Most businesses are paying monthly for tools that do 80% of what they need. Here is the case for building the other 20% — and owning it outright.
Add up your automation-related SaaS tools: Zapier or Make for workflow automation, Buffer or Later for social media scheduling, a scraping tool, an email automation platform, a reporting dashboard. For many businesses this totals £300-600 per month — £3,600-7,200 per year — for tools that partially do what you need and require manual patches for the rest.
A well-scoped custom automation system typically costs £2,000-10,000 to build depending on complexity. That is a one-time fee. You own the code. No monthly subscription. No per-seat pricing. The break-even point on a £5,000 custom system versus £400 per month in SaaS tools is just over 12 months. After that, it is pure saving.
Custom automation does exactly what your process requires. No workarounds, no manual patches, no waiting for the tool to add a feature you need. It connects to any tool with an API, runs at any volume, and is owned by you. Mobile automation on iOS and Android — something no SaaS tool supports — is also possible when you build custom.
For businesses spending more than £200 per month on automation tools, the economics of a custom build almost always make sense within 18 months. Beyond the economics, custom automation unlocks capability that SaaS tools simply cannot provide. If you are hitting the ceiling on your current tools, get in touch.
Tell us what you need. Fixed-price proposal within 24 hours.