We want a custom CRM built — how does the CRM development process work, and what do we need to prepare?

Custom CRM sounds great on paper, but building from scratch instead of customizing an existing platform is a massive risk. Who maintains the codebase once the dev team moves on? Most companies end up abandoning custom-built portals after two years because they can't keep up with security patches and the needs of new hires.

We went down this exact road for our 14-person wholesale company in the UK. The initial 35,000 GBP budget ballooned to 52,000 GBP due to scope additions mid-sprint and accounting integration holdups, and what was supposed to take 5 months dragged out to 11. If you don't freeze the scope early, costs spiral fast.

When negotiating with the agency, make bi-weekly demo builds a hard requirement from day one. Never accept handing over the entire codebase in one big drop after five months. If you aren't clicking around and testing working screens every two weeks, you'll only realize at launch that the specs you signed off on at a desk are driving your staff crazy on the floor.

Edit: asked below, I wrote the answer in the second message.

Make sure your technical spec explicitly includes the database schema and REST API documentation from the start. How data is stored across relational tables and what standards are used when communicating with accounting or logistics services down the line must be written down. Also, insist that it's built on a widely adopted, modern framework to prevent vendor lock-in.

Exactly how many data columns and formulas are currently running across your spreadsheets? Also, will your sales reps need to generate quotes on mobile devices out in the field, or is a desktop portal enough? Just the answers to these two questions can double your database complexity and, consequently your billable dev days.

Please ensure a clear change request procedure is baked into the contract. It is essential that no feature requested verbally gets coded, and that the man-day rate for additional development is locked in upfront. Otherwise, every seemingly minor tweak will push back delivery and set the stage for budget overruns.

went through a similar thing, our biggest mistake was leaving the team out of the loop. we as managers designed what we thought was an amazing flow, but the folks actually putting quotes together found the ui way too cluttered and went right back to their old excel sheets. definitely don't sign off on wireframes without reviewing them with your team first.

your budget is pretty reasonable but my biggst piece of advice is: don't try to build everything on day one. ship a lean V1 first that only covers customer records discount logic and quote generation. get the team using it, see where the bottlenecks are and only then add warehouse and freight modules in phase two.

Three different views emerged, they all complement each other. Mistakes made on the crm development process side are usually reversible but expensive.

When you try to change everything at once, nothing settles. Hope this helps.

Let me share my experience. When making decisions, write down the worst-case scenario too, not just the best.

I partly agree partly disagree. If code ownership isn't in the contract, you have no bargaining power when leaving.

If you don't write this down from the start it leads to arguments later. If you have questions write them; I'll answer as best I can.

correct in theory but it doesn't work that way in practice and most time waste accumulates in tasks waiting for approval.

of course it varies if your situation is different.

My question might sound amateurish, sorry about that. I mean if you dont write this down from the start, it leads to arguments later.

Saved.

Timely topic.

i agree. the real issue isn't the number, but what it's based on.

if you post the result here it will help others too.

Let me summarize the topic, since several different answers were given. Solutions that work at a small scale collapse when you grow; I learned this late.

Proven by experience.

Absolutely. If I were to add anything: Mistakes made on the crm development process side are usually reversible but expensive.

This is my opinion I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.