How much does bespoke software cost in the UK?

The short answer

For a small or medium UK business, a properly built bespoke system usually costs somewhere between £5,000 and £40,000. The wide range is not agencies making numbers up. It comes down to three things: how many types of people log in, how many other tools it has to connect to, and how much of your data has to move across from the old way of working.

Traditional UK agencies typically quote £15,000 or more for a CRM, booking system or customer portal, often billed by the day. Smaller studios that specialise in business systems can deliver the same kind of build for much less, because there are no account managers, no handovers between teams and no billable meetings.

Our fixed prices, for reference

We publish our prices so you have a real benchmark rather than a vague range:

• Business System, £4,995. One system for your office: customers, jobs and your team in one place, with a live dashboard, team logins and roles. Usually live in about 5 to 8 weeks.
• Business Platform, £7,995. Everything in a Business System plus a portal where your customers log in, book and manage things themselves, with automatic invoices and reminders. Usually live in about 8 to 10 weeks.
• Custom Platform, from £9,995. Larger systems with several portals, complex workflows, subscriptions or a software product you sell to others. Scoped on a free call.

Every price is fixed and agreed before we start, with 50% to book and 50% on handover.

What pushes the price up

More types of user. A system used only by your office team is simpler than one where engineers, customers and managers each see something different. Every extra role means extra screens, permissions and testing.

Integrations. Connecting to Xero, QuickBooks, Stripe, Outlook or Google Calendar is normal and usually straightforward. Connecting to an old industry system with no proper API is where time disappears.

Moving your data. Importing one clean spreadsheet is quick. Merging six spreadsheets, two inboxes and a paper diary, with duplicates and missing details, takes real work. It is worth tidying up before you start.

Unclear scope. The most expensive projects are the ones where nobody wrote down what the system needs to do. A short workflow map at the start saves weeks later.

The running costs nobody mentions

The build is not the only cost. A business system also needs hosting, backups, security updates and someone to call when something breaks. Budget for it from day one. Hosting for a typical small business system is modest, and most studios offer a monthly support plan; ours, Appro Care for software, is £195 a month and covers hosting, monitoring, backups, bug fixes and support.

Compare that with off-the-shelf software, where the subscription grows with every person you add. For a team of ten or more, the per-user fees of a big-name CRM can overtake the cost of owning your own system within a couple of years.

How to get an accurate quote

Before you speak to anyone, write down three things: who will use the system, what they need to do each day, and which tools it must connect to. That one page lets any good developer give you a realistic number quickly, and makes quotes from different suppliers easy to compare.

If you would like a second opinion on a quote you already have, or a fixed price for your own system, book a free 10-minute call. We will tell you honestly which package fits, or whether an off-the-shelf tool would do the job.