--- title: "Custom Software Development | Artus Engineering" description: "Software that fits your business — not the other way around. Custom software for midsize companies: open stack, source-code ownership, hosting in Germany." canonical_url: "https://artus-engineering.de/en/services/custom-software" md_url: "https://artus-engineering.de/en/services/custom-software.md" last_updated: "2026-09-11T14:47:09.931Z" lang: en --- # Software That Fits Your Business — Not the Other Way Around *Custom Software* When SAP is too rigid, licenses get 25% more expensive, and off-the-shelf software covers everything except the 20% that is your competitive edge: we build custom software with an open stack and honest advice. Typical projects €30k–80k · source code from day one ## Why Off-the-Shelf Software Is Not Enough Midsize CEOs and IT leads look for custom software when the gap between “80% covered” and “exactly what we need” gets too expensive. ### SAP Cannot Do It — And That Is Exactly What We Need Off-the-shelf software covers the core. The 20% that differentiates your business — pricing, production control, industry logic — is missing. ### The Last Agency Vanished Vendor insolvent, source code gone, nobody dares touch it. Every change takes six weeks — if anyone answers at all. ### License Prices Rise Every Year Maintenance and licenses for off-the-shelf software: 22–25% of the purchase price per year. Custom software often pays for itself after 18–24 months. ### Projects Drag on, Fixed Prices Balloon More than half of IT decision-makers in the DACH region have seen business-critical initiatives fail — often because of poor scope planning and missing transparency. ## Why Artus Engineering ### One Point of Contact, All the Way Through No account manager carousel. Senior co-founders on the project — strategic advice, not junior bingo. ### Source-Code Ownership from Day One Git repo access from the start. Postgres instead of a proprietary database, Next.js instead of a CMS walled garden. No vendor lock-in. ### GDPR + German Hosting + Green Power Compliance, data sovereignty, and ESG reporting from a single source — one contract partner for build and run. ## Advice, Not Just Programming ### Weeks 1–4: On-Site Discovery to Demo Week 1: understand the process. Week 2: clickable prototype. Week 3: first working module. Week 4: demo with real data. ### Three Pricing Models — Explained Honestly Fixed price per sprint, fixed price for the whole project, or time and materials with a budget cap. No fixed-price theater that collapses the moment scope changes. ### A Concrete Case with Real Numbers Order processing from 14 days down to 4, ROI after 11 months, running for three years without a major incident — that is what success looks like. **14 → 4 days** ## Off-The-Shelf vs. Custom Software TCO over five years — a typical midsize scenario. | | Off-the-shelf software | Custom software | | --- | --- | --- | | Fit for your business | 80% — the rest is manual | 100% — exactly your process | | Ongoing license costs | 22–25% per year, rising | 15–20% maintenance per year | | Adaptability | Limited (customization) | Unlimited | | Vendor lock-in risk | High (the vendor) | None (your code) | | Data sovereignty (DE/EU) | Varies | Complete (German hosting) | | TCO over five years | Rising | Predictable, often 30–40% lower | ## What Weeks 1–4 Look Like ### Week 1: On-Site Discovery Understand processes, involve stakeholders, cut scope honestly. ### Week 2: Clickable Prototype First screens to try out — feedback before code goes into production. ### Week 3: First Working Module Real code, real data, first integration — no mockup. ### Week 4: Demo and Decision Go or no-go based on substance, not PowerPoint. ## Code and Docs Are Yours — From Day One - Git repository with full access from day one - Architecture and operations documentation (Markdown) - Deployment scripts and runbook - Data processing agreement and record of processing activities - Role and permission model - Software escrow on request - Maintenance agreement with a clear SLA ## Budget Corridors ### Widget / add-on: from €5k A small extension alongside your existing ERP ### Typical midsize project: €30k–80k A standalone application with integrations ### Larger platform: €100k–250k Several modules, enterprise integrations Senior day rates in the DACH region: €850–1,300 per day. We calculate transparently — no “price on request.” ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Is custom software not too expensive? Over five years it is often 30–40% cheaper than off-the-shelf software with licenses, customization, and workarounds. We run those numbers with you on the intro call. ### What if Artus goes out of business? You own the source code after acceptance and have Git access from project start. Software escrow on request. The stack is open — any developer can take over. ### Are we not too small for this? Small and midsize companies often win a competitive edge precisely through their ability to customize. What matters is not company size but whether the process is business-critical. ### Should we not clean up our processes first? That is exactly what happens in the first two weeks of discovery. We help you structure things — working with your reality, not against it. ## Related Services - [Web Applications](https://artus-engineering.de/en/services/web-applications.md) - [Internal Tools](https://artus-engineering.de/en/services/internal-tools.md) - [MVP Development](https://artus-engineering.de/en/services/mvp-development.md) ## Next Step [Start a project](https://artus-engineering.de/en/contact.md) ## Sitemap Complete overview of every page: [Sitemap](https://artus-engineering.de/en/sitemap.md)