Do you need a custom app for your business? Six honest questions

Custom software isn't the answer for every business. Sometimes a good template, a spreadsheet or an off-the-shelf tool does the job, and paying for more would be a waste. These six questions help you tell the difference before you pay anyone. Including us.

1. Do you do the same task most days?

Repeated work is where software pays for itself first. If the same quote email, the same job sheet or the same report gets typed out by hand several times a day, that's a strong sign. If it happens once a month, a good template might be all you need.

2. Do several people need the same information?

When the office, the team and the customer all ask about the same job, the answer should live in one place they can all see. If it's just you, a notebook you trust beats an app you don't need.

3. Does it cost you money when it goes wrong?

Count the mistakes, not the minutes. Double bookings, forgotten follow-ups and work that never gets billed are the real cost. If mistakes are rare and cheap to fix, don't pay to solve a problem you don't have.

4. Have you tried an off-the-shelf tool?

Try the cheap option first. Custom is for when you've outgrown it: you're using two or three tools and still copying the same customer from one into the next. If you haven't tried one yet, start there, and note what didn't fit.

5. Do customers have to call you for everything?

If most calls are the same few questions (when are you coming, how much is it, is it done, is it paid), customers could see, book or pay for it themselves and your phone would ring less. If your customers like calling and you like taking the calls, that's good service, not a problem.

See a booking app where clients book and get reminders themselves →

6. Can you sketch how your business works?

You don't need a technical spec. If you can draw your process on one page (who does what, in what order), that's the plan an app gets built from. If the way you work changes every week, settle it first, then build.

Score yourself

• Four or more yes: it's worth a conversation. Software built around how you work will usually pay its way.
• Three or fewer: keep what you've got. If a simple tool or a spreadsheet does the job, use it.

Flowrate builds custom apps, dashboards, portals and websites for any business, around how you already work. If you scored four or more, tell us how your work runs on a free call. If you scored less, we'll tell you that too.

Try working demos of apps we've built →