Guides

Straight answers, with the numbers left in.

Practical answers about software cost, AI implementation, timelines, architecture and build versus buy decisions. Most articles answering these questions end at "it depends, contact us." These don't, because our prices are published anyway.

12 guides

Cost and investment

What things cost, and what moves the number.

What does a website actually cost?

A custom premium website starts at $12,000, and focused projects land at $12,000 to $25,000 depending on how much the site has to do. Add e-commerce, customer accounts, a CRM connection or a portal and you move into $25,000 to $60,000. Anything quoted without those questions is a guess.
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How much does custom business software cost?

A focused custom business system usually costs $25,000 to $60,000. A connected operational platform, where several parts of the business run on one record, generally costs $60,000 to $150,000. Complex and multi-location systems are scoped individually.
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How much does a custom app cost to build?

A focused custom application usually costs $35,000 to $75,000. A full custom application, with several user types and real integration work behind it, generally costs $75,000 to $200,000. Software products, multi-tenant platforms and enterprise builds are scoped individually.
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How much does a Business Operating System cost?

A core operating system, covering the public site and the main workflows behind it, usually costs $50,000 to $100,000. A growth operating system, adding portals, payments, multi-location control or AI, generally costs $100,000 to $250,000. Complex and enterprise platforms are scoped individually.
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What does it cost to replace spreadsheets with custom software?

Replacing the spreadsheets a business actually runs on is usually a focused business system at $25,000 to $60,000. The cost is driven less by the spreadsheets than by what has to happen around them: who enters what, what the rules really are, and which of the competing copies is correct.
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Building versus buying

When custom software earns its price, and when it does not.

AI and automation

Where AI pays, and where ordinary automation beats it.

Planning and architecture

Timelines, discovery and deciding the shape before you build.

Still not sure

Describe what is going wrong and we will tell you what fixes it.

You do not need to know what software you need. Describe the problem in your own words and you will get a preliminary plan back, including the part where we say software is not the answer if it is not.

Describe My Problem See full pricing

Straight answers, with the numbers left in.

Cost and investment

What does a website actually cost?

How much does custom business software cost?

How much does a custom app cost to build?

How much does a Business Operating System cost?

What does it cost to replace spreadsheets with custom software?

Building versus buying

Custom software vs SaaS: when should you build your own?

What does an internal software development team really cost?

AI and automation

How much does an AI implementation cost?

How much does an AI agent system cost?

When should a company use AI instead of normal automation?

Planning and architecture

How long does custom software take to build?

What is a Systems Blueprint and when do you need one?

Describe what is going wrong and we will tell you what fixes it.