0476 136 896Get a quote
A plain guide

Custom software or SaaS?How to choose.

Subscription apps suit plenty of service businesses, and sometimes keeping them is the better deal. This guide sets out what we'd weigh up with you, including when we'd tell you not to switch.

Tell us what you needSkip to the questions

What to weigh up.

  • The features you actually use
  • How many apps you pay for
  • Whether they talk to each other
  • Who owns your data
  • Getting your data out
SaaS

Subscription apps.

SaaS means software as a service. You pay a regular fee to use an app someone else owns. They host it, update it and decide what it does next, and you share the same product with everyone else on your plan.

Custom

Software you own.

Custom software is built around how your business works. You pay a fixed price for the build, agreed before we start, and once it's paid for, it's yours. Hosting and your domain sit in your name, and you pay for them at cost.

When SaaS wins

When a subscription is the better choice.

We'd rather tell you to keep your app than build something you don't need. These are the signs it's worth keeping.

  • One app already does the job.

    If a single app covers your bookings or your quotes, and you use most of what it offers, there's little for custom software to fix.

  • You're still finding your feet.

    While the way you work is still changing, an app you can cancel gives you room to change your mind before you pay for a build.

  • You want updates handled for you.

    A subscription comes with the maker's updates and support. With custom software, new features beyond the agreed scope are quoted before we start.

  • It already connects to the rest.

    If your app already talks to your accounting software and nothing gets typed in twice, the setup is doing its job.

When owning wins

When owning it makes more sense.

Custom software tends to earn its keep when your apps pull in different directions and the gaps get filled by hand.

  • Your apps don't talk to each other.

    A booking app, an invoicing app and a website builder, each with its own login and its own copy of your clients.

  • You copy the same details between apps.

    Each time a client's details are typed into a second app, that's time gone and another chance for a mistake.

  • You use a small part of what you pay for.

    If you open the same few screens each day and pay for a plan full of features you never touch, a smaller system built around those screens may suit you better.

  • You want your data in your own accounts.

    With custom software, your data, domain and hosting sit in your accounts, so you can export the lot and take it to anyone.

What to weigh up

Questions to ask before you decide.

Work through these with your current apps open. The answers usually point one way or the other.

  • Which features do you actually use?

    List the jobs you do in each app in a normal week. Compare that list with what your plan includes, and with what you wish it did.

  • How many separate apps are you paying for?

    Count every subscription the business runs on, including per user fees and add-ons. Compare the total across all of them, not one app on its own.

  • Do they talk to each other?

    Check whether a booking turns into an invoice on its own, or whether someone copies it across. Ask each app what it can connect to.

  • Who owns your data?

    Read what the terms say about your client records, bookings and invoices, where they're stored, and what happens to them if you stop paying.

  • Can you export it?

    Try exporting your clients and history now, before you need to. A file you can open in a spreadsheet is far more useful than one only that app can read.

  • Who decides when things change?

    With a subscription, the maker decides when prices, plans and features change. With custom software, you decide, and the person who built it looks after it afterwards.

You can do both

Keep some apps, replace others.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing. We work with the platforms you already use where we can, and can connect things like Xero or MYOB.

Honest advice

We'll tell you if it's not worth it.

List the apps you pay for in the notes on the quote builder below. We check what your app allows before we quote, and if keeping it is the better deal, we'll say so.

What we offer

Three ways to work with us.

Custom websites

A website designed and built for your business, and yours to keep.

From $5,000+ GST, one-off
Get a quote
  • Found in local Google searches
  • Fast on every phone
  • Designed for your business

Compare the website builds

Build it once and it's yours. Then choose how it's looked after.

Essential

A fast site that shows up on Google.

  • Up to 11 pages
  • Found in 3 nearby towns or services, each with its own page
  • You supply the words and photos
  • See your enquiries and visitors at a glance

$5,000 + GST, one-off

Best value

Professional

The words and photos done for you.

30 pages11 on Essential18 town pages3 on Essential

Everything in Essential, plus

  • We write all the words
  • A photo shoot at your business
  • Easier for ChatGPT to find and recommend
  • Detailed enquiry and visitor reports

$10,000 + GST, one-off

Then, looking after it

Required if we host your site, optional if you host it yourself. Your first month of Care Essential is free.

Care Essential

Your site is doing its job, and you want someone keeping it that way.

