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How do the two options compare?
Both routes can produce good software. They differ in how you pay, how fast you start and what happens when a person moves on.
| Compared | Software agency (how we work) | In-house developer |
|---|---|---|
| Cost shape | A price fixed in a written scope, paid in two parts. Monthly support is optional after launch. | A salary and the costs of employing someone, every month, whether or not there is work to build. |
| Speed to start | Starts once the scope is signed. The timeline is agreed in that scope. | Starts after you have advertised, interviewed, hired and settled the person in. |
| Range of skills | A team that covers design, build, integrations, AI and testing. | One person's skills. Strong in some areas and thinner in others. |
| Continuity when someone leaves | The work sits in your accounts with documentation, so another developer can pick it up. | Depends on what the person wrote down. Knowledge can leave with them. |
| Who owns the result | You do, when it is built in your accounts. Ask any agency to confirm that in writing. | You do. Check the employment contract says so. |
| Ongoing changes | Scoped as new work, or covered by a monthly retainer. | Handled day to day by someone who knows the business well. |
Neither column wins every row. In-house wins on day-to-day changes and on knowledge of your business. An agency wins on range of skills, and on not carrying a cost in the months when there is nothing to build.
How do we work as the agency in that table?
Our side of the table is specific, so you can hold us to it. Every build is priced from a written scope, agreed before work starts. We build inside your own accounts, and you own the code and the data.
After launch your team can run the system themselves. Support and improvements are optional, as a monthly retainer. Our guide on why you should own the code and accounts lists what to check with any supplier, and hiring someone to build an AI system covers the questions to ask first.
The solutions that fit this decision
These are the four we would look at for a business weighing its first developer. Each pays in a different way.
- CRM setup and migration. Every enquiry lands in one place with an owner and a next step. Lever: more clients.
- Workflow automation. Details move between your tools without anyone copying them by hand. Levers: time back and money kept.
- Internal tools. One screen for your team's clients, jobs and tasks, so the same team handles more work. Lever: time back.
- Web apps and SaaS builds. A service or know-how becomes a product customers log in to. Lever: more money per client.
What is the problem costing you? Do the sum
Price the problem before you price a hire or a build. The leak, in an owner's words: "Enquiries come in by website, email and phone, and some never get a reply because nobody owned them." Either route can fix it, and this is what the fix does, using a CRM setup as the example.
- Every enquiry from every channel lands in one CRM record.
- Each record gets an owner and a next step with a date.
- A reminder goes to the owner when that date passes.
- A weekly view lists every enquiry that still has no next step.
The lever is more clients: more of the enquiries you already get turn into customers.
| Line | Example figure | Running total |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiries a month with no owner or next step | 20 | |
| Share of those that would have bought, at your close rate | 1 in 10 | 2 clients a month |
| Value of a client | £1,500 | £3,000 a month |
| Months in a year | 12 | £36,000 a year |
Example figures. Swap in your own. These are round numbers we made up to show the method. They are not a result, an average or a forecast.
To get your own number, count last month's enquiries. Then count how many had no reply or no next step a week later, and multiply by your real close rate and what a client is worth. You can also work out your own figure with our ROI calculator.
Weigh the answer against either route. If the leak is small, neither a hire nor a build pays for itself. If it is large, book a call: the paid audit that follows prices each problem for a year in its report.
When you should hire in-house instead
Hiring is the right answer in more cases than agencies tend to admit. Hire when:
- Software is the product you sell. Customers pay for it, so the people who build it should be yours.
- There is a steady queue of changes. If the work fills someone's week, every week, an employee is the natural fit.
- The work needs deep knowledge of your business. Some systems only make sense to a person who has sat with the team for a long time.
- You want someone in the room. An employee answers the team's questions as they come up. An agency works to a scope.
The two routes also combine. Because we build in your accounts and hand over documentation, a developer you hire later can take the system over. If hiring looks like your answer, we will say so on the first call.
What does the agency route cost with us?
We start with a paid audit: £3,000 plus VAT (US $5,000), with a written report delivered within 10 working days. The fee is credited against the build when the build deposit is paid within 14 days of the report. Before the audit we give a range, never an exact price.
Scoped builds run from £5,000 to £20,000 (US $10,000 to $30,000), and larger custom projects are priced separately. Payment is 50% upfront and 50% on launch by default, and the timeline is agreed in the written scope. Our custom software pricing page explains what moves a build within that range.
Support after launch is optional. Run & Improve is £1,000, £2,000 or £4,000 a month (US $2,000, $3,500 or $6,000), with a three-month minimum, then monthly with 30 days notice. Hosting, software and AI usage are paid directly to the providers from your own accounts.
What have we built as an agency?
For MRM Group, a UK property development and investment company, we built an authenticated internal command centre for clients, deals and tasks, connected to their public funnel. It includes client and deal workspaces, document handling, task workflows, reminders and audit history. People approve the sensitive decision points.
We publish build details for MRM, not results. Read the MRM Group case study.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a software agency cost compared with hiring a developer?
With us, a scoped build runs from £5,000 to £20,000 after a £3,000 plus VAT audit, and support is optional from £1,000 a month. A hire is a salary and employment costs every month. We quote no salary figures, so take those from current job adverts for the role.
Who owns the code if an agency builds it?
That depends on the agency, so ask before you sign. We build everything in your own accounts, and you own the code and the data.
What happens if we stop working with you?
The system keeps running, because it lives in your accounts and you pay the providers directly. You hold the documentation from handover. A retainer ends with 30 days notice after its three-month minimum.
Can a developer we hire later take the system over?
Yes. The code, the data and the accounts are yours, and we hand over documentation at launch. A new developer starts from that, not from a blank page.
How quickly can an agency build start?
Our build starts once the written scope is signed, and the scope sets the timeline. We do not promise a delivery date before that. The audit report that comes first is delivered within 10 working days.
Do you replace the tools we already use?
Only where they are the problem. The audit maps how the business runs and which tools it uses, and the build keeps what works.