You've tried three different tools and none of them quite fit.
The first one was close, but it couldn't handle the way you actually process orders. The second one had the features you needed, but the workflow was backwards — your team spent more time fighting the software than using it. The third one almost worked, until you realized you'd need to change how your business operates just to make the software happy.
Sound familiar?
This is the moment when most business owners start wondering: should we just build something ourselves?
It's a reasonable question. But it's also a dangerous one — because the answer is almost always more nuanced than "yes" or "no."
The real question isn't build vs. buy
The build vs. buy debate gets framed as a binary choice, but that's rarely how it works in practice.
The real question is: what's the right level of customization for your specific situation?
That spectrum looks something like this:
- Off-the-shelf SaaS — Use it exactly as designed
- Configured SaaS — Same product, but customized with your settings, workflows, and integrations
- Extended SaaS — Off-the-shelf core with custom integrations or add-ons
- Custom-built — Software designed and developed specifically for your business
Most businesses land somewhere in the middle. Very few need to build from scratch. But very few can get away with pure off-the-shelf either.
The trick is figuring out where you fall on that spectrum — and being honest about the tradeoffs at each level.
When off-the-shelf is the right call
Let's start with the default answer: buy, don't build.
Off-the-shelf software wins in most situations because:
It already exists. You can start using it today. No months of development. No waiting for features. The product is built, tested, and used by thousands of other businesses.
Someone else maintains it. Updates, security patches, bug fixes, new features — that's the vendor's problem, not yours. You're paying for ongoing development without funding a development team.
It's battle-tested. Popular software has been stress-tested by real users at scale. Edge cases have been discovered and fixed. The rough edges have been smoothed out.
It's cheaper upfront. A $50/month subscription costs $600/year. Custom software costs tens of thousands to build — and that's before ongoing maintenance.
Signs you should buy:
- Your process is similar to how most businesses in your industry operate
- The software handles 80%+ of what you need
- Your differentiator isn't your internal operations — it's your product, service, or customer relationships
- You're early-stage and still figuring out your processes
- Time-to-value matters more than perfect fit
The honest truth? Most businesses should buy. The software industry has matured to the point where there's a good-enough tool for almost everything.
When custom software makes sense
But sometimes off-the-shelf doesn't cut it.
Here's when building a custom application starts to make sense:
Your process is genuinely unique. Not "we do things a little differently" unique — actually unique. If your competitive advantage depends on a workflow that no commercial software supports, forcing that workflow into generic software will cost you the advantage.
You've outgrown the tools. What worked at 10 employees breaks at 100. What handled 1,000 orders a month can't handle 50,000. Sometimes you hit the ceiling of what off-the-shelf can do. (See our guide on signs you've outgrown your software.)
Integration is the problem. You have five different systems that don't talk to each other. Data lives in silos. Your team spends hours copying information between tools. Sometimes the answer isn't a new tool — it's custom software that connects everything you already have.
The workarounds have taken over. Spreadsheets duct-taped to your CRM. Manual processes to cover gaps in your software. Email threads tracking things your project management tool can't handle. When the workarounds become the system, it might be time to build something purpose-fit.
You're building a product, not buying a tool. If the software is your business — a customer portal, a booking platform, an internal tool you'll eventually sell — then building makes sense. You can't differentiate with the same SaaS everyone else uses.
Signs you should build:
- You've tried multiple off-the-shelf options and none work
- Your team has developed complex workarounds to compensate for software limitations
- Your process is a genuine competitive advantage worth protecting
- You need functionality that simply doesn't exist in the market
- You're building something customer-facing that needs to feel like yours
The middle ground most people miss
Here's what often gets overlooked: you don't have to choose between "use Salesforce exactly as designed" and "build a CRM from scratch."
The middle options are usually the right answer:
Configuration and customization. Most modern SaaS tools are highly configurable. Custom fields, workflows, automations, user permissions — you can often get 90% of the way to custom without writing any code. The key is investing time upfront to set it up properly, not just accepting the defaults.
Integrations. Tools like Zapier, Make, and native APIs let you connect software that wasn't designed to work together. Your CRM can talk to your invoicing system. Your form submissions can flow into your project management tool. Your e-commerce platform can sync with your inventory system. Sometimes the answer isn't new software — it's connecting what you already have. (We cover Zapier and other automation tools in our guide to AI tools for small business.)
Custom add-ons. Build just the piece that's missing. Keep Shopify for e-commerce, but build a custom inventory tool that handles your specific consignment model. Use QuickBooks for accounting, but build a custom dashboard that shows the metrics your off-the-shelf reports can't produce.
Hybrid approaches. Use off-the-shelf for the commodity stuff (email, accounting, basic CRM) and build custom only where it creates real value.
This is where most of our clients end up. Not "we built everything from scratch" and not "we use Salesforce out of the box." Somewhere in between — commercial software configured properly, integrated intelligently, and extended where necessary.
How to make the decision
If you're facing a build vs. buy decision right now, here's a framework:
Step 1: Define the problem precisely.
"We need better software" isn't specific enough. What exactly isn't working? What does the ideal workflow look like? What would success mean in concrete terms? This is where proper project scoping becomes critical.
Step 2: Search honestly.
Spend real time looking for existing solutions. Not a quick Google search — actually demo products, talk to vendors, read reviews from businesses like yours. The software market is huge. There might be a tool designed for exactly your situation.
Step 3: Calculate total cost of ownership.
Off-the-shelf: subscription fees + implementation + training + ongoing configuration + the cost of workarounds for what it doesn't do.
Custom: development + testing + deployment + ongoing maintenance + future enhancements + the cost of bugs and downtime.
Neither calculation is simple. Be honest about both.
Step 4: Consider your team.
Do you have people who can manage a custom software project? Maintain it afterward? Off-the-shelf software is easier to hand off. Custom software needs ongoing attention.
Step 5: Start with the smallest experiment.
Before committing to a six-figure build, can you test the concept? A spreadsheet prototype. A manual process that mimics the software. A smaller pilot project. Validate that your imagined solution actually solves the problem.
How we approach it
At DGK Technologies, we help clients navigate this decision all the time.
Sometimes that means talking someone out of custom development. If we find an off-the-shelf tool that fits 90% of what you need, we'll tell you — even though custom builds are more profitable for us. The right answer is the right answer.
Sometimes it means helping you get more out of what you already have. A proper configuration of your existing tools, integrated properly, might solve the problem without writing any code.
And sometimes it means building. When you've genuinely outgrown commercial software, when your workflow is a real competitive advantage, when off-the-shelf has failed — we build software that fits your business instead of forcing your business to fit the software. And we structure projects to actually ship — not drag on forever.
Not sure which category you fall into? That's exactly what a technology audit is for. We'll look at what you have, what's working, what isn't, and give you an honest recommendation.