Custom CRM Development Cost: How to Pay Less in 2023?

Among the diversity of CRM systems represented in the market today, it is a real confrontation between universal so-called box CRMs and custom systems developed for a certain business separately. In RexSoft we are fully sure that it is a custom CRM that is a must for a big company or a business that is going to be scaled. And we can prove that a solution like that is not costly as its opponents always claim.

Custom CRM Systems: What Is It?

High-quality individual business solutions are always a guarantee of success. Unlike a boxed CRM, even the most multifunctional and innovative, a custom solution will always be adapted exactly to your tasks. Moreover, modern developers today offer CRM solutions that are based on processes already existing in the customer company. This allows you to start using it immediately, without waiting for employees to get used to it, undergo training, and make mistakes at the initial stage.

Another difference between a custom CRM and a boxed one is the ability to use not only functions, ideas, and technologies, but also to use the psychological aspects of the attractiveness of the finished product to a potential audience. This is working with colors, the introduction of corporate elements, and the selection of unique fonts. All this is difficult to implement in a ready-made CRM provided to a wide range of users. But in a custom CRM, attention to detail will be great.

What tasks of your business does custom CRM solve?

• It collects sales data in a common database, in a unified form.
• It segments the target audience and helps to depict customer portraits.
• It provides prompt responses to customer requests.
• It forms personal recommendations and suggestions for buyers.
• It can make a sales forecast for your analytics.

All of the above functions are so-called external ones, we mean they are aimed at buyers. But CRMs also work within the company as they integrate with financial instruments and speed up the reporting process, automate the work of employees, and improve the interaction between departments thanks to a common information field.

TOP-5 Benefits of Custom CRM Systems 

As for the benefits of a custom CRM, there are a lot of them. At RexSoft, we have concentrated on the 5 most important from a business point of view. So, our TOP 5 advantages of custom CRM include:

TOP Factors Influence Custom CRM Development Cost 

One of the key factors that make bespoke software, not a common solution is their high custom CRM cost. The custom CRM development cost is not small, however, in the case of individual development, you pay for the functions that your company truly needs. Add to this the fact that your employees will not have to spend a lot of time mastering the product because CRM will be initially created for a workflow already established in the company.

Yet, there are 3 main factors that influence the total custom CRM development cost you should know about.

The Complexity

The more difficult the task assigned to the CRM developers, the more effort, time, and experience they will have to apply. All this, of course, is custom CRM development cost. And the more complex the functionality of the system that you need, the higher custom CRM cost will be.

The Level of Skills of Developers

Be sure that a skilled pro will provide you with the CRM you want while a beginner will not create an impeccable product. Some companies use that hint to increase the average CRM software development cost due to their starring pros who will work on your project.

The Number of Users Is Also Important

The more staff will use the custom CRM, the higher the total amount will be. This parameter includes both the need to develop for a certain number of users and the cost of setting up CRM in the workplace and basic staff training. Consequently, it also affects custom CRM development cost.

Custom CRM development cost examples 

In order not to be unsubstantiated we offer you to take a look at some of our projects. In their example, it is very well seen, what the custom CRM cost consists of. Of course, everything depends on the individual needs of your business, but these cases will help you better understand the overall picture.

The main modules of this custom CRM have the following functionality:

Internal telephony

Each agent has a separate phone and phone number. When a client calls the company phone, the telephony distributes this call to all phones available to agents (call center solution).

Automated reminder to customers

When the client has made a request but hasn't made a prepayment, the system sends out reminder letters (emails and SMS).

Work time efficiency

Custom CRM allows for optimizing the workload of the labor resources and minimizing the idle time of the drivers, using the Gantt chart. The system allows for synchronizing the tasks of different teams, i.e. a driver can be involved in other moves, while his current move is at the packing stage.

Widget for moving requests

When generating a moving request through the site, the system synchronizes all the scheduled moving requests and the customer sees which move order is available. Also, the widget shows the number of moves performed and the average check at the address specified by the client.

Management of requests

CRM includes a list of statuses (stages), providing management of requests from the moment of registration to the execution of works and acceptance of payment.

Customer history

The CRM automatically generates a client's history, which includes a chronology of contacts between the company's specialists and the client (calls, correspondence, SMS, E-mail), a list of requests, etc.

Payroll

The CRM automatically credits salaries to the company's employees.

Online payment

The client has an opportunity to pay the deposit for relocation using a bank card. Payment for the move can be made via card, check, or cash.

