Off-the-shelf or custom software: a practical checklist

Anyone looking for software soon hears from two camps. One says: just buy a package, it is cheaper and quicker. The other says: have something built, then it fits exactly. Both are sometimes right. This checklist helps you see which situation applies to you, without first having to build a spreadsheet model.

Would you rather work out the choice over several years, including data ownership and dependence on the supplier? That is what the article on building or buying software covers. Here we deal with the question that comes before it: does a package fit the way you work?

An off-the-shelf package is enough if

Tick what applies to your situation. The more ticks, the less likely it is that custom software adds anything.

• The process is the same everywhere: bookkeeping, email, calendars and payroll do not work fundamentally differently at a hair salon than at an installer.
• You are happy to adapt to the package: the way of working the package prescribes is just as good for you as your own.
• You have few exceptions: most customers, orders or appointments follow the same route.
• The integrations you need already exist: the package talks to your accounts, payment provider or calendar without extra work.
• Only a few people use it: you do not need permissions per role or separate screens for customers or field staff.
• You can export your data: if you ever stop, you take customers, invoices and history with you in a usable file.

An off-the-shelf package falls short if

• The package can almost do it: the team fills the gap with a spreadsheet on the side, and that spreadsheet keeps growing. See also
• You enter the same data in several systems: the appointment is in the booking program, the customer in the till system and the invoice in the accounts, and nothing is connected.
• Your way of working sets you apart: the way you schedule, deliver or check guests in is exactly why customers choose you.
• Important rules do not fit anywhere: a deposit for a first appointment, a surcharge for urgent work or an approval step before a quote goes out.
• You pay per user for features you do not use: and the price rises as your team grows.
• The supplier decides what changes: features disappear or move to a more expensive plan and you have no say in it.

How to test a package before you choose

A demo nearly always shows the ideal case. So test with your own work.

1. Bring three real examples: an ordinary job or appointment, an awkward exception and something that went wrong last month.
2. Run them from start to finish: from enquiry to payment, including the email to the customer and the entry in your accounts.
3. Count the manual steps: every time someone retypes, exports or has to remember something, that is a workaround that will stay.
4. Ask about export and cancellation: in what format do you get your data, and what happens to your history after you cancel?
5. Let the people who use it every day test it: the owner notices different things from the planner or the front desk.

The third route: sector software, set up for you

Between a general package and a system built entirely for you lies a route that is often overlooked: software made for one sector and then set up for your business.

What makes the difference

• Your sector’s work is already built in: a hair salon gets appointments, treatments and till in one system, a restaurant gets tables, orders and kitchen tickets.
• Your rules are configured: prices, roles, statuses and notifications follow your way of working, not that of an average customer.
• It already runs: you do not wait for a build from scratch, and updates reach everyone in the sector at the same time.

This is what Vorlyo makes. Have a look at the overview of software per sector or find your own sector under all sectors, for example hair salon software or the till system for hospitality. You pay a one-off investment for the setup and then a fixed monthly licence for hosting, updates and support.