The Million-Dollar Question: Build or Buy?
I’ve sat down with hundreds of business owners across Brisbane—from electricians in Coorparoo to boutique law firms in the CBD—and the conversation eventually turns to technology. Usually, it starts because they are frustrated. They’re sick of paying monthly fees for software that doesn't quite work, or they’ve been told by a developer that they need a "custom solution" to really scale.
Here is the blunt truth: most small business owners shouldn't build a damn thing.
In 95% of cases, trying to build your own custom marketing or sales tool is the fastest way to set fire to your profits. However, that remaining 5% is where the real money is made. If you get this choice wrong, you either end up with a "frankenstein" system that breaks every week, or you pay $500 a month for a tool that your competitors are also using to beat you.
This guide is about making sure you choose the path that puts more money in your bank account and gives you back your weekends.
The Trap of "Custom Built"
We’ve all been there. You have a specific way you quote jobs or a unique way you follow up with customers. You look at the standard software options and think, "None of these do exactly what I want. I’ll just hire a developer to build me a simple version."
Stop right there.
Building software is like building a house, except the ground is constantly moving, the council changes the rules every week, and the roof starts leaking the moment you stop paying the builder. When you build a custom tool, you aren't just paying for the build; you are paying for the life of that tool.
I recently spoke with a landscaper in Chermside who spent $15,000 building a custom booking system because he didn't like the look of the existing ones. Six months later, Google changed how their calendars work, and his $15,000 system broke. It cost him another $4,000 to fix. If he’d just used a standard $30-a-month tool, the software company would have fixed it for free.
The Rule of Thumb: If a tool doesn't directly create a massive competitive advantage that makes you significantly more money than your rivals, buy it.
When Buying is the Smart Move
You should buy "off-the-shelf" software (the stuff you pay a monthly subscription for) when the task is a standard business function.
Think about these areas: Sending emails to customers. Taking bookings or appointments. Basic customer tracking (CRM). Posting to social media.
These problems have already been solved by billion-dollar companies. You are not going to build a better email sender than Mailchimp or a better booking system than Calendly. By paying a monthly fee, you are buying their entire engineering team. When phones update or security rules change, they handle it. You just keep running your business.
If you find that your current tools aren't working together, don't rush to build something new. You likely just need to make business software talk to ensure your data flows from your quote to your invoice without manual entry.
When Building (or Customising) Makes You Money
So, when is it actually worth it? You should consider a custom-built solution only when it solves a "Money Leak" that standard software can't touch.
For example, we worked with a large pool maintenance company in the Western Suburbs. They had a very specific way of calculating chemical loads and pricing that depended on Brisbane’s weather patterns. No standard software could do it. By building a custom calculator for their staff, they reduced quoting time from two hours to ten minutes.
That is a result. That is more jobs booked per day. That is more profit.
Before you commit to building a tool, ask yourself: 1. Will this help me close more sales? If it just makes your dashboard look prettier, forget it. 2. Does it save me at least 10 hours a week? If not, the cost of maintenance will eat your savings. 3. Is this my "Secret Sauce"? If your competitors can just go buy the same thing, it’s not a secret sauce.
The Hidden Costs Nobody Tells You About
When a developer gives you a quote for $10,000 to build a tool, that is only the beginning. In the software world, we call this the "Total Cost of Ownership." For a small business owner, I call it the "Headache Tax."
1. Maintenance and Updates
Software isn't a physical product. It’s more like a garden. If you don't weed it, it dies. Browsers like Chrome and Safari update constantly. If your custom tool isn't updated to match, it stops working. Expect to pay 20% of the original build cost every single year just to keep it running.2. Training Costs
When you buy a popular tool, you can hire a new office manager who already knows how to use it. If you build your own, you have to spend days training every new hire. That is time you aren't spending on growing the business.3. The "Developer Hostage" Situation
This is the biggest risk for Brisbane businesses. You hire a local guy or an offshore team to build your tool. Two years later, they move on, get a new job, or disappear. Now you have a piece of code that runs your business, and nobody knows how to fix it. I’ve seen businesses forced to start from scratch because their previous developer left them in the lurch.If you are worried about your current setup, it’s often better to focus on choosing the best way to track sales using proven, supported platforms rather than gambling on a custom build.
How to Choose Without Getting Ripped Off
If you’re sitting on the fence, follow this three-step process to decide. This is the exact advice I’d give a mate over a beer at the Brewhouse.
Step 1: The 80% Rule
Can you find a tool that does 80% of what you want for under $100 a month? If the answer is yes, buy it. You can change your business processes slightly to fit the software much cheaper than you can change the software to fit your processes. Don't let the 20% of "missing features" cost you $20,000.Step 2: The "Off-the-Shelf" Integration Test
Before building, see if you can connect two existing tools. For example, if you want a custom way to track what's making money in your business, you don't need a custom dashboard built from scratch. You can usually just link your accounting software to a simple reporting tool. It’s faster, cheaper, and won't break.Step 3: Calculate the "Payback Period"
If a custom build costs $20,000, how many extra customers do you need to win to pay that off? If it takes three years to break even on the cost of the software, it’s a bad investment. In the tech world, three years is an eternity. The tool will be obsolete before it's paid for itself.Real World Example: The Morningside Tradie
I worked with a plumbing business in Morningside. The owner was convinced he needed a custom app for his guys in the field to track parts. He’d been quoted $35,000.
We sat down and looked at the numbers. We found a standard job management tool that cost $150 a month. It didn't have his specific "parts tracking" logic perfectly, but it had 90% of it. By choosing the monthly subscription instead of the custom build, he saved $33,000 in the first year alone. He used that money to buy another van and hire a new apprentice.
That’s a real business result. The custom app would have been a vanity project; the subscription was a growth strategy.
What Should You Do First?
If your current systems feel messy, don't go looking for a developer yet.
1. Audit your monthly bills. Are you paying for five different tools that all do the same thing? Cancel the ones you don't use. 2. Identify the bottleneck. Is the problem that you aren't getting enough leads, or that you're losing the ones you have? Usually, you don't need new software; you need to stop wasting money on tech that doesn't actually bring in customers. 3. Focus on the "Money-In" side. Your first priority should always be tools that help you get more phone calls and close more quotes. Anything else is secondary.
Summary of the "Build vs Buy" Verdict
Buy if: It’s for marketing, standard sales tracking, accounting, or communication. If there is a "Top 10" list for this type of software on Google, buy one of the top three. Build if: You have a unique process that is the primary reason people choose you over the guy down the road, and no existing tool can handle it.
- Avoid if: A developer tells you they can build a "better, cheaper version" of a tool that already exists. They are lying, or they don't understand the long-term costs of maintenance.
Get Your Tech Working for You
At the end of the day, you’re in business to serve your customers and make a profit, not to become a software project manager. If your technology is causing more stress than it’s solving, it’s time to simplify.
At Local Marketing Group, we help Brisbane business owners cut through the technical rubbish. We don't care about the latest gadgets; we care about what makes your phone ring and what puts money in your pocket.
If you want a straight-talking partner to help you grow your business without the tech headaches, let’s chat.
Contact Local Marketing Group today and let’s get your marketing actually working for your bottom line.