When I first started my consulting business 20 years ago, I discovered you need to track income and expenses (isn’t that shocking!).
I evaluated all the cloud-based software available like FreshBooks and QuickBooks to see which was the best choice for me. It turns out, you had to pay for all of them, and I wasn’t really keen on that.
So, being a software developer at the time, I decided to code my own invoicing and accounting software. I hacked together a PHP application using the CodeIgniter framework and a MySQL database. I also leveraged jQuery for JavaScript functions.
It wasn’t pretty looking, but the software worked quite well for a while, until eventually the PHP and jQuery versions were deprecated. While performing the necessary upgrades, I also added Bootstrap to help design a better looking front-end.
The software worked well for a while, until it was time to upgrade PHP and MySQL again. And again and again.
Recently, I re-evaluated the whole situation and decided it was time to switch to a proper paid accounting system. The pleasure of knowing I saved thousands of dollars in subscriptions was offset by the repeated need to upgrade/improve my custom solution. There were also some issues calculating taxes, as those changed along the way as well.
The takeaway
Every once in a while, you’ll face a choice between buying a Salesforce app or building a custom solution. This buy vs build choice shouldn’t be taken lightly, as usually there are hidden costs along the way that you didn’t anticipate.