CRM, ERP, business software: what are we talking about?
- A CRM (customer relationship management) centralises your customers and prospects: contact details, history of exchanges, quotes, follow-ups.
- An ERP (enterprise resource planning) goes further and covers the whole of management: stock, purchasing, sales, invoicing, sometimes production.
- Business software, or a business application, answers the needs specific to your activity: job scheduling, bookings, site monitoring, management of guides or vehicles.
In a small company the boundary is blurred: the right tool is often a mix of the three, tailored to the way you work.
Custom-built or off-the-shelf?
Off-the-shelf software is enough when the way you work is standard: it is ready immediately and evolves without you. Custom development makes sense when you juggle several tools, when you adapt your organisation to the software rather than the other way round, or when per-user subscriptions end up costing more than a tool of your own.
During the first conversation, I tell you honestly which case you are in. If an existing tool does the job, I recommend it.
A real example: Parismatic Tour’s software
For a private tour agency in Paris, I designed and developed a complete application: bookings per partner, guide scheduling as a calendar, mission orders as PDFs, vehicles, hotels and pick-up points, ticketing, invoices, cost tracking and a dashboard. Automated tasks update statuses every day. 3,700 bookings and 3,200 mission orders managed since June 2024. Read the case study.
What I can build for you
- A CRM: customer file, PDF quotes, scheduled follow-ups
- A scheduler: bookings, jobs, your team’s availability
- An online customer area, so your customers can track their requests
- Dashboards to follow your activity
- Connections with your tools: online store, invoicing software, email (see also automation)
Your idea, your custom software. Do you have a precise idea of the tool you need? I develop custom software that answers it. As long as a feature is technically feasible and reasonable for your budget, we consider it together. If a request is not realistic, I tell you at the scoping stage, with an alternative.
AI in your CRM
A custom CRM can include artificial intelligence where it really saves time:
- Summarise a customer’s history in a few lines before a meeting
- Draft a follow-up email from the context
- Sort and classify incoming requests automatically
- Search in plain language: “customers with no order for six months”
- Read incoming documents (quotes, purchase orders) and extract the information
The AI suggests, the user approves, and sensitive data stays out of it. More details on the AI and automation page.
How much does a custom CRM or business application cost?
Everything starts with a scoping phase: we analyse how you work, then I write a requirements document that describes each feature and sets a firm price. The report belongs to you, even if you do not sign with me.
- Express scoping: €290 excl. VAT, for a simple CRM
- Full scoping: from €750 excl. VAT, for business software (workshops with your teams, detailed requirements document, costing)
Scoping is deducted from the quote if you entrust me with the development within 3 months.
For the development itself, the orders of magnitude are:
- A simple CRM (clients, quotes, follow-ups, secure access, import of your data) starts at €3,500 excl. VAT.
- Complete business software (scheduling, invoicing, automations, several user profiles) usually costs between €10,000 and €20,000 excl. VAT, sometimes more depending on scope. For example, complete management software for a tour agency came to about €15,000 excl. VAT.
After that, small changes are billed at the actual time spent (€75 excl. VAT per hour) or deducted from an hour pack; larger ones, beyond one working day, get a fixed-price quote with a firm price. No per-user subscription: hosting is in your name, and maintenance goes through the Serenity plan at €99 excl. VAT per month.
A web application, accessible from anywhere
The software is developed with Symfony, a solid and widely used PHP framework. It runs in a browser, on a computer or on mobile, with nothing to install. Your data is hosted in France (EU), with a hosting provider in your name.
What stays separate
Legal invoicing: I connect your existing invoicing software rather than rebuild one. I develop custom software for businesses in France and, on video calls, for clients abroad.