The modules listed above are just basic functionality. This client works with RexSoft for over 5 years and during this time we developed many additional modules and features. Nevertheless, for ease of calculation, we'll consider only these basic modules so that you have an idea of how much money you might need at the initial stage.

Development time costs:

So, as you can see, the development of such a custom CRM requires 5-6 months (3120 hours). Accordingly, its final custom CRM cost will be about $110,000. To calculate the CRM software development cost we took the average rate of RexSoft developers ($35-40). The cost of development may be larger by 1.5-2 times if you use the services of IT companies from the U.S. or Western Europe, where the average rate is about $70-100.

This CRM consists of the following modules:

Scheduling component

Functionality for booking a visit in the calendar has the ability to create a "waiting list", which allows you to visit the barbershop when the specialists have free time.

Online payment system

Online payment system which allows you to pay for your services using bank cards.

Email, SMS sending system

Automated sending of SMS or Email to remind your clients about appointments. It also includes an anti-spam system i.e. SMS confirmation of the client's phone number during booking a visit.

Client history

Custom CRM automatically generates a history of the client, which includes a chronology of SMS, Email informing, and a list of ordered services.

Human Resources Management

The Admin rights manager has the ability to manage the personnel of the barbershop (work schedule, list of services, rate, info in the card of the specialist).

In total, the development of this product took the following amount of time:

Total - 670 h

In three months we managed to create a fully working version of the product. The custom CRM cost of developing such a custom CRM will cost about $20000.

TOP 3 Recommendations on How to Reduce Custom CRM Development Cost

In RexSoft we prove that the custom CRM development cost system shouldn't be sky-high. We have some tips on how to reduce the cost of a custom CRM you need for your business. Here are they.

Custom CRM functions and their cost

Custom CRM will usually have some of the core functions from the list below: 

• Contact management
• Interaction tracking 
• Lead management 
• Email integration 
• Documentation management 
• Workflow automation and others. 

These features determine the custom CRM cost. Usually, you aren’t able to exclude some of the core features of a custom CRM since it might make your investment less effective. However, if you wish to cut costs, you may start with an MVP to check the effectiveness of a custom CRM. Here is the estimated custom CRM cost that you might have to pay for its development. 

For a small or average CRM system, you should expect to pay about $18,000. For the development of more advanced software, you should expect to pay around $50-70,000. The cost of custom CRM system development can vary depending on the functionality as well as the needs of your company.   

How much does it cost to develop custom CRM functions in different countries? 

Usually, the development of a custom CRM system takes about a thousand hours and will cost differently depending on the country your IT partner is based in.  For example, if your custom CRM developers are based in the US, then the cost of their services will be approximately $150 per hour. 

According to this, the engagement of a development team of 4: PHP, JavaScript, or Ruby developers, QA, and designers will cost you about $600 per hour. And, if you get an average custom CRM development service that takes about 1000 hours, be prepared for custom CRM cost to reach about $600,000. 

However, if you decide to turn to the Western European development company, the CRM software development cost will be much less. You can work with companies from Germany or the UK that go by hourly rates from $60 to $80. 

This way, the team of the same four people will cost you about $240 - $320 per hour, and that’s almost two times cheaper. This team’s work on your custom CRM project for 1000 hours will leave you with a paycheck of $240,000 - $320,000. 

The most cost-effective option is to cooperate with Eastern European companies. They have the most affordable rates of around $40 per hour. So, a team of four people will take about $160 in an hour, which is two times cheaper than expensive developers from Western Europe.

Accordingly, 1000 hours of their work on your custom CRM will cost you $160,000 or even less. Considering that different specialists in a company have different rates and work on the project for a different amount of time, the CRM software development cost we use as an example are approximate. A similar project RexSoft worked on recently cost our customer about $40,000. 

A Bit of Conclusion

Let's summarize. CRM for business today is as important as air. At the same time, standard out-of-the-box solutions do not at all satisfy all business needs. Therefore, if you need to get a truly reliable, unique and workable product, it is better to order a custom CRM. In it, the developer will accurately take into account everything you need, and will also be able to provide turnkey services for further improvement, training of your personnel, service and technical support.

The high CRM software development cost is called one of the main reasons why not everyone chooses it. But we at RexSoft know a few tricks on how to make custom CRM development affordable. This is primarily about hiring developers outside of the United States. A careful study of client portfolios will also help to avoid unnecessary costs. And you can always start with an MVP, which is cheaper than a complete CRM system.