What does custom back-office software really cost?
For a 5 to 50 person business, published industry guides put custom internal tools and workflow automation at roughly $15,000 to $60,000, depending on scope. Those are industry figures with sources below, not my quotes. My own pricing is simpler to describe: a written map first, then a fixed quote per stage, and you can stop at any stage and keep working software.
The industry ranges, with sources
These come from published cost guides, and they are labeled that way on purpose: they describe the market, not my rate card. They are useful for one thing, which is knowing the honest neighborhood before anyone quotes you anything.
| What is being built | Published industry range |
|---|---|
| A simple internal tool | $15,000 to $25,000Industry figure · SolTech's cost guide; OrtemTech's 2026 small-business guide |
| Internal tools and workflow automation for a small business | $20,000 to $60,000Industry figure · OrtemTech's 2026 small-business guide; SolTech |
| Ongoing upkeep across five years | 60 to 80 percent of the lifetime costIndustry figure · Kyle David Group's build-vs-buy analysis |
One more industry number worth knowing: AI-assisted development has compressed delivery timelines by 30 to 55 percent in the same Kyle David Group analysis. That shift is real, I build that way, and it is a large part of why one person can now do this work at a small-business price.
What moves the price
What pushes it up
- Every system the new one must talk to: each integration is real work
- Data trapped in old software that has to be migrated and cleaned
- How many distinct workflows you want replaced, not just sped up
- Hardware at the edges: barcode scanners, label printers, warehouse tablets
What keeps it down
- Starting with one workflow instead of the whole back office
- Clean existing records, even if they live in spreadsheets
- A process someone can already describe end to end
- Building in stages, so each stage earns its keep before the next
How I quote
The map comes first
A written plan in plain English: what I’d automate, what it saves you, and what each stage costs. Free.
Fixed, per stage
Every stage has a fixed quote in writing before it starts. No hourly meter, no open-ended bills.
Pay on approval
A stage is done when it works in your business and you say so. That is when it gets paid for.
Walk away anytime
Stop after any stage and keep working software you own. Afterwards, upkeep is a flat monthly care plan, and optional.
I don’t publish a rate card yet, on purpose: I would rather price your actual problem than a hypothetical one. Ask, and the written map comes back with real numbers for your case.
Straight answers on cost
Why do published ranges vary so much?
Because “custom software” covers everything from one automated form to a system that runs a whole company. The honest driver is scope: how many workflows, how many integrations, how much old data. That is why I map the work in writing before quoting it.
What does it cost to keep running?
Industry analyses such as Kyle David Group's put ongoing maintenance at 60 to 80 percent of custom software's five-year cost. That is exactly why my care plan is a flat monthly fee, handled remotely, and optional: the system is yours whether or not you keep it.
Can I start small?
Yes, and you should. Every build is staged. The first stage ships working software for the most painful workflow, and you decide with real results in hand whether to fund the next stage.
What if custom is the wrong answer for my budget?
Then I say so in the map. The plain-English map of what could run itself is free, and if an off-the-shelf tool or a smaller fix serves you better, that is what it will say.
Find out what your number actually is.
Tell me about the most repetitive process in your week and get back a plain-English map of what could run itself, with a fixed quote for the first stage. Free, no meeting required.
Still deciding whether custom is even the right move? The decision framework → or see what fourteen years of it bought one business →