Custom CRMs aren’t for every business—but when off-the-shelf tools fall short, building your own can be the smartest move. Over the years, we’ve developed several CRMs from scratch for industries ranging from finance to eCommerce, and here’s what we’ve learned about what it takes.
🚩 Step 0: Do You Really Need a Custom CRM?
Before writing a single line of code, validate that custom development is necessary. In many cases, out-of-the-box CRMs (like HubSpot or Zoho) will get the job done—at least for a while.
But here are signs that you might need to build your own:
- Crucial features are missing or too expensive to add
- You need deep integrations with custom internal tools
- Your business processes are too unique for off-the-shelf workflows
Example: For a factoring company, we built a CRM that automatically matched leads to lenders based on specific business rules. No third-party tool could support that logic.
🎯 Step 1: Define SMART Goals
Know exactly why you’re building it. Is it to shorten sales cycles? Improve reporting accuracy? Automate specific workflows?
Using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound) helps you set focused development targets and scope an MVP properly.
📋 Step 2: Discovery Phase
Start with a specification document outlining:
- User roles and flows
- Required integrations (e.g., WMS, accounting software)
- Feature set: lead management, invoicing, reporting, etc.
This step prevents overbuilding and helps estimate cost accurately.
🧩 Step 3: Design Core Features First
A solid MVP should include:
- Contact & lead management
- Task and activity tracking
- Visual sales pipeline
- Dashboards & reports
- Invoicing
- Mobile access
- API integrations
You can always build advanced features later—like lead scoring, chatbot support, or social CRM.
💰 Step 4: Estimate the Cost
Custom CRM cost depends on complexity, team location, and features. Here’s a rough estimate:
- MVP build: $30K–$65K
- Timeline: 3.5–7 months
- Outsourced team: Devs ($30–$60/hr in Eastern Europe), PM, QA, and tech lead included
Yes, that’s more than a HubSpot subscription—but you’re building something tailored exactly to your business.
🔁 Step 5: Build, Launch, Iterate
Start small. Build just enough to go live, collect feedback from real users, and refine. A flexible architecture will let you adjust features without throwing everything away.
One major benefit of custom CRM development? You control the roadmap, not a SaaS vendor.
You can also read a full article on how to create a CRM system. And don't forget to comment here
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