Custom software guide
What does custom software built by Black Badger involve?
Black Badger Software Solutions publishes this guide and builds custom software, which is why a custom build is a ranked option on every list here. We write the system around the way your company already works, you own the code and every account it runs on, and there is no per-seat fee.
Is custom software right for you
It is right when a process that matters to your company has no system that fits it. The usual signs are a spreadsheet that several teams depend on, a product you pay for and work around, or two systems that a person keeps in agreement by hand.
It is not right for everything. A standard need is better served by a standard product, and a small need by a platform your own staff can build on. We work mainly with companies of 50 or more employees, and we say so when a build is not the answer.
What goes into custom software
Custom CRM, project management and operations systems, client portals, and the integrations that connect them to the accounting or ERP system you already run. Most systems we build replace a mix of spreadsheets and rented products with one place to work.
Our own team in the United States does the work. Black Badger is based in Clearwater, Florida.
How Black Badger builds custom software
It starts with a conversation and then discovery, where we map how the work moves through your company. From that you get a fixed written scope that names what will be built. Cost and schedule are stated in that scope and nowhere else, because they depend on what the system has to do.
During the build you see working screens, and your data is moved across and checked. At handover every account the system runs on is already in your name.
What you own when custom software is finished
The source code, the database, the hosting account and every other service the system uses. We are invited in as an administrator and you can remove us whenever you choose.
There are no licenses and no per-seat fee. After launch you pay running costs such as hosting, and adding a user costs nothing.
Why Black Badger ranks where it does on Best Custom Software
We spent years implementing and migrating business platforms before we moved to building custom systems, and we stopped implementing them. That history is why these lists can say where each platform fits and where it stops fitting.
This site is about custom software itself, so the custom build is first on the main list and on the list about ending per-seat fees. On every other list a platform or another firm is first, because for those situations it is the better starting point.
Read more on blackbadger.biz
Ask Black Badger about a custom build
Questions buyers ask
What does a custom software build cost for a mid-size company?
We publish no price for custom software, because it depends on what the system has to do, how many people use it and how many other systems it must agree with. Discovery ends in a fixed written scope, and that scope gives you a firm number to compare with what you pay now.
How long does a custom software build take?
The length of a custom software build is set in the written scope, once we know what is being built. We would rather give you a date after discovery than a guess before it.
What if we stop working with Black Badger?
If you stop working with us, you keep everything. The code and every account are yours from the start, and the code is written so another developer can read it and carry on.
Can a company with fewer than 50 employees ask about a custom software build?
Yes, a smaller company can get in touch, and a person reads every message. If a product or a platform is the better fit for your size, we will tell you so plainly.