How many parts
Each module, from customer records to stock or a portal, adds its own build time. Most businesses start with three or four.
Pricing
What custom software costs, and why.
Every quote is the realistic time your system takes to build, fixed before work starts. Here is what moves that number, how long typical systems take, and how to keep the first phase lean.
Typical systems
What people usually build.
Build times come from the same estimate the quote builder uses, at a realistic pace for one builder.
| System | What’s in it | First version | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|
| A website that feeds your system | Fast, search-ready pages with forms or a calculator that post into your CRM. | 2–5 weeks | Quote |
| Client portal on your existing system | Clients log in for invoices, documents, bookings and payments. | 4–9 weeks | Quote |
| Quoting & invoicing engine | Quotes from your rate card, online accept, invoices, deposits and reminders. | 4–6 weeks | Quote |
| CRM behind your current website | Enquiries, clients, quotes and invoices, connected to your site and inbox. | 6–12 weeks | Quote |
| AI pilot | One scoped automation or agent shipped into the business, with approval steps. | 3–5 weeks | Quote |
| Full operations platform | Quotes, clients, scheduling, stock or jobs, staff, invoicing, portal and reports. Built in phases. | 12–25 weeks | Quote |
| iPhone + Android app | A native app on the same backend as the system. | +5–9 weeks |
Ranges are a starting point, not a quote. Integrations, data migration, roles and languages move them; your fixed quote says exactly what’s included.
What moves the number
Six things that set the cost.
What it connects to
Every integration (Gmail, WhatsApp, accounting, your website, a shop) is its own piece of work.
The data you bring
Starting fresh is quickest. Moving from spreadsheets adds a little; moving from another system adds more, because every record is checked.
People and permissions
More users and different roles seeing different things mean more screens and more testing.
Languages and apps
Each extra language adds to every screen. A native iPhone and Android app on the same backend adds roughly 5–9 weeks.
How fast you need it
A hard deadline is fine, but squeezing the same scope into less time costs more than phasing it.
Keeping it lean
Spend on what pays back first.
Phase it. Mark the parts that can wait. The must-haves are built first, and you use them while the rest is added. Storex started as a client and invoice tracker connected to its Wix site and grew into the platform the business runs on.
Keep what works. If a tool you already pay for does its job, connect it instead of replacing it.
Reuse proven parts. Bookings, portals, payments and invoicing are building blocks already running in live systems, adapted to you rather than designed from zero.
Check the grant. Eligible Malta businesses can get part of a digitalisation project funded. How Digitalise Your SME works.
FAQ
Pricing questions, answered.
Why isn’t there a fixed price list for software?
Two CRMs can differ by months of work depending on what they connect to and how much data moves across. Rather than a number that’s wrong for most people, the quote builder scopes your system in about five minutes and I reply with a fixed quote.
Is the quote fixed?
Yes. The quote is a fixed price for the scope it describes. If you add something mid-build, it’s quoted separately before any work on it starts.
Does the quote cost anything?
No. The quote builder and the quote are free, and so is a short call to talk it through.
How is a custom system cheaper than a subscription over time?
Off-the-shelf software is usually priced per user per month, so the bill grows with your team. A custom system is a build cost plus running costs, and doesn’t charge you for adding a colleague. Whether that works out cheaper depends on your team size and how long you’ll use it; the quote lets you compare.
What are the running costs after launch?
Hosting, email sending, payment fees and any AI usage depend on the services your system uses, and are listed separately in the quote. Support after launch is a monthly plan or pay as you go, your choice.
Can the cost be split into phases?
Yes, and it usually should be. In the quote builder you mark modules as ‘can wait’, and the must-haves are priced and built first.
Can a grant cover part of it?
The Digitalise Your SME scheme can part-finance eligible software projects for Malta businesses, subject to approval. The Malta page explains the rules, including what isn’t covered.
Start here
Get your fixed quote.
Six short steps about your business. You see the scope and a rough build time as you go, and I reply with a fixed price.