Company software needed

[cleaningbiz]

Hi, I have been using spreadsheets that I made up myself (not to good on the computer!) However I am looking to expand my business and need things to be a bit more efficient and professional. What kind of prices would I be looking at to get company software made up? And can you guys recommend anyone to do it? Many thanks.:thumbup:

 

[Alchemist Technologies]

It is hard to give a specific price as it would depend what you wanted the system to do. It can range from a few hundred pounds to several thousands. I would suspect the software you would be looking for would not be too expensive.

We can provide bespoke software and would be happy to have a chat with you regarding your requirements and give you an idea of the costs that would be involved.

You can contact our Sales team on 01387 269 888.

Regards
Pamela
Alchemist Technologies

 

[stugster]

Hey cleaningbiz,

First things first... why do you want to get your own custom software? What do you need it to do?

It might be that there's a cheaper solution already out there for your type of requirements, so let us know what you need and we can maybe help.

 

[Mike Lewis]

Cleaningbiz,

I'm afraid it's impossible for anyone to answer that question without knowing a lot more about what you need. The normal way of going about it would be to draw up a list of your requirements - in some detail - and then getting two or three competitive quotes.

But first, ask yourself if you really need to have the software "made up". Although custom software is less expensive than it once was, it's still a pricey business. For most day-to-day business needs, it's usually possible to use off-the-shelf programs, which are usually (but not always) cheaper.

Hope this helps.

Mike

 

[Kaye]

If you're thinking small, then an off-the-shelve customer management package will have to do. You should be able to get decent free or not very expensive packages off the internet (afew hundred dollars). PC World etc.

Depending on the data on your spreadsheets, you may need a bespoke package, in which case you will hire a small firm to develop one. Think around a thousand or a few thousand dollars. You may be able to get a single developer to knock one up for you -depending on complexity. This would keep the price down. This is not as complex to do as appears to the layman.

Large firms will have a backend database (Microsoft SQL or Oracle) and a front end (.Net, ASP etc). This gets expensive as you need server hardware and a techie who knows his way around both programming languages (front end plus SQL).

Hope this helps.

 

[cleaningbiz]

Thanks for all you advise guys. I have got someone coming to see me next week to have a chat about my requirements and prices etc but I am thinking that i might actually be able to make something myself!

 

[shredder]

If your developing in house spreadsheets be carefull see Spreadsheet Errors: Part 1 360