, a client pipeline from quote to signed contract, milestone invoicing, and a full accounting back office.

If you are not sure yet

Keep the app, but make sure you can export everything from it, and write down each workaround as you make one. If you later decide on a bespoke system, that list is most of the brief, and the export is how your records come with you: importing them from a CSV or an existing system is £300 one-off.