Is custom development worth it?
A build that gives back a week to a team of at /hr and opens up a year in new or protected revenue…
Pays for itself in 6.5 months, then throws off $83,200 a year. Every year you wait leaves $83,200 on the table.
Bring a sharp brief, get a sharper estimate.
The Client Brief Template
A one-page PDF that helps you clarify your project before you talk to any developer. Covers goals, audience, scope, budget, and timeline. Fewer surprises, better outcomes.
Custom software ROI, answered plainly.
How is custom software ROI calculated? +
What is a good payback period for custom software? +
Does this calculator account for revenue, not just cost savings? +
Why does every result show a range instead of one number? +
Like the numbers? Let's pressure-test them together.
This is a planning estimate. A short conversation turns it into a real scope, a real timeline, and a build that owns its payback.
How the math works: Annual savings = hours saved per week × 52 × staff cost per hour × team size. Revenue impact, when enabled, is added on top of labor savings as new or protected revenue per year. The confidence band widens the estimate by −30% / +15% on value and +15% / −10% on cost. Project hours and build cost are two views of the same estimate — larger builds carry a gentler effective rate, so moving one slider updates the other. ROI is measured over a 36-month (three-year) horizon and does not discount future dollars. Build-time is a rough estimate for context only, not a quote. These are planning estimates. Your actual results depend on the specific build.