  • Fast, secure hosting included
  • Regular backups of your site
  • Software and security updates
  • Ongoing support by email

$150 a month + GST, 3-month minimum

Care Pro

Your website brings in real work. You run the business, we look after the website.

  • Everything in Care Essential
  • Up to 2 hours of changes a month
  • If your site goes down, we get it back up
  • A monthly report

$300 a month + GST, 3-month minimum

Get a quote for a website
Recommended

Growth Plan

Your website, phone answering, reviews and Google profile, all done for you every month.

$450a month + GST · 12-month term · No setup fee
Get the Growth Plan
  • A complete custom website
  • AI receptionist and missed-call text-back
  • Local SEO to grow your traffic

Everything in the Growth Plan

One monthly fee covers all of it. 12-month term, no setup fee.

Get found
  • A complete custom website, with hosting, care and monthly changes
  • Fast loading on every phone
  • Local SEO, so nearby customers find you
  • Ongoing work to grow your local traffic
  • Google Business Profile kept active
Win the work
  • AI receptionist
  • Missed-call text-back
  • Website chat assistant
  • Online booking with reminders
  • Same-day quotes
See it working
  • Google review requests after every job
  • Call tracking and Google Maps ranking checks
  • A plain-English monthly report
Get the Growth Plan

Custom software

Solve almost any business problem, or replace the software you rent with your own.

Fixed pricequoted after a chat
Tell us the problem
  • Built around how you work
  • Replaces your subscriptions
  • You own the code and data

How custom software works

If a monthly subscription or a manual job is slowing you down, we can build the tool to replace it.

  1. Step 1Tell us the problemWhat's eating your week, or the software you're paying for every month.
  2. Step 2One fixed priceA written proposal with the scope and the price, before anything starts.
  3. Step 3Built, then it's yoursBuilt around how you work. You own the code and the data.

Things we build

Booking systemsQuoting and invoicingClient portalsJob managementDashboardsAI receptionistAutomationsXero and MYOB links
Tell us the problemWork out what you'd save
How it works

No surprises, start to finish.

Four steps, from your first call to launch day.

  1. 1 Tell us what you need.

    Call Flynn on 0476 136 896, or get a quote in 2 minutes below.

  2. 2 You'll know the price before we start.

    On the Growth Plan, one monthly fee and no setup fee. On a one-off build, a written proposal with one fixed price, and a 50% deposit gets it started.

  3. 3 You can watch it being built.

    A private preview link updates as we go. Comment on anything you see.

  4. 4 Then we keep it working.

    On the Growth Plan, we look after everything each month and send you a plain-English report. On a one-off build, you sign it off, pay the balance and it launches in your name.

Accessible to everyone, privacy-safe, with secure card payments.
Questions

Custom software or SaaS questions.

0476 136 896flynn@precisionsoftwareautomation.com.au
Is custom software always better than a subscription app?

No. If one app does the job and you use most of it, keeping it is often the better deal. We check what your app allows before we quote, and we'll tell you honestly.

What's the difference between SaaS and custom software?

With SaaS, you pay a regular fee to use an app someone else owns and runs. Custom software is built around your business, and once it's paid for, you own the code, design and content we make for you.

Can custom software work alongside the apps we keep?

Yes, where the app allows it. We work with the platforms you already use where we can, and can connect things like Xero or MYOB.

How do I check whether I can get my data out of an app?

Look for an export option in the app's settings and try it with your client list. Check that the file opens in a spreadsheet and holds everything you'd need to move.

What does custom software cost with you?

Every project is a fixed price, agreed in writing before we start. Every automation job is different, so we quote it after a quick chat. You pay for hosting and your domain at cost. If you also need a website, the Growth Plan bundles one in for $450 a month + GST (12-month term, no setup fee), plus phone answering, review requests and your Google profile looked after.

What if we switch and later want to leave?

You can leave whenever you like, with no lock-in contract. Your domain, hosting and data sit in your own accounts, so you can export the lot and take it to anyone.

Start your project

Get your quote.

Pick what you need and see a live estimate. Send it over and Flynn comes back with a fixed-price proposal.

What does your business do?

Popular:

Do you have a website?

Rather talk it through? Call Flynn on 0476 136 896, email flynn@precisionsoftwareautomation.com.au, or .

Your estimate: Nothing picked yet