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Custom software vs off-the-shelf
A sibling to our SaaS guide — focused on the buy-vs-build decision in everyday language.
Off-the-shelf software is built for lots of businesses. Custom software is built around one: yours. Neither is automatically “better.” The fit depends on how unusual your day is.
Choose off-the-shelf when…
Your process is common, the product is close enough, and adapting a little costs less than building. Plenty of shops should just use a solid booking or invoicing tool and move on.
Consider custom when…
You’re paying for several products that don’t talk to each other. You’ve built workarounds the vendor will never care about. Or the “official” way to do something in the software fights how your people actually finish jobs.
A middle path
Keep what works. Replace what doesn’t. Hey App Works often builds the connected middle — the part that turns “four apps and a spreadsheet” into one calm system — without pretending you must rebuild everything.
Related solutions
Want something built around how you work?
Tell us what’s going on. We’ll help figure out whether a custom app makes sense — and what it might cost.