Spreadsheet, off-the-shelf software or custom app: how to choose?

Excel: great, as long as…

A spreadsheet is plenty when you work alone, with a reasonable number of customers, and you're the only one filling it in. It starts holding you back when:

• several versions of the same file are going around and nobody knows which one is right;
• you copy the same information into the file, the quote, the invoice and the calendar;
• you can't check anything from the job site, the workshop or the road;
• only one person really knows how to use it.

Off-the-shelf software: quick to start

Quoting and invoicing software, online calendars, point-of-sale tools: they're ready right away and cheap to begin with. They're often the right choice for a standard need.

The limit shows up when the way you work doesn't fit their boxes: steps that don't match your trade, unused features paid for every month, several programs that don't talk to each other. Before switching, it's often possible to simply connect them and automate what repeats.

Custom software (CRM): when it pays off

A custom app is your own software, built around your trade: your steps, your documents, your words. It's also called a CRM or business software. It becomes worthwhile when:

• you juggle three or four tools to follow a single customer;
• your business has its own steps (servicing contracts, file tracking, recurring jobs) that no software handles well;
• several people need to see the same information, at the office and in the field;
• you pay subscriptions for features you only use a fraction of.

Good custom software is built in stages: you start using the first part as soon as it's ready, then we add the rest.

Your customer data: what the GDPR says

Whatever the tool, your customer file contains personal data. The CNIL, France's data protection authority, says a prospect's data should only be kept for three years after the last contact, and a customer's data, for marketing purposes, three years after the end of the business relationship.

Custom software can apply these retention periods automatically. In any case, make sure your data belongs to you and that you can export it. The CNIL offers a guide for small businesses.

Our method for choosing

• We start from what you use today, even a notebook.
• We list what's wasting your time, and how many hours a week.
• If off-the-shelf software is enough, we tell you and automate it.
• If not, we build the app step by step, bringing over your existing spreadsheets.

With e-invoicing coming for small businesses in France, it's also the right time to rethink your tools. What we build for you: custom software and automation.